Bergama Greek School in Izmir, Turkey

The building commonly referred to in English as the Bergama Greek School is a former Greek community school in the grounds of 14 Eylül Primary School in Bergama. The school’s official history states that it was built in the early 1860s for the education of Greek girls. After restoration in 2012–2013, the historic building became home to the Bergamalı Kadri Education History Museum.

From School Building to Museum

After the Greek community ceased using the school, the building passed through several functions. According to the history published by 14 Eylül Primary School, it was used as temporary accommodation for Turkish migrants arriving in Bergama during the population exchange period between 1923 and 1925.

On 1 September 1925, the building entered service as 14 Eylül Mektebi, the predecessor of the present 14 Eylül Primary School. The historic structure contained three classrooms and two administrative rooms, with four additional sections in its basement.

As the school later required more space, education moved to a newer building on the same site. The old school structure deteriorated and eventually fell out of regular use. Restoration began in 2012 through work involving the İzmir Provincial Special Administration and Bergama Municipality and was completed in March 2013. The restored building was then adapted to include a meeting hall and the education history museum.

Architecture of the Former Greek School

The historic school is a rectangular building with a low basement and a main floor. Its principal façade faces Dede Sokak. A two-sided staircase rises to the elevated entrance, where marble jambs frame the doorway. Decorative details above the entrance include three wreath motifs, a book relief within the central wreath and a profiled marble pediment.

A metope-and-triglyph frieze runs below the eaves. The side façades have tall windows and access to the basement, while a monolithic marble fountain survives beneath the main entrance staircase. Inside, rooms and former classrooms are arranged around corridors, with some partitions constructed using the traditional bağdadi technique.

Bergamalı Kadri Education History Museum

The museum was created by collecting educational material from 14 Eylül Primary School, other schools in Bergama and private donors. It began receiving visitors in May 2014. Rather than presenting the building only as an architectural monument, the museum uses its former educational setting to document how schools, classrooms and teaching equipment changed over time.

Its holdings include schoolbooks, report cards, diplomas, administrative and cooperative registers, photographs, seals, stamps and other documents. Teaching and office equipment includes mimeograph machines, film and slide projectors, typewriters, telephones, audio equipment and a model of the solar system.

Other displays recreate aspects of educational life through student and teacher clothing associated with different historical periods. Large wall displays combine photographs of earlier educational settings with examples of the ancient Greek, Ottoman Turkish and modern Turkish alphabets. Information on local educator and researcher Osman Bayatlı is also presented inside the building.

Why the Museum Is Named After Bergamalı Kadri

The museum takes its name from Bergamalı Kadri, a 16th-century grammarian associated with Bergama. His known work, Müyessiretü’l-Ulûm, was written in 1530 and presented to Grand Vizier Pargalı İbrahim Pasha. The museum’s official account identifies the work as an early grammar of Turkish written in Western Anatolian Turkish.

The choice of name connects the collection’s focus on education and language with a scholar from Bergama whose work dealt directly with the teaching and structure of Turkish.

Names Used for the Historic Building

Different sources use several English descriptions for the property. The historic structure is commonly identified as the Bergama Greek School, while İzmir’s official city guide lists it as the Old Greek Kindergarten (Bergama Kadri Educational History Museum). The history maintained by 14 Eylül Primary School describes the building more specifically as a school constructed by Bergama’s Greek community for girls in the 1860s. Its present museum name is Bergamalı Kadri Eğitim Tarihi Müzesi.