Gulhane Medical Faculty

Gulhane Campus

In 1897, a protocol was signed with the German Empire to improve the medicine education in the Ottoman Empire. Prof. Robert Rieder of University of Bonn and Dr. Georg Deycke of the University Medical Center Hamburg‐Eppendorf came to Istanbul in 1898. In addition to their works at the Imperial School of Medicine, they converted the building of the military junior high school inside Gülhane (literally: Rose Garden), the courtyard of Ottoman sultan's Topkapı Palace, into a modern healthcare facility. It was opened on 30 December 1898 and named "Gülhane Seririyat Hastanesi" ("Gulhane Clinic Hospital").

Gülhane Hospital's first active presence took place in 1909 when its physicians, who were transferred to the newly established Faculty of Medicine, made out the majority of the academic staff. During World War I, the hospital undertook important duties in the successful delivery of health services to the Ottoman Army, and in the treatment of wounded soldiers brought from the Battle of Gallipoli (1915–1916). During the occupation of Istanbul from 1918 to 1923, Gülhane Hospital was transferred to Gümüşsuyu quarter of Beyoğlu, Istanbul, and continued to serve during the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922). Following the end of the occupation of Istanbul, the hospital returned to its previous location. With the beginning of World War II, it was decided to move the hospital to Ankara. In 1941, it started as "Gülhane Askeri Tababet Okulu ve Hastanesi" ("Gulhane Military Medical School and Hospital") in the buildings of the military hospital at Cebeci quarter of Çankata district of Ankara. Iy played an important role in the establishment of Ankara University Medical School in 1945. Eleven of the fourteen professors and founding staff members originated from the Gulhane Military Medical School and Hospital. In 1947, it was renamed to "Gülhane Askeri Tıp Akademisi" (GATA) ("Gulhane Military Medical Academy"), and collaborated with the Ankara University's Medical School until 1952. In 1952, the Academy moved from Cebeci to Bahçelievler, Ankara leaving its buildings to the university's Medical School. As the buildings became insufficient, it was decided in 1963 to build a modern hospital complex in Etlik neighborhood of Keçiören, Ankara. In 1971, the Academy moved into its new location. After the July 2016, all of the 32 military hospitals, including the GATA, were transferred from the Ministry of National Defense to the Ministry of Health in August the same year. The GATA was renamed "Gülhane Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi" ("GulhaneTraining and Research Hospital"), and was incorporated into the University of Health Sciences by a presidential decree.