Turkey’s Ministry of Education has issued an order for the evacuation of the historic building housing the Greek Great School of the Nation (Megali Tou Genous Sholi) in Fener (Fatih, Istanbul) within 90 days, citing inadequate earthquake protection.
The 144-year-old building, which hosts an educational institution with an uninterrupted history spanning 571 years, is now deemed unsafe for students and staff. This unexpected order puts the school at risk of a temporary or even permanent cessation of its operation, according to reports in the Turkish press.
The official evacuation notice was sent in September 2025, demanding that all school activities be moved out of the premises within three months.
The decision has caused intense alarm and surprise within the Greek community of Istanbul. The Great School of the Nation is not only the oldest continuously operating educational establishment in the city but also a potent symbol of the historical presence and cultural heritage of the Greek community in Constantinople.
The School faces an unprecedented crisis, as for the first time in its 571-year history, the school has not enrolled a single student in the first grade of high school. This stark reality was brought to light recently by the school’s director, Dimitris Zotos, in an interview with ERT.
Founded in 1454, just one year after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire, the Great School of the Nation is the oldest surviving Greek Orthodox school. Its establishment was a crucial act of cultural preservation, serving as a center for learning and a beacon of Hellenic identity for the city’s Greek Orthodox community.
Related: Constantinople Greeks: The Cosmopolitans of Byzantium’s Capital
