Hospital of the Black Death on İstiklal Street

“Fathers were leaving their sons and mothers were leaving their babies and doctors were not going to visit their patients. Every house had turned into a cemetery.”

A European writer said so, for plague that killed mice first and after millions of people at once. For this reason plague’s nickname was Black Death.

The plague epidemic first appeared in China in the 1300s. The sacrifices’ complaints were beginning with pain, warmth and nausea. After purple bumps were forming on their skins. There was no known cure for this disease. The cause of disease was not found. The disease was expand to the Europe in a short time and caused the deaths of  millions of people in Europe in the Middle Age.

In Istanbul, these outbreaks were also seen and caused the deaths of thousand of people. Europeans built the first embassy buildings here because of they afraid of plague.

Like every building in Istanbul, also this building was built as wood in 1660s. At that time, here, there were gardens, cemeteries, vineyards. Embassies were also concentrated in this area.

French Plague Hospital, built in wood, was repaired again and again , by starting 1600s. The wooden building was demolished in 1898 and was built this concrete building instead.

French Consulate moved here in 1926. This building was used as consulate both and cultural center for years, still like this. The garden of the French Consulate is ver beautiful. Here you can have a cup of tea or coffee.