For more than five centuries, the red-brick towers of the Phanar Greek Orthodox College have stood on the hills of Istanbul’s Balat district, a symbol of the city’s once-vibrant Greek community. Now, this 571-year-old institution has to content alongside the dwindling numbers of students with the decision made by the Turkish Ministry of National Education to vacate its premises within 30 days citing earthquake safety concerns.
The order, delivered shortly after the new academic year began, instructs that the building be emptied so seismic reinforcement work can be carried out
Principal Dimitri Zotos said the school had not been informed in advance that an evacuation order was imminent. “We were aware of the possibility of such a development, but we didn’t think the situation would be serious enough to require us to leave,” he told Agos newspaper.
Zotos explained that all schools in Turkey must undergo earthquake resistance testing, an expensive process the Fener school could not afford on its own. The administration had requested assistance from the Ministry of Education, and Minister Yusuf Tekin personally visited the school in 2023 to discuss its condition. The testing was eventually carried out with ministry and governor’s office support, but the results led to the current directive to vacate the building.
The cost of the required reinforcement work, Zotos said, exceeds €10 million, far beyond what the Fener Greek School Foundation can cover. “We don’t want to inconvenience our students; that’s our priority,” he noted, adding that efforts are underway to find another suitable building where classes can continue.
Zotos said the foundation has already informed community institutions of the crisis and is seeking solutions within their limited means. “We must seek the solution within our own community,” he said. “If we can’t solve it, we will knock on every door.”
While experts have not deemed the building unsafe, they have concluded that reinforcement is necessary to meet current seismic standards. For now, the administration’s goal is to preserve continuity, and to ensure that education at the Fener Greek School continues, if not within its red walls, then under the same name and spirit.
The school, known in Greek as the “Great School of the Nation” (Μεγάλη του Γένους Σχολή) and in Turkish as Fener Rum Lisesi currently serves 31 students. It was founded in 1454 on the basis of an agreement between Patriarch Gennadios and Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. Designed by the Greek architect Konstantinos Dimadis, the current building was erected between 1881 and 1883.
