Foundation Establishing a Hospital for the Strangers
Vakıf Gureba Hospital, with its white face, still serves as one of the most important hospitals in Istanbul, across the street from the Police Department on Vatan Street...
At the beginning of those who made efforts to adapt this hospital to today's Turkey, Prof., whose name is identified with Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan Vakıf Gureba Hospital. Dr. Asaf Ataseven is coming.
Again, saying "I spent 20 years in the profession in this hospital" and who was the chief physician of this hospital for a while, Opr. Dr. Şenel Yediyıldız explains:
“Since ancient times, patients have come to our hospital even from across Turkey. The citizen would get on the bus and land in Topkapı at 08:00 in the morning. He comes to Vakıf Gureba early in the morning with his patient, has an examination until noon, takes his medicine; In the afternoon, at 16.00, he would return to his hometown by bus.
From the day it was founded until today, where and who the person who entered this hospital is from has not been looked at. Here, we looked for two features in the patient who came in. First; Is he sick? Second: Is it an oddity that the Foundation Gureba Hospital should take care of?
If he is strange and sick, we immediately provided the necessary service. This is the working system of this foundation hospital.
What does guraba mean? It means the strange, the homeless, the poor.
“Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan, who established Vakıf Gureba, which is still in service on Vatan Street, in the most important center of Istanbul, donated many income-generating properties (akar) there. From the olive groves in Edremit to Terkos Lake, this hospital was a river.
The intention of Valide Sultan was pure, that the hospital has been providing uninterrupted service since 1847. The name Bezm-i Alem Valide Sultan lives on and will live on.