Health Museum in Edirne hosts nearly 160,000 visitors in 2025

EDİRNE

The Health Museum at the Sultan Bayezid II Complex in Edirne, which presents Ottoman-era medical education and treatment methods, welcomed nearly 160,000 visitors in 2025.

Commissioned by Sultan Bayezid II in 1488 and originally used as a medical school, hospital and soup kitchen, the complex today operates as the Health Museum under Trakya University.

The internationally award-winning museum showcases the Ottoman Empire’s work in medicine and healthcare. The Darüşşifa section, where patients with mental illnesses were treated using water, music, scents and occupational therapies, reflects pioneering practices in Ottoman medicine.

In the medical madrasa section, students’ social lives and education are portrayed, while the imaret section introduces visitors to Ottoman-era culinary culture, social solidarity and charitable practices.

Health Museum Director Enver Şengül told state-run Anadolu Agency that interest in the museum has been growing steadily each year. He said both domestic and foreign tourists visiting Edirne show a strong interest in the site.

“The visibility of our museum continues to increase. In 2025, the Health Museum hosted nearly 160,000 visitors, around 10,000 of whom were foreigners,” Şengül said. “Tourists from many different countries, primarily Bulgaria and Greece, as well as from Germany to Japan, South Korea to India, toured our museum.”

Şengül noted that visitors have the opportunity to closely observe the level Ottoman medicine had reached. He said the most advanced medical practices and education of the era were provided at the Darüşşifa.

“From the 15th century onward, patients treated here were healed through music, the sound of water and pleasant scents,” he said. “Considering that medicine in the West had not reached this level at the time, it is clear how advanced the Ottoman approach was. We aim to introduce this heritage today. With the support of our rector, Professor Mustafa Hatipler, we are arranging the museum in the best possible way. Reconstructions that respect the historical fabric attract visitors’ interest.”

Mustafa Yılmaz, a photography instructor visiting from İstanbul, said the museum is a very special venue for photographers, adding, “The museum is a magnificent place. We greatly enjoyed visiting and taking photographs.”

Another visitor from İstanbul, Mesut Demirbaş, said he was impressed by both Edirne and the Health Museum.

Sultan Bayezid II Complex

The complex, whose foundation was laid in 1484 as Sultan Bayezid II set out on the Akkerman campaign, was completed in 1488. During the Ottoman period, it functioned as a medical school, hospital and soup kitchen, while from the 1800s onward it was mainly used for mental and psychological treatments.

After falling into disuse and suffering damage following the Balkan Wars, the complex was incorporated into Trakya University in 1978 and restored beginning in 1986.

Listed on UNESCO’s Tentative World Heritage List, the Health Museum at the complex received the “European Museum of the Year Award” in 2004 and the “Best Presentation Award” in 2007.