The Gevher Nesibe Hospital, regarded as the first medical school in Anatolia, has stood for more than eight centuries, offering a rare glimpse into the history of medicine.
Built in 1206 by Seljuk Sultan Ghiyaseddin Keyhusrev I at the request of his sister Gevher Nesibe Sultan, the complex now operates as the Seljuk Civilization Museum in Kayseri.
The historic hospital, known as a "darüşşifa" or healing center, included facilities not only for medical training but also for treatment. The complex featured a practice hospital where students could treat patients, a ward for mental health patients where water and music were used as therapeutic tools, a pharmacy where medicines were prepared, and a bathhouse where patients could bathe regularly.
In an interview on Saturday, Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Şükrü Dursun told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the structure, composed of two main buildings, is also known as the Çifte Medrese, Gevher Nesibe Darüşşifası, and Gıyasiye Medresesi.
“It is the earliest known medical school on Anatolian soil,” Dursun said.
Dursun noted that the Gevher Nesibe complex served as a model for other medical schools established in later centuries across Anatolia.
“In the training process at medical schools, students would also take part in treating patients in the adjacent hospital as a continuation of their education,” he said. “This place was designed exactly with that planning in mind.”
He said one section of the complex was used to treat patients requiring surgical procedures.
“Through a corridor you pass to the other side. That section is the madrasa where education was given. Students studied in various rooms,” Dursun said.
“Next to it there is another unit, "the bimarhane", where patients with mental illnesses were treated. This makes the place very valuable,” he added.
Dursun said that at the time, many societies did not recognize mental illness as a treatable condition.
“We know that outside the Seljuks, many countries did not consider mental illnesses treatable,” he said. “The Seljuks understood that these conditions could be treated and believed patients could find healing through water and music, so they created a special section here dedicated to such treatments.”
Beyond treatment, the complex also served as an important educational center.
“In addition to medical care, physicians were trained here for other hospitals across Seljuk lands,” Dursun said. “It was an important center where doctors were educated.”
Today, the centuries-old complex continues to draw visitors, offering a journey into the medical practices and educational traditions of the medieval Seljuk era.
