How the Crimean War Helped Start a US School in Turkey

In 1837, Hamlin was appointed by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) as a missionary. He had requested to be sent either to Europe or Africa. Instead, he was sent to Constantinople. Before setting sail for the capital of the Ottoman Empire in December of 1838, Hamlin married Henrietta Jackson.
“I have no record of how many quarters of Pera, Galata, St. Demetri, Scutari, Chalcedon, and both sides of the Bosphorus I visited,” Hamlin wrote of his search for a location. The missionary finally found a house in Bebek.
The ABCFM balked at Hamlin’s idea. Hamlin had admitted he didn’t know how to bake, nor did anyone who would be in his employ, specifically the Protestant Armenians. The ABCFM representatives called it a “desperate and fruitless effort” that would injure his reputation and “the reputation of the mission.” Hamlin, however, was unconcerned about his reputation. He was worried about the Protestant Armenians who were being persecuted by the Turks.
Indeed, he did not fail. As the wounded came pouring into Constantinople, both Nightingale and Hamlin found themselves very busy in the same location: Scutari. Hamlin was invited to the Military Hospital in Scutari by Dr. Henry Mapleton to discuss providing bread for the soldiers. Hamlin and Mapleton agreed to a contract of providing 250 pounds of bread per day that eventually grew to 6,000 pounds. While Florence Nightingale was nursing soldiers to health, Cyrus Hamlin was feeding them.
During the Crimean War, Robert visited Constantinople. While there, he heard about Hamlin’s seminary and his bakery. Robert soon made Hamlin’s acquaintance. The two men discovered they both had similar philanthropic interests: providing education to the poor and spreading the gospel. This temporary breaking of bread together would result in a permanent working relationship a few years later.
Hamlin remained in Constantinople, running the Bebek Seminary and baking bread.
Hamlin had a knack for timing. He had arrived in Constantinople just as the Tanzimat reforms were issued. He had begun his bakery in time to feed thousands of hungry soldiers. And now, after some ongoing disagreements with the ABCFM, he was presented an opportunity to pivot from his Bebek Seminary to start another school.
The Turkish government, however, made it difficult for Hamlin and Robert to purchase any land to erect a new school. Major changes in the government took place with the death of Sultan Abdulmecid in June 1861 and the accession of Abdulaziz. Robert and Hamlin had hoped to purchase land near Rumeli Castle. This hope was delayed for several years, so Hamlin bought an old wooden building in Bebek (only a few minutes from Rumeli Castle). It was a humble beginning. Despite Robert’s objections, Hamlin called the boys school Robert College.
In 1870, Robert College moved to its new location near Rumeli Castle, which Robert visited. By this time, the school had more than 100 students. In 1871, the Home School opened, which later became the American College for Girls. The two schools merged under the name Robert College in 1971. The school remains in operation to this day with more than 1,000 students (with nearly 200 residential students) and remains accredited through the New York Association of Independent Schools. The school now resides on 65 acres along the Bosphorus Strait.