What was the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa and what role did it play in the complex? Read about the bimarhane label, the music stories and what remains unknown.
On the hill overlooking the Golden Horn in Istanbul, many visitors who leave the courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque and walk towards the back streets notice that the domed and arcaded buildings were built not only for worship but for an entire urban life. Madrasas, a soup kitchen, a bathhouse, a library and, among them, a house of healing... The Süleymaniye Darüşşifa was the part of this great group of buildings set aside for the sick. In this article we look at the darüşşifa's place within the complex, what it tells us that it was later referred to as a "bimarhane", and the stories about music that circulate widely about it. In doing so, we will pay particular attention to one thing: separating what we actually know about this building from information that is guessed at or exaggerated. Reliable detail on this subject is far scarcer than people tend to assume.
Where Was the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa and What Was It Part Of?
The Süleymaniye Darüşşifa is a section of the Süleymaniye Complex (külliye), which bears the name of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and is counted among the works of the architect Mimar Sinan. In a külliye, the mosque stands at the centre; around it are arranged buildings serving needs such as education, food, hygiene and health. The darüşşifa sits within this arrangement, close to the mosque and the madrasas, with its own courtyard and rooms.
Its location alone tells us something: caring for the sick was not conceived as a task to be pushed to the edge of the city, but as one of the founding parts of a sultan's complex. The madrasa where the student studied, the soup kitchen where the poor ate and the hospital where the sick lay were all sustained by the income of the same charitable endowment.
The word "darüşşifa" means "house of healing". Sources also use the names "bimaristan", "bimarhane" and "şifahane" for the same type of institution. These institutions were founded through charitable endowments (vakıf) and provided care to patients free of charge. If you are curious about the concept itself and the other examples in Anatolia, you will find a broader framework in our article what is a darüşşifa.
The Idea of the Complex: Institutions Living Side by Side
To understand Süleymaniye, you need to look not at a single building but at a whole system. Ottoman complexes were, in a sense, designed like small towns.
- The mosque: The centre of the complex and its gathering place.
- Madrasas: Schools offering education at different levels. Some complexes also had units connected with medical training.
- The soup kitchen (imaret): The kitchen that served meals to students, staff and people in need.
- Bathhouse, library and shops: Buildings meeting everyday needs, some of which generated income for the endowment.
- The darüşşifa: The unit where the sick were housed, cared for and treated as far as was possible.
Within this arrangement the darüşşifa did not stand alone. Its food came from the soup kitchen, its cleaning and water supply depended on the complex's shared infrastructure, and its staff's salaries were written into the endowment deed. The endowment deed (vakfiye) is the document that set out the institution's rules and income; it allowed the building to survive after the death of its founder.
Seen from today, this arrangement also carries an interesting intuition about mental health: a person is more than an illness. Nutrition, shelter, cleanliness and relationships with the people around them are also part of their wellbeing. Of course, this intuition does not mean that the medicine of the period was scientific in today's sense; but it does show that care was not seen as consisting of medicine alone.
What Do We Know About the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa?
Honesty is needed here. For the Bayezid II Darüşşifa in Edirne or the Hafsa Sultan Darüşşifa in Manisa, relatively rich sources exist, such as encyclopaedia entries, museum records and travellers' accounts. For the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa, however, it is difficult to trace the source of a significant share of the details that circulate in popular articles.
What can be said with confidence is this:
- It was part of the complex. The darüşşifa was a health unit established within the endowment system of the Süleymaniye Complex.
- It is among the institutions mentioned in connection with music. One academic study lists the Fatih and Süleymaniye darüşşifas in Istanbul, together with Edirne, among the important institutions where music was used. However, even this study offers limited detail on how the practice was carried out.
- It fits the general darüşşifa pattern. Being sustained by endowment income, caring for patients free of charge, and physicians working alongside various other staff were features shared by the darüşşifas of the period.
On news websites you may come across articles describing Süleymaniye as a "unique centre of healing" and listing in detail what was done for which patient. Some of these articles cite one another, and it is unclear whether they rest on any primary document. For this reason we do not repeat those details here. Saying that we do not know something is more valuable than telling it with embellishments.
Why do we know so little detail?
There are several possible reasons. First, much of the information about darüşşifas lies in texts such as endowment deeds, accounting records and archival documents, which specialists need to read and interpret; reliable summaries of these in everyday language do not exist to the same extent for every building. Second, when a building is used for different purposes over centuries, it can become unclear which piece of information belongs to which period. Third, articles multiplying online can carry a single unsourced claim across a great many pages, turning it into something "everyone knows". So it can be misleading to assume that the more detail an article contains, the more reliable it is. Sometimes the most accurate article is the one that is able to say, "there is not enough information on this."
The respect we feel for a historic building requires us to say openly what we do not know about it.
From Darüşşifa to Bimarhane: The Changing Connotations of a Name
Many people searching for the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa are curious about the fact that the building was later referred to as a "bimarhane", meaning a place where mainly people with mental illness were housed. Writings on the subject mention such a transformation; however, we cannot give dates for when, by what decision and how it took place on the basis of a verified source in this article.
Still, a comparison can help us understand this transformation. Sources describe how the Hafsa Sultan Darüşşifa in Manisa operated mainly as a mental hospital for more than the last two hundred years of its existence. In other words, the transformation of some darüşşifas founded as general hospitals into places where people with mental illness were cared for is not a unique example in Ottoman history.
This transformation also affected the meaning of words. "Bimarhane", which originally meant "house of the sick", came over time to be associated almost exclusively with mental illness. Similarly, the word "tımarhane" (roughly, "madhouse") came to be used in everyday speech as an insult or a form of mockery.
Why does this language matter today?
Expressions such as "you're ready for the madhouse", "like a lunatic" or "he's lost it" are often heard in everyday conversation. Let's say a secondary school student wants to tell their family about the anxiety they are experiencing during exam season, but knows that such phrases are used as jokes at home. That student may stay silent, believing that asking for help means being branded "mad".
The history of the darüşşifas also reminds us of this: people experiencing mental distress were once cared for inside sultans' complexes, in the heart of the city. Excluding them through language is unfair both to history and to the present. That is why using non-stigmatising language when we talk about mental health is a small but meaningful step.
Stories of Music and Today's Science
When darüşşifas come up, one of the most widely shared sentences is "The Ottomans treated the mentally ill with music." This story needs to be separated into its layers.
The historical layer: That music was played to patients in the darüşşifa in Edirne is known from the account of Evliya Çelebi; the Seyahatname (Book of Travels) records that an ensemble performed music for the patients three days a week. We noted above that Süleymaniye is also counted among the institutions where music was used. You can also look at our article on the Edirne Darüşşifa, which covers this topic in more detail.
The intellectual layer: The medicine of the period rested on the theory of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile) inherited from Hippocrates and Galen. Philosopher-physicians such as al-Kindi, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) treated music as a serious science, and the view that music affects the human soul spread within this tradition. The theory of the four humours has since been abandoned by modern medicine.
The popular layer: Lists matching makams (modes of Turkish classical music) to illnesses, such as "rast is good for paralysis, buselik for headaches", are widely shared online. These lists contradict one another from source to source and have not been scientifically tested. They can only be read as the beliefs of the period; they cannot be recommended as treatment for any illness.
Today, the use of music in mental health is a supportive field that is tested through research and added to usual care. For example, a Cochrane review reports that music therapy, when added to usual care, may reduce depressive symptoms in the short term, but that the evidence is of low to moderate certainty. In other words, music can be a valuable support, but it does not replace medication, psychotherapy or medical treatment.
Reading History Accurately When Visiting Süleymaniye
If you are planning to visit the Süleymaniye Complex or are researching it for an assignment, the following approach may help:
- Look at the layout of the buildings. Seeing where the darüşşifa stands in relation to the mosque, the madrasas and the soup kitchen makes it easier to understand how the complex was conceived as a whole.
- Observe the arrangement of the courtyard and rooms. Light, air and open space played an important role in the period's understanding of care. But ask whether interpretations such as "this courtyard was designed to calm the patients" are documented information or later interpretations.
- Ask about the source. Is the information you are reading based on an encyclopaedia entry, an academic study or a document such as an endowment deed, or on a news story with no clear source?
- Separate history from recommendation. "This was done in that period" and "you should try this too" are two very different sentences.
- Steer clear of exaggerated language. Phrases such as "our ancestors' forgotten secret" or "a cure for every ill" usually produce sales or emotion, not information.
These questions help you be fair to history and avoid contributing to the spread of misinformation. Süleymaniye's value comes not from the legends added to it but from its own true story.
A short summary for an assignment
Let's say a university student is going to write a one-page summary of the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa for an art history course. A summary that avoids exaggeration might read: "The Süleymaniye Darüşşifa was a health unit established within the complex's endowment system, where patients were cared for free of charge. Academic studies mention it among the darüşşifas where music was used; however, reliable information on the details of the practice is limited. It is reported to have later become associated with people with mental illness." These three sentences are more accurate than many long articles.
How Is Mental Health Support Approached Today?
The fundamental difference between the darüşşifa era and today is that mental health problems are now assessed using methods tested through research. Even so, there is one idea that can be carried from that period into the present: mental distress is also a health matter that deserves care and attention.
It may be helpful to speak to a mental health professional in the following situations:
- Unhappiness, lack of motivation or restlessness lasting for weeks
- A marked deterioration in sleep, appetite and daily tasks
- Anxiety or fear making it difficult to go to school or work, or to leave the house
- New and marked changes in someone close to you, such as losing touch with reality or speaking incoherently
These signs do not in themselves amount to a diagnosis; but they deserve to be assessed. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life, do not wait; in an emergency, call 112 (emergency services).
In psychological support, for example in individual therapy, alongside a structured approach such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), one goal may be for the person to bring activities that do them good back into their life. Listening to music, going for a walk, doing handicrafts or sitting quietly in a courtyard are close to the intuition of the darüşşifas. The difference is this: today these activities are planned as part of an assessment, according to the person's needs, and carried out alongside an assessment by a psychiatrist where necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Süleymaniye Darüşşifa be visited today?
The Süleymaniye Complex is today one of the most visited historic sites in Istanbul, and its buildings can be seen from the outside. Because the current use of the darüşşifa building and the conditions for entering it may change over time, it is a good idea to check up-to-date information with the relevant institutions before your visit.
Were patients at Süleymaniye treated with music?
One academic study lists Süleymaniye among the darüşşifas where music was used; however, detail on how it was applied is limited. Moreover, the idea that particular makams cure particular illnesses was a belief of the period and is not supported by science today.
Does darüşşifa mean the same as madhouse?
Not originally. Darüşşifa and bimarhane were generally used in the sense of "house of the sick" and also served people with physical illnesses. Over time, the fact that some institutions came to be used mainly for people with mental illness changed the connotations of these words.
What do darüşşifas contribute to today's understanding of mental health?
Darüşşifas do not leave us a treatment prescription; but they remind us that a person experiencing mental distress also deserves shelter, care and a pleasant environment. Today's methods, by contrast, are tested through research, and music and art can play a supportive role within this framework. Those who are curious about the history and want to learn about today's practice may also find our article on music therapy helpful.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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