Darülaceze

A bleak night in the Sublime Porte

The night covered the lonely streets

The assiduous rain would not rest

Cracking against the misshapen path ahead

 

The child was soaked and cold

With nothing to his name but the clothes on his back

He paced up along the cruel path

Dragging himself with respite

 

Ever since father left

No warmth found the child

Orphaned in foreign lands

Where would he go? Who would take the boy?

 

As the street loomed on forward

A distant light was shining at the end of the path

A blinding ray of hope

The child could do nought but stride on forward

  

The light grew harmonious with every step

The promising mysterious light

Cutting through the cruel night

The light stirred ever closer

 

The source was a lantern atop a door

Underneath the lantern stood two copper signs

The sign on one side read “Darülaceze”

On the other side it read “All is welcome”

 

This poem is about the Darülaceze, a charity center in Istanbul, Turkey.

It is a nursing home, an orphanage, a hospital and a place to stay for anyone in need. Built by the decree of Sultan Abdulhamit in 1895. What made this place so unique for the 19th century was the fact that it did not discriminate. It was purely a center for help. There exited a mosque, church and synagogue side by side and all three had active worshippers. The center exists today and performs virtually the same tasks it would be performing over a century ago.