On top of a hill, in the middle of an island, somewhere outside Istanbul, lies the Prinkipo Orphanage — or what remains of it. This massive building also holds the title of one of the largest wooden structures in Europe, and, abandoned children aside, it’s pretty impressive.
Unfortunately, the entire property is surrounded by a stone wall, on top of which is a very tall metal fence, on top of which is a large amount of barbed wire. There was no way to get over it, and no broken points to sneak in. Believe me, I looked. The closest you can get is to scale the stone fence, and then stand and look through the posts of the metal fence and/or take photos from over top the barbed wire…all while balancing and trying not to fall nor cut your hands open. Given I took these photos, you can see I survived this method.
The fence is likely for the best (safety first!), as the massive building appears to be highly structurally unsound. It looks like it could collapse – or go up in flames – at any moment. You can see inside some of the windows and it’s in seriously bad shape.
So why is a massive, 215,000 square-foot, all-wooden orphanage located up on a hill in an island that’s popular with vacationers? Turns out, the story behind it is almost as interesting as seeing it in real life…
The place was originally intended to be a luxury hotel and casino when it was first commissioned in 1898. It was designed and built by a French-Ottoman architect, who used wood because he was inspired by the forest on the island surrounding it. However, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire at the time was very conservative, and wound up forbidding the casino from ever opening.
In 1903 the building was sold to the wife of a wealthy Greek banker, and was subsequently donated to part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The church wound up turning it into an orphanage for boys. It operated for half a century until it closed in 1964. You can read more about the story behind it on Atlas Obscura.
If the abandoned Prinkipo orphanage looks like it’s about to collapse, that’s because it legitimately is. Turkey has been watching it for years, and it’s been considered for inclusion as one of Europe’s endangered cultural heritage sites.
While it still exists, thought, it’s an amazing abandoned place to see…even if you can’t get inside.