It was a military barracks during the Ottoman era.. Erdogan opens the "Rami" Library in Istanbul

On Friday, President Erdogan inaugurated the Rami Public Library in the Rami neighborhood of Sultan Eyup municipality in central Istanbul, after the completion of its restoration and development work. The Rami Library was a military barracks to serve the soldiers during the Ottoman Empire, and its uses varied until it was converted into a public library for the public.

Life returns to Rami's barracks again, but this time in the form of a library after the completion of restoration, renovation and reconstruction work. The opening of the barracks, which has turned into the largest library in Istanbul with a history of more than 250 years, will be on Friday with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Rami Library is designed as a large campus with individual and group reading rooms, activity areas, workshop spaces, a service center for people with disabilities, and various possibilities for use such as talks, seminars, and exhibitions.

The campus, which will appeal to everyone from children to youth and from college students to academics, will serve readers and researchers around the clock with a library open 24/7.

History of Rami Barracks

It was built by the Grand Vizier (First Minister) Rami Muhammad Pasha, to whom its name and the name of the neighborhood in which it is located are attributed, during the reign of Sultan Mustafa the Third Sultan in the eighteenth century, for the purpose of equipping and supplying the “Victorious Army with God’s help.” Its stone building was restored during the reign of Sultan Mahmoud II, and it was used effectively and efficiently until the sixties of the twentieth century.

The ownership of the building was transferred to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 1980, which used it as a parking lot, a football and sports stadium, and a food store.