Source: Greek City Times
October 17, 2025
In a poignant chapter for one of Turkey’s oldest educational bastions, the 571-year-old Fener Greek Orthodox School teeters on the brink of evacuation, scrambling for a new home as seismic safety demands outstrip its meager coffers. The landmark institution, a beacon of Greek Orthodox heritage, has been ordered to clear its iconic red-brick fortress by the Education Ministry—leaving just 90 days to safeguard its legacy and its handful of students.
The crisis crystallized in mid-September when officials deemed the building unfit without a €10 million-plus ($11.5 million) reinforcement overhaul. Principal Dimitri Zotos, speaking to the weekly Agos newspaper, laid bare the school’s fiscal bind: “All schools in Türkiye are required to conduct earthquake resistance tests, which are highly costly.” He recounted a 2023 plea to Education Minister Yusuf Tekin during his visit, where the ministry and Istanbul Governor’s Office backed the initial testing. Yet, the abrupt evacuation mandate caught them off guard.
... Read the rest at Greek City Times.
