The Büyükada Rum Orphanage İstanbul faces the risk of collapse more than ever.
The building was first built as a luxury hotel and a casino in 1899 by Alexander Vallauri, a prominent architect in İstanbul at the time.
In the early 1900s, the Princes Islands had become a summer resort for communities from different ethnic and religious origins.
After Sultan Abdülhamid II disallowed the hotel to operate, the spouse of a prominent Greek banker bought the building and donated it to the Patriarchate, provided that the building would be used as an orphanage.
The orphanage continued to operate until it was shut down in 1964. Since then, the building has been neglected.
Problems regarding the ownership and usage of the building made it difficult to maintain and conserve the building.
It was damaged in a fire in 1980. Some parts of the roof collapsed. (Hyetert)
