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Karataş Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

The Karataş hospital is located in the Karataş district of Izmir, Turkey. Its mailing address is: Karatas Hospital, Barbaros Mh., Konak/Izmir Province, Turkey.1 Although originally opened as a Jewish hospital, today the hospital, which is still open and accepting patients, accepts both Jewish and non-Jewish patients. 

Description

History of the Hospital: The Karataş Hospital opened in the Karataş district in 1914, three years after the Rothschild hospital of Izmir closed.2 The hospital was opened with the support of Nesim Levi Bayraklıoğlu, an illiterate Jew who had made a fortune by importing hats from France.3 Today, this building is still used as a hospital and a nursery, and also as a library, housing more than two thousand ancient Jewish books and manuscripts.4 

Karataş: The Karataş district is a neighborhood located within the boundaries of the city's central metropolitan district of Konak. Karataş is historically the part of İzmir where the city's Jewish population was concentrated, particularly for middle- to richer classes.5 In Ottoman times, the poorest were usually either concentrated in Mezarlıkbaşı quarter or around Havra Sokağı (Synagogue Street), both of which are located in or around Kemeraltı bazaar zone, or were scattered across the city.6 Karataş is still the area in İzmir where many members of the city's Jewish community continue to live.7

Izmir, Turkey

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