Guide
Gaziantep, once called Ayıntap and described in its day as a little Bukhara, held an important place in the life of learning, with close to thirty medreses. The first medrese known in the city, called the Eşrefiye, was founded by the Ayyubid emir el-Melikül Eşref Muzafferüddin Musa, and nothing of it survives. The earliest medrese built in the Ottoman period is the Medrese-i Cedide of 1548. Evliya Çelebi, who called the place Şehr-i Ayıntab-ı Cihan, the apple of the world's eye, for its wide territory, its striking buildings, its sought-after goods and its abundance, records that it had many medreses.
The yearbooks give detailed figures for the city's schools. The education yearbook of 1903 lists fifteen medreses. Non-Muslim communities opened seven schools at middle and upper-secondary level, which began teaching with 177 girls and 231 boys.
According to the Aleppo provincial yearbook of 1910 the education commission was headed by Reis-i Sani Abdullah Edip Efendi and the schools held 848 pupils in all. The same yearbook records twenty-five medreses and libraries in Ayıntap, with 1,650 books between the libraries. The yearbook for 1922–1928 records one middle school with 114 pupils and twenty-four boys' and girls' primary schools with 1,847.
As of January 2018 the province counted 491,565 pupils in 1,063 institutions: 36,355 in 59 pre-school institutions, 177,999 in 508 primary schools, 171,347 in 329 middle schools and 105,864 in 167 high schools. Counting 64,231 Syrian pupils the total came to 613,263, taught by 24,732 teachers.
Work on founding the museum was carried out during 2017 and completed in January 2018. The old building of Gaziantep Lisesi was judged suitable for it. Schools across the province were contacted and visited, and the objects identified there were recorded: 128 in all. The premises were then refitted, a thematic arrangement was chosen, and the Gaziantep Provincial Museum of the History of Education opened to visitors.
Schools may visit in groups.
