Built as a psychiatric hospital in 1309 by Ilduş Hatun, wife of the İlkhanid Sultan Olcaytu, the Darüşşifa (Bimarhane) may have been the first place to try to treat psychiatric disorders with music. It was used as a hospital until the 18th century. One of the most important physicians who worked here was Serefedin Sabuncuoğlu and today the hospital is a museum to his work displaying some rather terrifying surgical equipment along with fascinating (and rather graphic) treatment illustrations.
Sabuncuoğlu History of Medicine Museum
Amasya
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.29 MILES
Looming above the northern bank of the river is a sheer rock face with the conspicuous rock-cut Tombs of the Pontic Kings. The tombs, chiselled deep into…
0.62 MILES
Amasya's museum packs in treasures from the Chalcolithic era up to the Byzantine age in its ground-floor galleries. Look out for the famous bronze…
0.5 MILES
The graceful Sultan Beyazıt II Cami (1486) is Amasya's largest külliye (mosque complex), with a medrese (seminary), fountain, imaret (soup kitchen) and…
0.45 MILES
Perched precariously atop rocky Mt Harşena, Amasya's kale (castle) offers magnificent views down the valley. The much-repaired walls date from Pontic…
0.83 MILES
The Gök Medrese Cami was built from 1266 to 1267 for Seyfettin Torumtay, the Seljuk governor of Amasya. The eyvan (vaulted recess) serving as its main…
0.06 MILES
The pretty Mehmet Paşa Cami was built in 1486 by Lala Mehmet Paşa, tutor to Şehzade Ahmet, the son of Sultan Beyazıt II. It's rather simple inside but…
0.33 MILES
The Hazeranlar Konağı, constructed in 1865 and restored in 1979, was built by Hasan Talat, the accountant of governor-poet Ziya Paşa, for his sister,…
0.3 MILES
This Seljuk-era mosque was built between 1237 and 1247. Inside, the plain white, domed interior is offset by a very jazzy gold-coloured mihrab (niche…
Nearby Amasya attractions
0.06 MILES
The pretty Mehmet Paşa Cami was built in 1486 by Lala Mehmet Paşa, tutor to Şehzade Ahmet, the son of Sultan Beyazıt II. It's rather simple inside but…
0.07 MILES
Amasya's old belediye (town council) building was built in the late Ottoman era and has a lovely stone facade.
0.12 MILES
The Gümüşlü Cami (1326) is the earliest Ottoman mosque in Amasya, but has been rebuilt several times: in 1491 after an earthquake, in 1612 after a fire,…
4. Tombs of Mythridates I, Ariobarzan & Mythridates II
0.24 MILES
The tombs of the first three kings of the kingdom of Pontus are the most impressive in the cliff face, though up close there's nothing much to see. Climb…
0.27 MILES
This early Ottoman mosque (1419) follows a twin-domed plan that was a forebear in style to the famous Yeşil Cami in Bursa. Colourful painted stalactite…
0.29 MILES
Looming above the northern bank of the river is a sheer rock face with the conspicuous rock-cut Tombs of the Pontic Kings. The tombs, chiselled deep into…
0.3 MILES
This Seljuk-era mosque was built between 1237 and 1247. Inside, the plain white, domed interior is offset by a very jazzy gold-coloured mihrab (niche…
8. Baths of the Maidens Palace
0.32 MILES
The scant remains of this 14th-century hamam complex lie halfway up Amasya's hill.