Anatolia College in Merzifon

The Anatolia College in Merzifon ( Turkish Merzifon Amerikan Koleji, English American College of Mersovan ) was a co-educational high school in the city Merzifon in Amasya the Ottoman Empire, which was founded in 1886 by American missionaries and operated until 1924.

Theological Seminary

The school was first established in 1864 as a theological seminary, the American Robert College in Bebek, Konstantin Opel, set his theological training and was limited to general education - due to the increasing number of young people who were interested in learning the English language. The school in Merzifon served at the beginning of the education of children of the Greek and Armenian community in Anatolia, wanted to be pastors or preachers.

College

1886, the training program was expanded in the Theological Seminary Merzifon on education and a college which taught four years of liberal arts has been included. The institution was called " Anatolia College ," Charles Tracy became the first president and remained so until 1912 The motto of the college was "The Morning Cometh ." - In reference to the ancient Greek word for dawn, and the Anatolia region. The Seal of the College was the rising sun over Akdağ at the eastern end of the plain of Merzifon. The more than 115 students, mainly Greeks and Armenians came mostly from outside Merzifons and lived in the school.

In 1983, the girls' school was founded. As 1893 Armenian activists posters hung, imprisoned Ottoman troops numerous Armenians and damaged some buildings of the College; Armenian students and teachers have been accused of being in contact with the rebels. The damage was settled later by the Ottoman government. Therefore, the College was under from 1894 to the laws of the State of Massachusetts.

After the end of World War I and the Armenian Genocide, the facilities of the college were in the campus from a kindergarten, a school for the Deaf, a college - level program, one of the largest hospitals in Asia Minor and an orphanage for over 2,000 orphans in addition to theological seminar and schools for boys and girls - all in more than 40 buildings in the New England style. The activities of American missionaries came with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 de facto standstill.

Moving to Greece

1920 218 students were informed and an equal number in the girls' school. After the Greco- Turkish war 1919-1922 and the subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the College Merzifon was forcibly closed in 1924 and reopened with the help of Eleftherios Venizelos in the port city of Thessaloniki in Greece as a Kingdom Anatolia College.

The American missionary George E. White, who was a teacher from 1890 and from 1913 to 1921 President of the College in Merzifon, wrote his memoirs in the book Adventuring With Anatolia College.