Florence Nightingale arrives at Selimiye Barracks, Scutari

Background. Selimiye Barracks, also known as Scutari Barracks, is a Turkish Army barracks in the Üsküdar district on the Asian side of Istanbul. During the Crimean War, the barracks were allocated to the British Army. Reports of horrific conditions for wounded soldiers at the military hospital on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus, opposite Constantinople, brought Nightingale to prominence as a manager and trainer of nurses.

Arrival and Team. On 21 October 1854, Nightingale and a staff of 38 women volunteer nurses, including head nurse Eliza Roberts and aunt Mai Smith, were sent to the Ottoman Empire under the authorization of Sidney Herbert. They were accompanied by 15 Catholic nuns mobilized by Henry Edward Manning. Nightingale arrived at Selimiye Barracks in Scutari early in November 1854.

Conditions and Challenges. The barracks suffered from overcrowding, defective sewers, and lack of ventilation. These severe sanitary issues necessitated the dispatch of a Sanitary Commission by the British government to Scutari in March 1855, nearly six months after Nightingale's arrival. Head Nurse Eliza Roberts later nursed Nightingale through a critical illness in May 1855.