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Selimiye Barracks is a Turkish Army barracks on the Asian side of Istanbul. It was originally built in 1800 by Sultan Selim III for the soldiers of the newly established Nizam-ı Cedid (literally 'New Order') within the framework of the Ottoman military reform efforts. Today, it serves as the headquarters of the First Army of Turkish Land Forces.
The original wooden barracks was designed by Krikor Balyan but was burnt down in 1806 by rebel Janissaries, who were resisting the sultan's reforms. Sultan Mahmud II commissioned the rebuilding of the barracks in stone in 1825 and the work was completed in 1828. During the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I, the barracks were renovated twice, first in 1842-43 and again in 1849–50. During this process, a tower seven stories in height was added to each of the four corners, giving the barracks its current appearance. The barracks is a vast rectangular building measuring 200 m × 267 m with a large parade ground in the centre. Three of the wings have three floors but the eastern wing only has two floors due to the sloping terrain.
During the Crimean War (1854–56), the barracks were allocated to the British Army, which was on its way from Britain to the Crimea. After the troops of its 33rd and 41st foot regiments left for the front, the barracks was converted into a temporary military hospital.
On 4 November 1854, Florence Nightingale arrived in Scutari with 37 volunteer nurses. They cared for thousands of wounded and infected soldiers until she returned home in 1857 as a heroine.
During the war around 6,000 soldiers died in the Selimiye Barracks, mostly as the result of a cholera epidemic. The dead were buried at a plot near the barracks, which later became the Haydarpaşa Cemetery.
Today, the northernmost tower of the barracks houses a small museum partly in memory of Nightingale.
References:The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.
The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.
Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.