Pharmacie Hamdi | Eczane-i Hamdi

Ahmet Hamdi Bey (b. - d. 1909 Istanbul)

Mavi Boncuk |

One of the first Moslem owned [1] pharmacies was Eczane-i Hamdi, [2] (1890) opened by the head pharmacist of  Haseki Hospital[3] Ahmet Hamdi Bey at Zeyrek. Moved to Vezneciler [4] (1895) and started to manufacture preperations such as  Kola Hamdi, Elixir digestif, Kéfir, Liqueur de goudron (AR قَطْران — qaṭrān) , Dermophile, Sirop iodotannique phosphaté being the most well known[5]. His last location was a large Pharmacy at Şehzadebaşi, under Letafet apartmant. (pictured below)

[1] At the beginning of the 1800s, almost all pharmacies in Istanbul belonged to Christian minorities. Minorities’ pharmacies served the Ottoman people for many years. One of them was Nicolas Apéry’s Pharmacy which opened in 1831. Also his son Pierre Apéry opened his own pharmacy in 1874 named as “Büyük Eczane (Grand Pharmacie)”. 

[2] Pharmacie Hamdi (Hamdi Eczanesi) - Rue Veznedjiler (Vezneciler Caddesi)
Pharmacie Hamdi - Oun Kapan Rue Zeirek (Unkapanı Zeyrek Caddesi) 

Not to be mixed with Ahmet Hamdi (Hacı) Bey who operated a pharmacy at şehzadebaşı.

 

[3] His mother Züheyla Hanım was a midwife/accoucheuse at Haseki Hospital.Due to this fact he was also known as Ebezade” or “Ebe Zilha Hanım’ın Oğlu".

[4] “Eczahane-i Hamdi, uzun zamandan beri Zeyrek Camii karşısında olan eczahanemiz bu defa Vezneciler’de Kuyucu Murat Paşla Medresesi karşısındaki dükkana nakledilmiştir.” Ikdam Newspaper Announcement

[5] In the first years of 1800s, Ottoman Pharmacies were selling only two ready-made drugs: 1- Tiryak (Thériaque) 2- Melisa Ruhu (Esprite de Mélisse). And in those years ready-made drugs were first produced in Istanbul at “English Pharmacy”.(Pharmacie Britannique)(1883), whose owner was Noël Canzuch
(and after him his son Joseph) who pioneered in the local production of ready-made drugs. 

 (pictured Ethem Pertev)
Pharmacists such as Besir Kemal, and Ethem Pertev can be listed among the later producers. These were simple preparations that do not
need a complex technology (i.e. Energy supplying syrup, scar ointment, analgesics, corn drug, laxative, anticonstipation drug).