This is one of the three grand Turkish buildings that were erected in the twenty years from 1890-1910, during the period of the great growth of the tobacco trade. It was built in 1909-1910, immediately after the granting of a Constitution in Turkey. It belonged to the Turkish community of Kavala and was used as a Turkish school. During the Balkan wars and until 1916, it was used as a Greek hospital. After the population exchange in 1922, it was registered as Greek public property and currently houses the 1st Junior High School of Kavala.
Western European engineers worked on its design and construction, applying neoclassical ideas of the era in combination with elements of Ottoman art.
