The Köprülü Library is in Istanbul's Eminönü district, along Divanyolu Street, across from the tomb of Sultan Mahmut II. Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha founded it in 1678, and the source calls it the first public library in the Middle East. It credits Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, his son, with building it on his father's last wish. Inscriptions show restorations in 1872 and 1911.
The building sits in a garden and is built of alternating stone and brick. A dome rests on an octagonal rim over a square plan with pendentives. The arcade has six marble pillars. The source calls it the first example of an independent library structure in Istanbul.
It holds 3,790 manuscripts in Turkish, Arabic and Persian, plus about 1,500 printed works.
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