[ELECTROTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY HOSPITAL ESTABLISHED IN CAIRO] Maison de Sante du Dr. Hamed Chaker Bey, Le Caire
DR. HAMID SAKIR.
Cairo, [c. 1912].
Original red stapled wrappers. Oblong foolscap 8vo. (12 x 15 cm). In French and Arabic. [44] p., 21 b/w photographic plates. Slight soiling on the covers, wear to the spine, and weak hinges of the front cover. Else good copy.
An exceedingly rare and unrecorded, richly illustrated and undated catalogue of Dr. Hamid Şakir’s private electrotherapy and radiotherapy hospital, published in Cairo between 1907 and 1915, after he deserted his post and fled to Egypt following his assignment to the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 (commonly referred to in Ottoman usage as the “’93 Harbi”).
In the album, the medical services provided at the private hospital including “the complete installation for general surgery, electrotherapy, and radiology (ordinary and intensive X-ray), with a chemical and microscopic research laboratory”, founded by Şakir in Cairo are presented through rich visual material; the images include the medical equipment used in electrotherapy and radiotherapy, hospital staff, the services offered, and information about the hospital’s location.
Very little is known about the biography of Dr. Hamid Şakir Bey, who was Egyptian and whose family and relatives were most likely based in Cairo. Immediately after receiving his diploma from the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane at the beginning of AH 1312 / CE 1897, he was assigned to serve under the Third Army stationed in Thessaloniki during the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ('93 Harbi), which broke out the same year. Instead of proceeding to his post, Dr. Hamid Şakir Bey went to Kavala and from there fled to Alexandria.
Ottoman archival documents indicate that in the early 1900s, Dr. Hamid Şakir Bey was on the island of Thasos, where he had been unofficially appointed as a physician by the Khedivate of Egypt. These records state that his medical diploma was to be annulled, his military rank revoked, and that he was to be arrested. While on Thasos, Dr. Hamid Şakir Bey became aware of this situation and, anticipating arrest, returned to Cairo to stay with his relatives.
After returning to Cairo, he established a private hospital named "Sağlık Yurdu" [i.e., Health Home], where he practiced electrotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical treatments. In this promotional catalogue, he emphasized that he had completed his specialization under the renowned surgeon Op. Dr. Cemil Topuzlu (1866-1958), a prominent faculty member of the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane.
The catalogue bears no imprint or date, but it is estimated to have been printed between 1907 and 1915.
As of January 2026, we couldn’t trace any copies worldwide.