Sport activities for orphaned children from the Tanzimat era to the end of the early republican period

One of the problems to be solved in the Ottoman Empire was the problem of orphaned children. After the wars and migrations, the number of orphaned children increased day by day. Orphaned children living on the streets disrupted the order and functioning of society. Since the Tanzimat Period, efforts have been made to reintegrate orphaned children into society and these efforts continued until the end of the Early Republican Period. Physical education and sports were used to create a sense of belonging to the society for orphaned children. In this study, the concept of child is explained and the view of the society towards orphaned children in the Ottoman and Early Republican Periods is presented. Institutions, organizations and individuals such as Darülhayr-i Âli, Darülaceze, Darüşşafaka, Kızılay, which have sportive activities for orphaned children, are interpreted from a substantive perspective since they are part of the past history.