This presentation discusses an almost unknown topic for women’s history, the case of Kırmızı Kışla (The Red Barracks). Although this name evokes militaristic connotations, Kırmızı Kışla was actually a shelter for refugee women and their children who fled to Ottoman Istanbul in early 1890s from wars and other social turmoil. Since those women who found their ways in this shelter were almost unexceptionally widows, this institution was also called the Widow’s House (Dulhane). Despite the important function it fulfilled and its peculiarity, Kırmızı Kışla is completely absent in the secondary literature thus making it important to shed light to the presence of this institution in history. This institution, which was established in the last decade of the nineteenth century, targeted mainly the relief of emigrant widows and orphans; yet it also hosted destitute women and orphans of the capital. In this presentation after trying to reconstruct the everyday workings of this institution, I will specifically focus on the sanitary conditions and issues related with health. The sanitary conditions at the Widow’s house were very poor. There was almost no irrigation and as a result the women and their children were constantly exposed to microbes and contagious diseases. The food was always very scant and under-nutritious. The number of beds were not enough for the residents and many women had to sleep on bare floor. As a result of such conditions, there was a huge need for midwives and doctors. Since the institution had a very central location in the city, the unhealthy conditions were not only threatening the lives of the women being sheltered at the Widow’s House, but also the residents of the city in general, as well, according to the doctors. In this presentation, building upon this preliminary framework I will try to handle the case of Widow’s House to discuss the relationship between war, social medicine, and public health.