In 1863, Robert College was founded in Bebek by Christopher Robert, a wealthy American philanthropist, and Cyrus Hamlin, a missionary devoted to education. Six years after its foundation, with the permission () of the Ottoman Sultan, the first campus (the current-day South Campus) was built in Bebek at the ridge of the Rumelian Castle, very close to a Bektashi tekke, whose leaders maintained an excellent relationship with the Congregational and Presbyterian founders of Robert College, according to Dr. Friedrich Schrader, a German lecturer at Robert College during the 1890s. The first building of the school was named "Hamlin Hall" in memory of Cyrus Hamlin. In 1878, Christopher Robert died. According to the article "A Millionaire's Will," published in "The New York Times" (27 November 1878), Robert left a great portion of his wealth to the college.