The three-storey wooden and two- storey masonry buildings serving the Türkiye Research Foundation date back to the 16th century. According to the book Hadîkatü’l Cevâmi written by Hüseyin Ayvansarâyî (d. 1787), these buildings were commissioned by Fatma Sultan (d. 1553), daughter of Yavuz Sultan Selim, as a primary school. Fatma Sultan was the wife of Grand Vizier Kara Ahmed Pasha (d. 1555). Fatma Sultan’s other charitable work known today is the Fatma Sultan Mosque, a small 16th-century neighborhood mosque in Topkapı, Istanbul. Although there is not much information about Fatma Sultan’s life in the archives, it is possible to find some documents related to her charitable works, along with those of her husband, Grand Vizier Kara Ahmed Pasha.

A report compiled by an inspector affiliated with the Ministry of Education (Maarif Nezareti) between 1912 and 1914 noted that the school still had one brick and three wooden classrooms in use, as well as a dining hall and an annex. The primary school, which was used by the Halk Fırkası (People’s Party) for a period, has recently served as the Karagümrük Police Station. The primary school has been restored by the General Directorate of Foundations (Vakıflar Genel Müdürlüğü) and has been serving as the General Headquarters of the Türkiye Research Foundation since January 2023. The Türkiye Research Foundation is a think tank focused on Türkiye. Educational, research, and publishing activities are carried out within the foundation. Thus, the historical mission of the Fatma Sultan Sıbyan School as an educational and teaching institution has been revived and continues today.