Fountains of Istanbul
Until the recent past no neighbourhood of Istanbul
was without its fountains, and if the districts outside the city walls and
the villages along the Bosphorus are included these numbered many
hundreds. Here local people obtained their drinking water, so at all times
of day groups of people were to be seen waiting their turn. The city had
several water systems, the largest being the Kirkcesme or Forty Fountains.
Piping water from springs and constructing fountains were regarded as
among the most honourable acts of charity, and no charge was made for
using the water. Since, like the mosque and coffee house, fountains served
as meeting places for local people, they played an important social role.
Here news and gossip were exchanged, and flirtations between young people
took root and flourished. The oldest fountain to which we can put a date
in the city is that next to Davut Pasa Mosque built in 1485 during the
reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512), and the loveliest is the Ahmed III
Fountain which stands before the Imperial Gate of Topkapi Palace on the
site of a former Byzantine fountain known as Géranion. This was built in
1728/29 by Mehmed Aga, chief architect to Ahmed III (1703-1730), whose
reign corresponds to a period known as the Tulip Era because of the
popularity of this flower in gardens and as a motif. The fountain is in
the form of a miniature pavilion roofed by a lead-covered central dome and
four smaller domes, which flare out into broad eaves. There are taps in
each of its four faces, and at each corner is a sebil, or kiosk where
drinking water was distributed in cups to passers-by. Encircling the
fountain is an inscription band in letters of gold on turquoise tiles.
This inscription is an ode by the poet Seyyit Vehbi praising the fountain
and comparing its water to that of the holy Zemzem well near the Kaaba in
Mecca. One of the loveliest fountains outside the city walls is Tophane
Fountain, built in Turkish rococo style in 1732, during the reign of
Mahmud I (1730-1754) by the architect Ahmed Aga. Originally this fountain
stood in the crowded square beside Tophane quay, but the shoreline here
was later filled in, so that it is now set back from the sea. Another
elegant fountain is Saliha Sultan Fountain in front of Sokollu Mehmed Pasa
Mosque which stands at the northern end of the Unkapani Bridge in Azapkapi
on the Golden Horn.
One day when Rabia Gulnus Valide Sultan, wife of
Mehmed IV (1648-1687) was passing through Azapkapi she saw a small girl
with a broken water jar weeping in front of a street fountain here. To
console the child she placed a coin in her hand, but the child explained
that she was crying not over the jar but because she would not be able to
take the water home. Rabia Gulnus was so touched by this reply that she
adopted the child and brought her up at the palace, devoting personal
attention to her manners and education. When the girl was old enough, she
married her to her son Mustafa II (1695-1703). Saliha Sultan resolved to
build a fine fountain worthy of her new position as royal wife in place of
the one where she had broken her water jar as a child. However, for some
reason this wish was not fulfilled until 1732/33 after her son Mahmud I
had acceded to the throne. He commissioned Mustafa Aga of Kayseri to build
a new and elaborately carved fountain in place of the old one, and had a
new water channel built connecting it to the Taksim line which was
supplied from Topuzlu Reservoir.It has been claimed that the unusual
feature of two large domes over this fountain were inspired by Saliha
Sultan's generous breasts.On the other side of the Bosphorus in Uskudar is
another fountain in the decorative style of this period. Uskudar Fountain
was constructed by Ahmed III in 1728/29, but this has been extensively
altered during repairs and renovations and lost much of its original
character. On the seaward face are lines of poetry by Nedim and other
famous poets of the time.Behind the small harbour in Kabatas facing
Uskudar on the European shore of the Bosphorus is the Vezir Hekimoglu Ali
Pasa Fountain dated 1732. This marble fountain is noted for its intricate
carving. Another magnificent fountain dating from the Tulip Era is the
Bereketzade Fountain near Galata Tower. Built in 1732 during the reign of
Mahmud I, this provided water for the inhabitants of Tophane and Kuledibi.
kely to come across old fountains, usually set into walls, but sometimes
in the form of freestanding structures. Numerous sebils and a few of the
decorative cascading fountains known as selsebils have also survived. The
latter were used in gardens or sometimes indoors, and were exquisite works
of art. What a pity it is that such fountains are no longer made to adorn
houses and gardens. We can only regret that such delightful features of
the past have been discarded so ruthlessly, instead of evolving them for
our pleasure today.
Eser Tutel is a researcher and writer
Source: Sky life 01/2001
|
