A Research on Historical Fountains and Nigde Historical City Center Fountains

Year 2023, , 50 - 72, 27.01.2023

Filiz Karafakı

https://doi.org/10.35236/jots.1234650

Abstract

Throughout history, water has been one of the most valued resources for human beings, both as a source of life and with its visual beauty. All past societies gave great importance to water and developed different water structures such as wells, fountains and public fountains for its use. Among these structures, urban fountains are very important urban equipment because of their relationship with living spaces and the places where social communication takes place. The city of Niğde is an Anatolian city that has been under the domination of many great states from the Hittite to Rome, from the Anatolian Seljuk to the Ottoman Empire. These states have shown their influence on the traditional urban fabric as well as in the cultural life. There are many historical fountains from various periods in the city center of Niğde. The aim of this study; to emphasize the value of historical fountains for urban culture and to reveal how important it is to protect these fountains. The study also aimed to reveal the physical characteristics and cultural values of Niğde fountains from different periods. In this study, the typological features of the historical fountains in the city center of Niğde were revealed by quantitative measurement methods and a typological classification was made for these fountains. As a result of the study, the typological features of historical fountains were brought to the literature and the importance of these fountains for the city of Niğde, which is not very rich in terms of water resources, was emphasized.

Keywords

historical fountains, historical cities, Niğde fountains, Niğde historical city center

Tarihî Çeşmeler ve Niğde Tarihî Kent Merkezi Çeşmeleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Throughout history, water has been one of the most valued resources for human beings, both as a source of life and with its visual beauty. All past societies gave great importance to water and developed different water structures such as wells, fountains and public fountains for its use. Among these structures, urban fountains are very important urban equipment because of their relationship with living spaces and the places where social communication takes place. The city of Niğde is an Anatolian city that has been under the domination of many great states from the Hittite to Rome, from the Anatolian Seljuk to the Ottoman Empire. These states have shown their influence on the traditional urban fabric as well as in the cultural life. There are many historical fountains from various periods in the city center of Niğde. The aim of this study; to emphasize the value of historical fountains for urban culture and to reveal how important it is to protect these fountains. The study also aimed to reveal the physical characteristics and cultural values of Niğde fountains from different periods. In this study, the typological features of the historical fountains in the city center of Niğde were revealed by quantitative measurement methods and a typological classification was made for these fountains. As a result of the study, the typological features of historical fountains were brought to the literature and the importance of these fountains for the city of Niğde, which is not very rich in terms of water resources, was emphasized.

Keywords

historical fountains, historical cities, Niğde fountains, Niğde historical city center

References

• Açıkgöz, F. et al. (2016). Niğde Kültür Envanteri I. Niğde: Salmat Basın Yayıncılık Ambalaj Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti.
• Afonso MJ. et al. (2016). Environmental Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment in Urban Water Mines (Porto, NW Portugal). Water, 8(499), 1-23.
• Akşit, A. (2004). Niğde’nin Selçuklular Devrindeki Nüfusuna Dair. Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, 23(36), 1-5.
• Angelakis, A. N. & Spyridakis, S. V. (2013). Major Urban Water and Wastewater Systems in Minoan Crete, Hellas. Water Sci. Technol. Water Supply, 13, 564–573.
• Baezaa, J. et al. (2017). Dynamic Evaluation of a Historic Fountain under Blast Loading, Science Direct. Procedia Engineering, 199, 3308-3313.
• Bayraktar, A. et al. (2009). Modal Parameter Identification of Hagia Sophia Bell-Tower via Ambient Vibration Test. J. Nondestruct Eval, 28, 37–47.
• Bulut, Y. & Atabeyoğlu, Ö. (2007). Fountains as Urban Furniture in Historical Urban Structure and Usage Culture: Erzurum City Case. Building and Environment, 42(6), 2432-2438.
• Chanson, H. (1998). Le développement historique des cascades et fontaines en gradins. La Houille Blanche, 7(8), 76-84.
• Günay, Z. (2010). Neoliberal Kentleşme Dinamikleri Çerçevesinde Tarihi Çevrenin Sürdürülebilirliği: Sürdürülebilir Kentsel Koruma Modeli. İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi. Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü. Şehir ve Bölge Planlama Ana Bilim Dalı. İstanbul. (Yayımlanmamış Doktora Tezi).
• Gürer, Ö. L. (2011). Niğde Kapadokya’nın Başkenti I. İstanbul: Maya Basın Yayın.
• Hoekstra, A. Y. et al. (2018). Urban Water Security: A Review. Environmental Research Letters, 13(5), 1-14.
• Juuti P. S. et al. (2015). Short Global History of Fountains. Water, 7(5), 2314-2348.
• Kanetaki, E. (2004). Ottoman Baths in the Greek Territory; Technical Chamber of Greece. Athens, Greece.
• Kaptanoğlu, İ. Z. & Mıhçıoğlu Bilgi, E. (2019). Conservation of Historic Sarıyer District in Istanbul: Improving the Sustainability and Energy Efficiency of a Bosphorus Village. Megaron, 14(2), 296-307.
• Karafakı-Çetinkaya, F. (2015). Tarihî Coğrafya Çalışmaları Kapsamında Niğde Kenti Şekillenişi Üzerine Bir Araştırma. Journal of World of Turks, 7(3), 159-173.
• Koç, M. Ö. et al. (2008). Niğde Onbin Yıllık Hatıra I. Bursa: Özüaydın A.Ş.
• Mays, L. W. et al. (2007). A Brief History of Urban Water Supply in Antiquity. Water Sci. Technol. Water Supply, 7, 1-12.
• Ouest, S. (2006). Histoire des Jardins. Bordeaux: Librairie Mollat.
• Özdemir, İ. M. et al. (2008). The Elements of Forming Traditional Turkish Cities: Examination of Houses And Streets in Historical City of Erzurum. Building and Environment, 43, 963-982.
• Özkarcı, M. (2007). Niğde. In İslam Ansiklopedisi 33 (s. 33-97). Ankara: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi.
• Teomete, E. & Aktaş, E. (2010). Structural Analyses and Assessment of Historical Kamanlı Mosque in Izmir, Turkey. Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 24(4), 353-364.
• Yurttaş, H. & Özkan, H. (2002). Tarihî Erzurum Çeşmeleri ve Su Yolları I. Erzurum: Erzurum Büyükşehir Belediyesi Eski Genel Müdürlüğü.