Istanbul, Turkey
Coordinates: 41.008253, 28.981211
The Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III in Uskudar is an 18th-century public water fountain built by Ottoman sultan Ahmed III in the Ottoman rococo architecture and situated in the grand square of Uskudar in Istanbul, Turkey.
Sultan Ahmed III (reigned 1703–1730) commissioned the sebil, a public fountain to provide drinking water for travellers and running water for praying people’s ritual washing needs.
Completed in 1728–1729, within an era with great importance attached to the construction of many fountains.
Offering water to people is recommended in Islam. Obeying Hz. Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ order “Those who sinned the most should distribute water,” people who saved up even a little money used to found a public fountain built or bring water to drought towns in clay water pipes.
Almost each fountain is adorned with an inscription featuring lines from poems, all like a literature master. These inscriptions give details about the good deed of sharing water as well as information about the founder of the fountain and its story.
The inscriptions on the Sultan Ahmed Fountain says, “Turn on the water with the name of Allah and pray for Sultan Ahmed.
This is an 18th century Rococo style structure built by Sultan Ahmed III, which is located just outside the Topkapi Palace gates. Each corner has marble window grilles, which were used for dispensing iced water or sherbet during the Ottoman rule.
It underwent two major restorations. In the first one, during its relocation, the broken parts of the fountain were repaired or replaced. The second restoration took place in 1955, when the structure had to be elevated about 1.45 m (4.8 ft) to match the square’s ground level.
Most of the houses featured a cistern where well or rain water was collected. However, the water collected in these cisterns was only good for daily use.
The food was hung in these cisterns to keep them cool since there were no refrigerators back then.
It’s been also a meeting point of many locals since the location is quite significant. The architecture of the fountain is remarkable as it looks much more than a simple fountain. It will celebrate it’s 300th birthday in 2029.
