• The word fountain comes from the word “cesm” in Persian

• Fountain means “route” in Arabic. They are called fountains, as in old days people used to offer water to the passers for good.

• The first public fountain in Istanbul was built in 1946 by Şyhülislam Efdelzade Seyyid Hamidüddin Efendi and the last was built in 1896 by Nermidil Kalfa who was one of the ladies in the palace.

• The first bigger public fountain in Istanbul was built in 1452 by Fatih Sultan Mehmet while Rumelihisarı was being built.

• “Istanbul is the city of water” This is how people used to say in old days…They used to say it, not because Istanbul is surrounded by water, but because there used to be lots of public fountains in every neighborhood.

• Lots of streets in Istanbul have taken their names from these fountains (Acıçeşme Street in Tophane, Çobançeşme Street in Tarabya, Soğukçeşme Street in Gülhane etc..)

• Ottomans used to cure some illnesses by using the sound of birds and water.

• There are lots of idioms in Turkish about water.

- Su, başında kesilir.
- Su bulanmayınca durulmaz.
- Su testisi su yolunda kırılır.

• And also there are lots of songs about water and Istanbul… Our favourites are Istanbul’da – Teoman, Istanbul- Levent Yüksel

• Istanbul’s water used to be distributed from Taksim. This is the reason why that neighborhood is called Taksim.

• A special pipe “lüle” was used at public fountains if they didn’t have a tap.

• There used to be an occupation called “sakalık”. These people used to carry water from public fountains to people’s homes.

• Istanbul is established on a location to dominate the world. Those who have seen this city agrees on the idea that it is the most beautiful place on earth (Jean de Thevenot)