Water is the essence of life. Water is life. In the ancient civilizations, Water was the essence of life. Today, water is still very important for us. Water had been the very first subject of philosophy, science, literature and art throughout the history.

In our project, we’ll examine the fountains of Istanbul. Istanbul which is surrounded by three different seas, had always suffered from a shortage of water throughout history.

In Istanbul the history of the oldest water architecture goes back to the Roman Period. Romans built magnificent water canals and other architectures. This shows us that the Romans had great information about water canals and architectures.

The Romans succeeded in bringing water to Istanbul for the first time in the city’s history in the 2nd Century AD, using water canals like Bozdogan Aqueduct. Most of the canals and aqueducts of the Roman Period were damaged after the 7th Century during the civil war. Thus, the need for water was achieved through the underground cisterns and local wells. Also during Roman and Byzantium Periods it is known that many of the wealthy families had their own fountains and wells in their gardens. But only a few of them still remain.

The Ottomans took over the heritage of the Romans and Byzantiums and built new architectures. After Mehmet II (also known as the Conqueror) conquered Istanbul, some of the Roman canals and fountains were renovated and some new ones were built. And during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent many new fountains and canals were built.