FROM TATAVLA TO KURTULUS |
Fountains and Hamam
FOUNTAINS
In Tatavla, as in every borough of Istanbul throughout history, street fountains connected to the Taksim water network were built in various periods. One of the largest and most grandiose of these was the fountain right in the middle of Old Tatavla, Çeşme Square, or Sefa Square, as it is now known. It was built in the very centre of the square in an octagonal shape with a tiled roof. It was commissioned by the mother of Sultan Selim III, Mihrişah Valide Sultan, and today the following lines can be read on this fountain whose waters no longer run . Shoddy restoration on the fountain was carried out in 1997.
Another important fountain is situated in Direkçibaşı Street. This fountain that has no inscription and no water is still lovely in spite of the ravages of time. It is probably a 19th century structure.
TURKISH BATH (Hamam)
The only Turkish baths in Tatavla are located on the slope of the hill facing Kasımpaşa between Fadıl Arif Çıkmazı and another cul de sac opening onto Kurtoğlu Street, according to the present day names of the streets in question. The baths were built in 1857 by one of the palace architects of Sultan Abdülmecit, Hacı Kostil. It is a small hamam with a single dome and 17 marble basins.
As it was known in those times that the yearly supply of wood required for a Turkish bath was equivalent to burning down an entire forest, and consequently it was difficult to get building permission for a new hamam at that time, the necessary permission was obtained on the promise that only lignite coal would be used. In Pervititch’s plan of Tatavla dated 1925 the name of the baths appears as Kiryakidis Hamam. Nowadays, it is known as Sefa Hamam.