THE MONUMENTS OF SULTAN ABDULHAMID II IN THE OTTOMAN REALMS: THE HAMIDIYE FOUNTAINS

Abstract

The Sultan Abdulhamid II Period witnessed intense development activities throughout the Ottoman geography. In particular, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the sultan's ascension has been the occasion for these events. During this period, the groundbreaking ceremony or opening of almost all kinds of architectural works were held, among them, there were many fountains. Some of these fountains are in the form of a monument, usually a fountain with a column in the middle. Some of these were built as a charity work of the sultan, and most of them were built by local people and administrations as ?memories of gratitude? on the occasion of the sultan's enthronement. These fountains, which contain some references in accordance with the architectural language of the period, are symbols that make the sultan visible in every part of the Ottoman geography as in other building examples. This visibility was provided by tughra, crest, and even inscriptions on monumental fountains. These examples, which can be defined as monuments in which the Ottoman architecture memory is foreign, have been handled by combining them with the fountain setup, which is a known, recognized, accepted, functional structure. These fountains are mostly multi-faced fountains built as part of a square. Although it generally reflects the styles of the period, there are also examples of local/regional features. In addition to their symbolic languages, these monuments are functional structures that serve as fountains and meet the water needs of the people, and this is their primary function in construction. However, the monument setup of these fountains appears much more prominent than their functionality. The examples from the Hamidiye fountains, which have been handled with the monument setup, are limited. In this article, examples from the Hamidiye fountains, which have been selected from different points of the Ottoman geography and have survived to the present day, are discussed. Being built in wide geography, extending from Adana to Kastamonu, from Beirut to Selanik (Thessaloniki), these fountains were evaluated in terms of their locations, architectural and ornamental features, monumental constructions and architectural languages/discourses.