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| Old çeşme, near Ayvansaray, 6 November 2011 |
Historically,
çeşme - fountains - played a central role in the public life of the city. In a time before indoor plumbing, the public provision of water was one of the central roles of the municipality (and also a common function of the
vakıflar, or pious foundations). The provision of indoor plumbing to the city rendered most of these fountains obsolete, and most have ceased to function. Walking by this one the other on the way to Eyüp, the graffiti scrawled on the wall caught my attention: "Su bile parayla. Her şey bedava olsun." Translated, "Even water costs money. Let everything be free."
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