The Esma Sultan Fountain

The Esma Sultan Fountain

The Esma Sultan Fountain and its namazgah (an open-air prayer terrace constructed for the use both of travellers on caravan routes and for visitors to the outskirts of cities) were built by Esma Sultan, a daughter of Sultan Ahmet III (1673-1736), in Kadırga Square in 1781. It has four water faucets with marble basins undeneath whichlocated on each side of the fountain and in order to step up onto the namazgah, there is a marble staircase on the lateral facade. There are three faucets located on the northern side and an additional one on each of the other sides of this historical fountain. The faucets fitted on opposite sides of the fountain with rectangular parallelepiped blocks are decorated with S and C curves, adding an artistic aesthetic to the fountain. Decorated niche pendentives having a rectangular panel board in which an inscription of six verses are form the surface of board. This inscription indicates the construction date of the fountain. There are two basins placed on buttresses which are built in a reverse bell-shaped style on both the northern and western corners of the fountain. There is also a watering hole with three divisions on the southern corner. The namazgâh platform, whose prayer terrace was constructed on top of the fountain itself, is accessible by a staircase on the northern side of the fountain and has a special importance in terms of showing the importance of cleanliness in Islamic culture.