The Potential of Istanbul’s Water Heritage for Current and Future Water-Related Challenges

What is it about?

My paper focuses on both the history and remains of Istanbul's water supply system. When Emperor Constantine chose to establish the city named after him, Constantinople, on a well defendable peninsula at a crossroads of important trade routes, the choice turned out to be less fortunate from the point of view of water supply, because the city lacked fresh water. As I will show the dependence on the supply of fresh water from outside the city was and still is decisive and characteristic of water management at this location. A system consisting of channels, bridges and tunnels that carried water through the landscape, totalling more than 400 km, was constructed in the fourth and fifth centuries. I will show how this system had to be adapted over the centuries to changing conditions, including droughts, hostile attacks, and fluctuating population numbers, and how it was revitalized and restored by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II after the conquest of Byzantine Constantinople in 1453. In modern Istanbul, remnants of this impressive water supply system can still be seen of which the so-called Valens Aqueduct, the 971-meter-long aqueduct bridge dating back to the fourth century, is the most important. I will argue that this monument, representing centuries of multi-layered history of urban water supply, is an ideal showcase to tackle the challenges of developing a greater awareness of the precious value of water and to restore the relationship between water and heritage.

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Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash

Photo by Raimond Klavins on Unsplash