Dokuz Çeşmeler, built in honor of the visit of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz to Izmir and Buca in 1863, have the distinction of being the first square in Buca. Buca Dokuz Çeşmeler, has an architecture consisting of octagonal lines, although it is not used functionally today, we can understand its importance from the name of the Dokuz Çeşmeler Square and location that it gave to Buca. The fact that the inscription of the Dokuz Çeşmeler, each facade of which is animated by deaf arches, was painted with lime in time, makes it difficult to confirm some information today.
Dokuz Çeşmeler built in his honor in Buca, where Sultan Abdulaziz’s return to Cairo came at the invitation of Levantine families, still remain the main subject of many stories.
The main purpose of the horse races that both Buca and the most powerful families of the empire gave in honor of Sultan Abdulaziz was to provide Sultan Abdulaziz with a railway connection between Paradiso (Şirinyer) and Buca. Considering that the railways did not exist in the country about 2 centuries ago, it would not be wrong to say that these demands were advanced compared to the period. As a matter of fact, Rees and Forbes families built the Şirinyer-Buca railway with their own means after a while, making a great contribution to Buca with the line that is still active today.
Dokuz Çeşmeler consisting of nine fountains with octagonal lines, built in 1863, also known as the Kubbeli Fountain, have been named after the square for about 2 centuries, although thousands of people who pass by it every day are unaware of this date of the fountain.
The Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz’s visit to Paradiso and Buca is described in L. Gardey’s book* as follows:
”On Friday, the Sultan, together with his entourage, went to the Hisar Mosque and prayed. Hearing this, a large crowd, therefore, had already filled the vicinity of the mosque and the roads along which the Sultan was to pass. After leaving the mosque, we passed through the Turkish and Armenian neighborhoods and the Caravan Bridge and went to a place worthy of crowning our pleasures under the bright sun of Ionia. This was a place known as ’The Great Paradise- Le Grand Paradis- Paradiso’.
Here, a large crowd supporting the Jockey Club applauded the Sultan, who, with his most cordial demonstrations, wanted to lead such useful organizations. Later, various equestrian shows were watched with great interest and were completed with great success. Among the winners of the race, the name of one of the Whittalls was also announced. The honor award was given to Count Bentivoglio d’Aragon, President of the Jockey Club and French Consul, who made every effort to host this famous guest of which İzmir is proud.
Meanwhile, the Sultan conveyed his satisfaction by inviting the count to his tent and presented one of his Arabian horses to the count. After the races, the Sultan went to Buca and rested for a while in the villa of M. Baltazzi (Baltacı).
* L. Gardey, “Voyage du Sultan Abd- ul- aziz, de Stamboul au Caire”
Where is Dokuz Çeşmeler? 📍
Address: Adatepe Neighborhood , Park İçi Way , 35400 Buca , İzmir
How to get to Dokuz Çeşmeler ? 🚖
🚌 Bus: It can be reached to Dokuz Çeşmeler after a 3-minute walk by getting off at Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences bus stop numbered 40065 with ESHOT buses numbered 104, 176, 177, 470, 490, 940, 353, 515 and 878.
