MİHRİŞAH VÂLİDE SULTAN SU BENDİ
Mihrişah Vâlide Sultan Water Bend

Summary/Abstract: As water is all the life source of living, it is also a crucial element of the history of civilisation. Because of this, the development of water facilities throughout the history provides important clues about the state of the level of civilisation. Although old Istanbul, which is a historic peninsula is surrounded by water on three sides, it is not a lucky city in terms of drinking water. As a consequence, not having enough drinking water has been a problem in every period of history. The Ottoman Empire had found a solution by setting dam that is named “bend” in front of rivers and streams to slow or prevent the rapid run-on of irrigation water so that water is accumulated and distributed to fountains and kiosks (which were built for the dispensing of free drinking water.) in different points of the city by transmission lines. The dam which were built by the Ottoman Empire and still standing in our time were built mainly by Sultans of the Ottoman Empire and their family members as a wakf instuition in order to gain reward from God. Sultan III. Selim’s mother, Mihrişah Vâlide Sultan was one of those family members who had a “bend” built in Istanbul, Sariyer by using her own budget in order to gain reward from God. This bend was later to be called with her name; Mihrişah Vâlide Sultan Water “Bend”.

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