The Final Flow: Istanbul's Fountains in Nineteenth-century European Narratives

This thesis explores how developments in hydraulic technology and mentalities in Europe and the Ottoman Empire affected European depictions of Istanbul’s water system, particularly the fountain. This study advances our understanding of how the fountain came to be recognized by the late nineteenth century primarily for its artistic merit, and decontextualized from its role in the greater water network of the city. By comparing and analysing early nineteenth-century travelogues and news articles on fountains and water-systems to those from later on in the century, within the greater context of water history, we can uncover how these narratives were driven not only by “orientalizing” tendencies, but also a new, more hygienic focused “hydromentality.” This contextualization of European narratives lies less in asserting their reliability as testimony to the changes in Istanbul’s water system, but rather how their writings were a reflection of the changing attitudes and predilections of Europeans.M.A