ONCE THERE WERE STREAMS IN BUCA - Atalarımızın Toprakları

Due to today's rapid urbanization, many settlements have lost their waterways. The once streams and streams have turned into smelly water channels, have been connected to sewers, and have even been covered over and built into roads. In Turkey, the river passing through almost any settlement with a population exceeding 50,000 fails to achieve cleanliness. Due to the influence of human beings, almost all of them face pollution in some way.

Although the Aegean Region is not a water-rich region of Turkey, it was not poor at all with the water resources it had in the past. Rivers such as Gediz, Bakırçay and Meles, especially Küçük Menderes and Büyük Menderes rivers, gave life to the communities living in the Aegean Region. Large places such as Karşıyaka, Bornova and Buca in Izmir city center and its surroundings have come to life throughout history with Meles, Halkapınar, Gediz and the branches of these rivers. With the wave of migration from East to West that developed after the 1970s, it was observed that the rivers began to become polluted and dry over time. To this end, the administrations took measures not to protect the rivers, but to destroy them, and as a result, the rivers of the Aegean either dried up or turned into sewage. Today, even the large rivers of the Aegean Region are in moribund state. If necessary precautions are not taken due to climate changes and increasing population, it is obvious that the Aegean Region will experience serious water shortages in the future.

In the past, one of the richest regions of Izmir in terms of water resources was Buca, Şirinyer and its surroundings. Although it is hard to believe today, in the past Buca met Izmir's water needs. The streams coming from the northern, eastern and southern hills of Buca and the Nif Mountain fed the Buca Plain, called Kambos by the Greeks, making Buca a place worth seeing. That's why the Greeks called the village of Paradiso (now Şirinyer), on the east side of the Holy Hanne/Aya Anna (now Yeşildere) Valley, just ahead of Buca, "Paradiso", meaning heaven. The Levantines also adopted this name and continued to use the name Paradise, which means Paradise or Paradis in their own language. Unfortunately, none of these streams remain today. When Kambos, or Buca Plain, was covered with a concrete cover due to urbanization, the streams initially decreased, then dried up or started to smell bad due to pollution, and finally, the idea of closing the streams and building roads over them was adopted as a solution.

Let's start with the rivers passing through Buca or surrounding it. Some of these rivers passed through Buca, some passed very close to it, and some were conveyed to Buca village through canals. It should also be noted that, while explaining, we will make an evaluation by taking into account the old Buca, which preserved its village appearance until the 1950s, not the urbanized Buca today. Otherwise, it does not seem possible to determine the location of the streams through the Buca district, where there is almost no place where concrete has not been poured. After stating its old location, we will determine its current location, and if its exact location is not known, we will give its estimated location.

It is known that many large and small waterways from the hills north of Buca irrigated the Buca Plain in the past. If we start from the hills in the northwest of Buca, we can talk about three main waterways. One of these was the waterway coming from an area a little higher than Tıngırtepe and also known as "gravelly stream" by the people of Buca. The waters flowing from this valley are connected to another stream coming from the south of Şahin Hill and 188. sk. It merges around 188. sk. It reached where the 190th street is today, and from there it reached the 120th street via the 118th street, and then irrigated the Buca Plain. This stream bed was closed and a road was built during the periods when Menderes District was opened to settlement. Additionally, there was another waterway connecting with this waterway. At the northwest point of Tıngırtepe, a waterway coming from the north of Şahin hill was flowing downwards, joining the other waterway at a point where the 190th street is today.

The second of the waterways coming from the northwest of Buca was the waterway originating from the south of Şahin Hill and probably forming Seyfi Demirsoy Street today. Let us remind you that two more small waterways are included in this waterway. Probably 917. sk today. and 893. sk. The waterways around were included in the stream here.

The last waterway that irrigates the Buca Plain from the northwestern hills of Buca is the waterway located further west, whose main line forms today's 302nd street. The source of this waterway is in a region around today's Ufuk District in the north of Buca. There was an aqueduct known today as Yıkıkkemer on this waterway, and it probably conveyed the water coming from Karapınar to the Vezirağa aqueduct. After the Workers' Houses were built around it in 1953 and then the Buca Prison in 1959, there was a decrease in its water supply. In later periods, it was covered and turned into a road.

It is not known which of the three rivers mentioned above reach Menderes Street and what they are used for, but considering that Hacıantoni's tower is parallel to these waterways, it can be said that these waterways are probably used by the local people for viticulture and the cultivation of various products.

One of the rivers that were active in the past in the north of Buca is an old stream that originates from the region north of Evka, where the Provincial Gendarmerie Command is located today, and moves towards the Yaylacık neighborhood. It can be said that there is a stream that ends in the north of Yaylacık neighborhood in the form of five branches, two large and three small. The westernmost of the five branches is a small branch and is located slightly north of Tıngırtepe. The stream that forms the largest branch to the east of it is adjacent to the park called Deniz Gören Park today and is 1060/1 sk. with 1311 sk. It is the valley between. The second of the major rivers was the stream flowing from the valley known today as Yedigöller, further east. Although it is not possible to determine the exact location of the two small streams further east, we can guess that they are around today's Uzbekistan Street.

İlk Kemerli Stream, located in the northeast of Buca, is one of the rare Buca streams that has largely preserved its traces today. It had two main branches. The first was the valley in the west, where Buca Arena, which is Bucaspor's stadium today, is located. The second was the valley in the east, where the Barış Manço Forest is located today. The source places of both branches are the hills located to the east of the Provincial Gendarmerie Command and facing Bornova. The two branches were uniting in the northeast of Buca Adatepe District. A little further below the point where they meet, it passed under the Kemer Bridge and flowed into a water well in the northwest of Hasanağa Garden. Today, there is ESHOT Bus Garage where the arch is located.

There was a second stream located in the northeast of Buca, over which the aqueduct passed, and can be called the Second Kemerli Stream. This stream had two main branches, and both of them were born above the valley just east of the valley called Barış Manço Forest in Buca. They descend parallel to each other from the forest area here and shortly after passing the Second Kemer Bridge, they unite where the pine forest is located just northeast of the Old Buca Cemetery today, and shortly after they merge, they reach the eastern side of Hasanağa Garden.

One of the two streams whose traces are best preserved today is undoubtedly the Armutlu stream coming from Tınaztepe. Today, when you go up to DEÜ Tınaztepe Campus and look at the valley below from the north, it is still possible to see the traces of the waterway. Armutlu stream consisted of two branches coming from the hills in the east. The southern one was flowing right next to today's DEU Tınaztepe Campus and had a source where the General Directorate of Highways is located today. The source of the northern branch was a little further north and was formed by the merger of two large waterways. The two branches descended parallel to the south and converged just southwest of Tınaztepe, in the area where KYK Student Dormitory is located today. There was also an aqueduct in the same place. After the Armutlu stream merges and passes the aqueduct, it passes through the 63rd street in the south of Hasanağa Garden in the past and moves towards the west, from here onwards, respectively, 221, 223, 257/2, Uğur Mumcu Street and finally after passing the 272nd street, south of the Hippodrome. and it passed under the railway and flowed into Meles Stream. The Greeks called this stream Buca stream. It is said that this stream started to become polluted after the 1960s. There were even fish in the stream. Then sewage water was directed here and the stream started to get polluted. Then the water from the blanket factory started to flow here. Recently, the stream has started to flow in colors such as blue and red. Finally, instead of solving the main problem, they covered the stream and turned the stream bed into a road.

The Kangöl spring, located in the southeastern countryside of Buca, in the mountainous area on the southern part of the highway, is a stream source that met the water supply of Buca in the past and still continues to flow, albeit to a small extent, today. It continues to be used as a recreation area today. According to German researcher Georg Weber, the water from the Kangöl source started to be delivered to Buca village through a water line built in 1847. Kangöl water passed through a tunnel and at least four small aqueducts until it reached Buca. There were many waterways supplying water to the Kangöl spring. Some of them came from the area where Yeni Buca Cemetery was established, some from the area where today's Zafer District is located, and some from the forest area to the south of the Kangölü source. Since Kang Lake is located in a forested and mountainous area and is supported by many waterways, its water still flows to this day, but it is much less than in the past. In the past, the Kangöl source provided water to three points on its own. The first of these was the waterway that went to the center of Buca through pipes. The second was the waterway that headed north, descended to the southern countryside of the Buca Plain, and continued upwards from there, feeding the spring located in today's Kozağaç District. This source later turned towards the west and merged with the Armutlu Stream coming from Tınaztepe in the south of the Hippodrome and then emptied into the Meles Stream. The third feeding point was the Koşu Spring, which proceeded through Kozağaç and then proceeded through the meadows southwest of the Hippodrome, meeting the Armutlu stream, the spring in the Kozağaç neighborhood and the Kozağaç spring. From here the stream flowed into Meles Stream. This was the main bed of the Kangöl spring and probably the reason why it was called Kozağaç stream was that it passed through Kozağaç and descended to the Buca Plain. Kozağaç stream and Kozağaç spring are different and should not be confused. Although it is called Kozağaç stream by the Greeks, it is today known as Manavur stream by the people of Buca.

The source in the Kozağaç neighborhood mentioned above was supported by two sources. The first of these was the Kangöl source, as described above. The second was a small waterway coming from the east. This waterway came from the hill where DEÜ Tınaztepe Campus is located today.

The most important source providing water to Buca from the south was the Kozağaç source. Today, we can say that the location of this source is the hilly area above the highway, opposite Buca Anatolian High School. Although the Kozağaç spring is not well known today, it actually had a great reputation in the past. It is known that Atatürk also came here and had a picnic. The Kozağaç spring originates from this point and rises from the southern countryside of Buca, first uniting with the Kozağaç stream in the southwest of Giraud's Farm and rising further, reaching the Koşu Spring in the south of the Hippodrome (today, where Koşuyolu Street meets 272nd street). point) and from there it turned west and flowed into the Meles Stream. According to Georg Weber, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Kozağaç spring was used only for agricultural purposes.

If we come to the location located in the west of Buca and called Paradiso (now Şirinyer) at that time, we see that there are two large water sources here. These two springs in Paradiso were so productive that the water resources in Paradiso also met the water needs of the city of Izmir.

Georg Weber, a member of the Weber family who also lived in Buca, gives very important information about the water resources in Paradiso and their functioning in his German work titled "Wasserleitungen von Smyrna", published in 1899. The first of the two water sources in Paradiso was Osmanağa Spring. Osmanağa water, which originates from the point where Şirinyer Park is today, moves west, passes where Şirinyer Pazaryeri is, passes where today's 569th street is and the land that belonged to a Turk in the past, continues through the American College land and finally reaches the three-storey Roman It reached the aqueduct. At that time, the aqueduct was called Osmanağa aqueduct due to its source. Georg Weber also stated that Osmanağa water passes through a bridge under the Osmanağa aqueduct, passes to the western shore of the Meles Stream, and from there heads towards Izmir. It is understood that the bridge Georg Weber mentions here is an old stone bridge located 60-70 meters north of the three-storey Roman aqueduct. According to Weber, Osmanağa water was carried across this stone bridge through earthen pipes. Weber states that this bridge collapsed four years ago, in 1895. It is known that the Kızılçullu Bridge was built afterwards. The Osmanağa water source was conveyed to both the Roman aqueduct and the Ottoman period aqueduct, which was built later just to the south. When sediments accumulated in the waterway passing over the three-storey aqueduct from the Roman Period and could not be cleaned, a second aqueduct was built at a narrow point just to the south. In fact, it is known that there was a third aqueduct further south, but we can guess that this aqueduct was destroyed in the early 1800s. It is unknown why it was demolished. In his own words, Weber refers to Osmanağa water as "the source just south of the train station, which receives its water from the large and small Paradiso on the Buca plain." It is not clear what is meant by the small and large Paradiso. Osmanağa water was kept in an open and polygonal pool on land belonging to the Turks (today Şirinyer Park). A canal covered with stone slabs carried water from a depth of 1.5 meters under the fields and under the railway to the aqueduct. According to Georg Weber, the Osmanağa waterway had been in use since the Byzantine period.

From Georg Weber's book, it is understood that the water of the Vezirsuyu aqueduct comes from the Osmanağa source. It was written that the spring water was used as a well by the villagers at some points. The spring water was directed to the west through pipes, turned to the north just before reaching the Meles Stream, and from a point slightly above the Vezirağa (Vezirsuyu) aqueduct, it was carried to the west bank of the Meles Stream through earthen pipes and headed towards Izmir. Georg Weber also wrote that he found some earthen pipes near the Monastery of the Prophet Elijah. This shows that in the past, different points of Yeşildere may have been used to cross Vezirsuyu. Georg Weber also states that soil pipes were discovered in a road improvement work carried out in the spring of 1898, and that in the past, Vezirsuyu was passed to Izmir through high pressure through the pipes passing through the bottom of the Meles Stream. It should also be noted that Vezirsuyu is an older line than Osmanağa water. It is understood that in 1899, when Georg Weber wrote his book, the Vezirsuyu line was already out of use and the Osmanağa water line was in use. The reason why the Vezirsuyu line is out of use is unknown.

It is understood that a second water source originating from Paradiso, further south, originates from a point just north of today's Şirinyer Hippodrome, around 506th street, or from the point where the Buca Municipality Wedding Hall is located. Weber also wrote in his book that there was a second source very close to the Osmanağa source and that the water coming out of this source proceeded in the form of a stream parallel to the railway line and reached the aqueducts and operated the water mills near the aqueducts. It is understood that the source he is talking about here is the Vezirsuyu source, which shows that the source has not dried up, only the water line has been disabled. It is also known that this line reached Kadifekale in the past.

After counting all the water resources in the Buca Plain, it was of course necessary to finish with the largest stream adjacent to Buca, whose Greek name is Meles and also called Kızılçullu Stream by the Turks. Before the Byzantines and later the Ottomans built two huge aqueducts to cross the Meles Stream. Meles Stream has many branches and its main branch, supported by many waterways from the Gaziemir hills in the south, gets stronger and comes towards Izmir. Afterwards, it is supported by the streams coming from Karabağlar and Kozağaç and is supported by the Kangölü source before reaching the aqueducts. It is supported by Osmanağa and Vezirsuyu springs, adjacent to the Kızılçullu aqueducts, and then heads towards İzmir, where it meets the İzmir Bay. A foreign traveler named Chandler states that the Meles Stream divides into many channels at the point where it reaches Izmir. It is understood from here that the tea water is used for agriculture by the city residents. In the Izmir city guide published in 1900, it mentions vineyards and gardens and a few water mills around the Aya Anna Valley (today Yeşildere), where the Meles Stream passes, and near the aqueducts. There is no hint that Meles Stream was used for agriculture by the villagers in Paradiso. Such a possibility seems low due to the abundance of water resources in Paradiso. It is also known that there are two water mills at the point where the Kızılçullu aqueducts are located. The water mills here benefited from Vezirsuyu and Osmanağa water as well as Meles Stream. It is known that an artificial water channel was opened on the right side of the Ottoman aqueduct in the south and the water mill below rotated with the water of this canal. The villagers living at that time were probably also benefiting from this artificial waterway. An artificial waterfall was formed behind the two-storey Ottoman aqueduct. In the book titled "A Knight Errant in Turkey" dated 1908, it is written that Turks spent time around this waterfall. It is estimated that this artificial waterfall was a water dam built at that time to slow down the Meles Stream in order to send water to the artificial water channel. It can be seen in old photographs that there is another water dam just to the south. It is not known whether any of these two aqueducts are the remains of a third aqueduct that was destroyed in the past.

Once again, it is understood that the Buca Plain was a very productive plain in terms of water resources in the past. Its waters were first used hundreds of years ago by the Byzantines to bring them to Izmir. It is stated by the elderly people of Buca that the water resources continued to flow in a healthy way until the 1950s. With the subsequent waves of migration, the village of Buca began to urbanize and naturally, the water resources that supported Buca's population of 10,000 people could no longer support hundreds of thousands. This situation once again shows how carefully city planning must be done. Buca Plain, where streams once flowed, now lives only in memories.

Additional Maps: Buca's rivers in the past, 1925 Buca map

Note: While preparing this article, old Buca maps in various languages were examined, older Buca residents were consulted, texts from various sources were used, and a field survey was conducted in today's Buca.