Dokuzçeşmeler's inscription was read, historical mistake corrected
- Dokuzçeşmeler's inscription was read, historical mistake corrected -
A misconception about Dokuzçeşmeler, which gave its name to Dokuzçeşmeler Square, the oldest square in Buca, was corrected many years later by reading the inscription on it.
The historical fountain, which remained neglected for many years, was restored in recent years and the inscription on it was made readable with the restoration. For many years, no detailed information about Dokuzçeşmeler was available because the inscription on it was unread.
The only known information about Dokuzçeşmeler is that it was built in honor of Sultan Abdülaziz's visit to Buca in 1863. However, there were no sources on this subject. After reading the inscription, it turned out that the information that the fountain was built in the 1860s was just a rumor spread from word to mouth.
- Dokuzçeşmeler is much older than thought -
Necessary cleaning was done so that the inscription in Dokuzçeşmeler could be read, and the inscription was photographed by Cemal Çetin. Then, it was translated from the Ottoman alphabet to the Latin alphabet by Mustafa Üzel. After reading the inscription, important information about Buca was obtained.
It was understood that the fountain, which was thought to have been built in honor of the visit of Sultan Abdülaziz in 1863, was approximately 80 years older than previously thought. Thus, it was revealed that the fountain had nothing to do with the sultan's visit and that this information was entirely an urban legend.
From the inscription, it is understood that Dokuzçeşmeler was built by Boyacıoğlu Hacı İbrahim from İzmir in 1783 or 1784 and that the waterway leading to the fountain was also built or renovated by the same person.
The question of which waterway is coming to Dokuzçeşmeler and whether the water comes from Springs or Kangöl remains unclear. It was estimated that the water in the fountains came from the Kangöl spring, but considering that the Kangöl waterway was created in the 1840s, the possibility that the spring water was somehow directed to the Buca village prevails.
- Were there Turks before the Greeks -
This discovery, which sheds important light on the history of Buca, shows that Buca, known as a Greek village in the Ottoman Period, may have been first founded by the Turks, contrary to popular belief. Feyyaz Erpi states that the first major migrations to Buca were made by Greeks after the Orlov Rebellion (an uprising in Mora against the Ottomans in 1770). The existence of a settlement named Buca dates back to the French Consulate records in 1688. Although it is not clear whether the people who built the fountain were from Buca or not, the fact that Dokuzçeşmeler was built by a Turk shows that the settlement may have been founded by Turks before the Greeks settled in Buca in the 18th century. Dokuzçeşmeler is also the oldest historical building belonging to the Turks in Buca.
- Content of the inscription -
The Old Turkish content of the inscription, which is one of the oldest written sources about Buca with its history of approximately 240 years, is as follows:
''Hamdullah akıtdı maî mecrâyı bu cana Sebeb olan şu İzmirde Boyacı Hacı İsmail Anı kevser-i mükâfâtın ide ol rabbü’l-Celil İki âlemde yardımcı ola ol rabbü’l-Halil Yoluna çeşmenin harc itdi sim ü altun derâhim İdub su yolların tamir ve termimine reh Anın ruhu içün yaptı Buca köyünde bir sebil Hak teala lütuf edub aynen fiha tusemmâselsebîl Dahi banisine olsun Hazret-i Ali delil Ya kimdir bânîsi dersen Boyacı oğlu Hacı İbrahimFi sene 1198/1783-4”
Photograph: Cemal Çetin
Translation: Mustafa Üzel
Source: atalarimiztopraklari.com