The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, and the Mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, signed on Sunday, December 1st, at the Thessaloniki City Hall, a Program Contract for the “Restoration of Ottoman fountains in the Upper Town of Thessaloniki”.

The object of the contract is the maintenance, protection, preservation and promotion of the eight Ottoman fountains (Alatza Imaret, on Olympiados 75, Dimitriou Poliorkitos 35, Timotheu me Lysiou, Papareska 9, at the junction of Herodotus and Athena, Numan Pasha Twin Fountain, Red Fountain ) in the Upper Town of Thessaloniki, reintegrating them into the life of the city by upgrading the public space.

As Minister Lina Mendoni stated: “It is always a pleasure, for me and my colleagues, to be in the Municipality of Thessaloniki. In the last year we have planned a series of joint actions and projects that promote the development of the city and upgrade the lives of its citizens. Today, we are signing the programming contract with the Municipality, for the restoration of the Ottoman Fountains in the Upper Town. The project, which will be implemented in close cooperation with the Municipality of Thessaloniki and its services, with the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki, is deeply symbolic and mainly responds to the logic of our policies to create cultural routes in historical city centers and in general in the urban fabric of a modern city. Cultural routes are the best tool for strengthening cultural tourism and we must invest in this in the context of sustainable development. The Ministry of Culture implements in Central Macedonia a program of projects and actions that exceeds 150 million euros from national and community resources. The government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis attaches great importance to Thessaloniki, handing over preserved monuments of unique historical and archaeological importance to its citizens. Another project, which is part of the wider strategic planning of the Ministry of the Interior, is the Ottoman fountains, which contributes the most not only to the restoration and promotion of Thessaloniki’s monumental stock of all historical periods, but also to its reintegration into life of the city and the upgrading of the public space”.

The Mayor of Thessaloniki Stelios Angeloudis said: “I want to express my warm thanks to the Minister of Culture Lina Mendonis, because within a short period of time from the moment it was decided, we are signing the programming contract for the restoration of the eight Ottoman fountains in the Upper Town, in C Municipal Community. The eight Ottoman fountains are being restored, made functional and mainly developed into a special tourist product. I thank the minister, who is always helpful in all problems, in all proposals, in all action plans concerning the cultural footprint of our city”.

The project, with a total budget of 200,000 euros, is financed by the Ministry of Culture and includes cleaning, maintenance and restoration works, which will be carried out after the preparation of special documentation and restoration studies (topography, architecture, maintenance). The work will be carried out by the Ministry of Antiquities, through the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki. The water supply of the Fountains and the promotion of their surrounding area will be implemented by the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

The public fountains of the Ottoman period were an important element of the historical cities for the supply of drinking water carried from the springs and aqueducts of the region. Fountain installations are built in religious complexes, but also in streets and squares, and often through sponsorships. The constructions of most of the cisterns were highly elaborate and distinguished for their artistic quality, in addition to their function.

Today, in the 3rd Municipal Community of the Municipality of Thessaloniki, 15 fountains are preserved, with the majority located within the boundaries of the traditional settlement of Ano Poli, three within the Acropolis (Eptapyrgio area), one in the surrounding area of ​​Alatza Imaret, in close proximity to the traditional settlement of Ano Polis, and another one in the area of ​​”Kedrinos Lofos”. In the first phase, the restoration of the 8 Ottoman fountains of the Upper Town is advanced.