Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni opens Vana and drinking water runs to the Ottoman fountain on Dimitrios Siegitos Street in Ano Polis of Thessaloniki. This is one of the four fountains that were delivered today and out of the eight total that will be restored by the end of the year.

These historical fountains belong to the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the project of restoring their original form and operation is the initiative of Mayor Stelios Angeloudis. A program contract was signed between the Municipality and the Ministry of Culture -from which they are protected as they are preserved monuments and after nine months, they were delivered today.

“What makes this intervention separate is that most people are used to the Ministry of Culture intervening in large monuments, such as the Acropolis, the Palace of Philip, Amphipolis, or the large Byzantine and Ottoman monuments in Thessaloniki. Here we have smaller monuments that are of distinct weight, “said Lina Mendoni, referring to monuments that the city and the citizens love and are of great importance to the evolution of Thessaloniki. “At a time when there was no water in every house, residents of the area had to go to public fountain to fill their stamn with water and this was one of the first and very characteristic points of their urbanization and socialization,” the minister underlined.

For a partnership of the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Thessaloniki and EYATH, which gives life to monumental sights of the Upper Town and highlights the mosaics of the daily life of the past, Mayor Stelios Angeloudis spoke, saying that Special tourist product. “These are fountains telling yesterday’s stories and that we are sure they will act as an attraction, both for the Thessaloniki and for visitors to the city. The reconnection of the Ottoman rails with the life of the city, which even have drinking water, significantly upgrades public space, in an area of ​​special architectural and cultural footprint, “said Mr. Angeloudis.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture and the work of cleaning, maintenance and rehabilitation, executives of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki. “These fountains are linked to the history of the city. The construction of the public rails was particularly widespread to the Ottomans. In the 18th century, when Europeans made fountains in their squares, the Ottomans made fountains, some truly elegance. Evliya Tselebi visited Thessaloniki in the 17th century and recorded 64 fountains in the upper city Mahalades. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this number had certainly increased. Today there are about 30, most in very poor condition -and private and owned by the municipality, “explained the head of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki Elizabeth Tsigarida.

The other three fountains that were delivered today are located on Timotheos Streets with Lysia, Acropolis (Red Fountain) and I. Paparska.

Barbara Kazantzidou

*Look for photos of Ah. Widow in the Photographic Department of RES-EIA