Page 65 - Urban water supply handbook

URBAN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

1.64 HISTORY, PLANNING, OUTSOURCING

FIGURE 1.51 Public fountain in Pompeii. (Photo by Larry W. Mays and copyright by Larry W.
Mays)

tation and public health declined in Europe. Historical accounts tell of incredibly
unsanitary conditions—polluted water, human and animal wastes in the streets,
and water thrown out of windows onto passersby. Various epidemics ravaged
Europe. During the same period, Islamic cultures, on the periphery of Europe, had
religiously mandated high levels of personal hygiene, along with highly developed
water supplies and adequate sanitation systems.
The Hakali water conveyance system, the first of three main systems feeding
Istanbul, Turkey, dates back to the early Byzantine period. According to Ozis
(1987) the most interesting waterworks of the Byzantine period were the several
dozens of cisterns, some of which covered 70 m 140 m, such as the Yerebatan
cistern in Istanbul. Some of these systems collected precipitation water, and oth-
ers served the seasonal regulation of water from the large conveyance systems.
Others were used to level off the topography for foundations of buildings and to
provide additional height to the buildings.
During the Seljukian period (1071–1308) there were no large water systems
built. However, the architecture is well known for its impressive and highly orna-
mented buildings and arched bridges. The Ottoman period (1281–1922) was when
the Istanbul water system was developed. After the conquest of Istanbul in 1453,
the Roman Hakali water conveyance system was restored, with expansions made
until the middle of the eighteenth century.
For additional information on ancient urban water supply see Ashby (1935) and
Hodge (1998).

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