Candia (Heraklion) used to suffer from the lack of fresh water. During the Venetian Occupation, the water they used came from wells and from cisterns put in various places in order to collect rain water.
Proveditore Generale Isepo Civran in 1639 has noted that there were 1270 wells and 273 in the city.
The first fountain to supply water in Candia was constructed between 1552 – 1554 by Generale Matteo Bembo. Read more about the Bembo Fountain here
After the Candia (or Candiye) fell to the Ottomans, in 1669, it was of vital importance that they catered for the town water supply. A Turkish traveler named Celebi noted that there used to be 70 drinking fountains in the city.
Water has a vital connection with Ottoman’s faith; There was a fountain for their religious needs in every mosque and every fountain was named after the Pasha who had built it.
Yenicar Aga Fountain
Just a few meters from the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, one may notice a former Ottomanish fountain, named Yenicar Aga.
Within the arched construction of the fountain, surrounded by two beautifully decorated pillars, lies a beautiful spout. The water used to gather in a marble basin.
What many people do not know is that this fountain’s place was originally outside a beautiful building (archontiko) in Heraklion (Marc Augeri and I. Chronaki Street), but as the building was demolished in 1980, the fountain was put at this location.
You can read here about the Ottoman Sebil in Kornarou Street
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Source: Wikimapia
Source: Paper – The Water Supply to Heraklion, Crete, Greece from the Ottoman Period (1669) to the Present; by E. Chalkiadakis
Source: koules.efah.gr
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