Su ve Kültürün Tarihi Coğrafyasından Bir Kesit: İstanbul’un Ayazma Panayırları

AExtended Abstract

Introduction

Throughout history, many civilizations have believed in the healing power of water sources. Anatolia has been one of the regions where water-based beliefs and practices have been most deeply rooted, from the Hittites to the present day. One of the most remarkable manifestations of this tradition is the sacred water structures known as ayazma (from the Greek hagiasma). Regarded as holy by the Greek Orthodox community, these waters were often associated with saints and visited for healing or votive purposes. According to the narratives of Evliya Çelebi, Muslim Turks also attributed sanctity to ayazma waters, and the term itself was adopted across different faith communities. The participation of Muslim people, who traditionally considered ayazma waters to be curative, in these events transformed ayazmas into shared cultural spaces in Istanbul. Consequently, ayazma fairs (ayazma panayirs) became part of a popular culture that transcended religious boundaries.

Particularly during the 19th century, ayazmas in Istanbul attracted great attention. According to Reşad Ekrem Koçu’s İstanbul Encyclopedia (1944-1973), ayazmas were defined as “wells and springs that inherited from paganism into Christianity and were dedicated to a saint.” These sites would turn into fairgrounds through regular visits held on specific days. For the Orthodox Greek communities, these festivals not only represented a religious celebration but also served as social gatherings and entertainment events. Following religious rituals, the events continued with food, music, and dance essentially turning into public celebrations of Istanbul. The word “panayir” (fair) derives from the Greek panēgyris meaning “assembly” or “festival,” and it was adopted into Ottoman Turkish to denote religious, cultural, and social celebrations across Anatolia. Thus, “ayazma fairs” were not merely religious rituals but traditional social practices centered around the sacredness of water.

Data and Method

This study examines ayazmas—which embody the historical and cultural reflections of the water culture—and the ayazma fairs that developed around them, using Istanbul as a case study. The ayazma fairs of Istanbul are analyzed as unique social rituals where water, faith, and folk culture intersect within the context of cultural heritage. The main aim is to document the historical presence and surviving examples of ayazma fairs in Istanbul and to identify their geographical distribution, seasonal characteristics, and cultural functions. The results illuminate the role of water in Istanbul’s historical and cultural geography and provide the first comprehensive documentation of the ayazma fair tradition, contributing to the understanding of Türkiye’s intangible cultural heritage.

The study employs a methodology combining archival documents, historical sources, and literature review. The main reference is Koçu’s İstanbul Encyclopedia, complemented by comparative evaluations of works by Bozis (2011), Soydan (2016), and Çalışkan (2024). Within the Encyclopedia, the entries “Ayazma,” “Panayır,” and “Ayazma Panayırı” were examined to identify events organized by the Greek Orthodox community, and the findings were compared with data from recent studies. Additionally, data from the digital “Kültür Envanteri (Cultural Inventory)” platform were used to map the spatial distribution of ayazma fairs according to their locations.

Results and Discussion

The findings indicate that until the mid-20th century, there were approximately 150 ayazmas in Istanbul, about one-third of which hosted regular fairs. Based on İstanbul Encyclopedia data, 43 ayazma fairs were precisely identified. The fairs were most concentrated in the districts of Fatih and Beşiktaş, and were also distributed across Sarıyer, Üsküdar, Kadıköy, the Adalar (Princes’ Islands), and Bakırköy. Most were held in the summer months, particularly in July and August, becoming the liveliest festivities of the Bosphorus neighborhoods. The Göksu, Kuzguncuk, and Arnavutköy fairs were popularly known as the “Bosphorus panayirs (fairs).”

Since the 1950s, increasing urbanization, negative political effects, and social unrest -especially the The Istanbul Pogrom of 6–7 September 1955- caused this tradition to fade, leading to the disappearance of most ayazma fairs and the neglect of many ayazma sites. Today, most surviving ayazmas are preserved within church courtyards. The ayazma fair tradition continues symbolically at the Balıklı Ayazma, the Vefa Ayın Biri Ayazma, and the Aya Yorgi Monastery on Büyükada in Istanbul, as well as on Bozcaada and Gökçeada (Çanakkale).

The ayazma fairs—extending from the Byzantine era through the Ottoman period to the Republic—preserve traces of both the continuity of water-based beliefs and the cultural interactions within social life. The Ayazma fairs of Istanbul exemplify a unique cultural heritage where faith and folk culture intertwine around sacred water, uniting different religious communities. This tradition embodies both tangible (sacred structures, water sites) and intangible (beliefs, rituals, festivities, and social interaction) heritage values. The fact that ayazmas and their fairs were embraced and named similarly by both Orthodox Greeks and Muslim Turks points to a shared cultural space and social unity shaped around water.

Ayazmas and their associated fairs, serving as a key to understanding Istanbul’s historical identity in the context of water, faith, and culture, are rapidly disappearing. Yet, a new perspective may be developed. Reinterpreting these values in light of contemporary needs could contribute to addressing various present and future challenges. Considering the growing importance of water in today’s world, preserving water-based sites and integrating them into cultural tourism routes could significantly enhance public awareness.

Moreover, these historical and cultural heritages may serve as shared cultural grounds fostering dialogue and mutual understanding between Türkiye and Greece. Today, many events with historical and cultural dimensions are organized by the Turkish community of Western Thrace in Greece. Such practices, when developed on the basis of mutuality, could function as cultural and tourism bridges, strengthening good neighborly relations between the two countries.