Conservation-Aimed Evaluation of a Historical Aqueduct in İzmir

Abstract

The seventeenth century was the era in which İzmir became an international commercial center in the eastern Mediterranean. The vizier of the era, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmet Paşa, noticed the scarcity of potable water in relation with the increasing population at the center of this harbor city and ordered the construction of an aqueduct on Melez Valley. The Vezirağa Aqueduct was constructed in 1674. This article aims to identify historical, architectural, and structural characteristics of the Vezirağa Aqueduct so that its heritage values and conservations problems can be understood. The geographical and historical characteristics of the Vezirağa Aqueduct are described by taking the effects of site and the sociocultural situation of city into consideration. The architectural characteristics of the aqueduct are prepared by using the site survey data to reveal the current condition and find out the original state. Seismic behavior of the aqueduct is investigated by using two approaches: analytical equivalent static analysis and finite-element analysis. The historical, architectural, and structural characteristics of the Vezirağa Aqueduct prove its historical, documentary, and aesthetic values.