Ebubekir Pasha
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Ebubekir Pasha (Template:Lang-ota), also referred to as Kocaa Bekir Pasha (Template:Lang-tr) and Abu Bakr Pasha (Template:Lang-bs; Template:Lang-el) was a 17th- and 18th-century Ottoman statesman. He served as Kapudan Pasha; as Governor (wali) of the provinces of Egypt, Jeddah, Cyprus, and Bosnia; and as Head of the Imperial Mint. He was the husband of Saffiye Sultan and son-in-law of Sultan Mustafa II.
A great philanthropist, Koca Bekir Pasha was considered one of the most enlightened and productive statesmen of his time.[1]
Bekir Pasha (Larnaca) Aqueduct
His most notable legacy is the still-standing Larnaca Aqueduct ("Bekir Pasha Aqueduct") built in 1746 [2]. during his tenure as the Governor of Cyprus, which he financed personally to aid the water supply to the area.
Realising the difficulties of fresh water access for the poor in the city, Koca Bekir Pasha built this massive aqueduct to improve the water supply to Larnaca. Built in the Roman style, the aqueduct carried water from a source about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Larnaca into the town. The water supply works involved a long underground tunnel, 250 air wells, and three series of overland arches. It was completed by 1746.
Foreign travellers have often counted it as the most important monument constructed during the Ottoman period in Cyprus. In 1754, Alexander Drummond noted that:
For the honour of Bekir Paşa I must communicate an instance of the old gentlemen’s public spirit. While he was Paşa of this land, in the year 1747, he formed the noble design of bringing water from the river at Arpera, and occasional springs on the road about six miles from hence, to supply the people of Larnaca, Salines and the shipping. A work worthy of great and good man, which might have cost him above fifty thousand piasters of six thousand pounds.[3]
The aqueduct was repaired in 1856, and the renewed structure made it possible for the aqueduct to remain in active use until the 1950s.[4] Relics of the aqueduct still stand outside Larnaca and are referred to as "The Kamares" ("The Arches") today. The aqueduct is illuminated at night.
Other work
His signature is found under many major construction and reconstruction projects in every city he served as a governor.
During his tenure as the Governor of Cyprus, he helped revitalise the local economy by having 23 shops built in Nicosia financed by his personal funds.
Death and legacy
Koca Bekir Pasha died in 1758 at the age of 88 and is buried in Aksaray in Istanbul.
He donated his property to a foundation (Template:Lang-tr) in his name and his will has been documented in detail [5].
Footnotes
^a Turkish for "Great" or "Old"
See also
- List of admirals in the Ottoman Empire
- List of Ottoman Kapudan Pashas
- List of Ottoman Wālis of Egypt
- List of rulers of Bosnia
- Cyprus under the Ottoman Empire
References
- ^ Ebubekir Paşa ve Kıbrıs’taki İmar Faaliyetleri; Sevilay Tosun; C.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Aralık 2004 Cilt: 28 No:2 205-213
- ^ Neoclis Kyriazis Kypriaca Chronica 1931, H vol 3, 175-187.
- ^ Drummond 1754, 252.
- ^ Ydadopromithia Larnacas: 4000 Years of History, Alexis Michaelides and Sophocles Christodoulides,Larnaca 2005
- ^ Claude Delaval Cobham, Laws and Regulations affecting Vakf property. Nicosia 1899
