"Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity - not a threat” Thomas Edison
The Watchmen of the Past : Fountains
A Gravure about Skele Kapu Chesma, Varna
The Revival of the City could be observed with re-constructions and arrival of more immigrants. Incontestable, the war (Russo-Turkish 1828-29) took many things from the city however it brought new things as well. Beyond Imperial monuments and buildings that were built in the city, the civil architecture contributed to the revival.
Skele Kapu Fountain is one of them. Unfortunately one and only surviving Ottoman fountain in the city. It was built in 1834 to near of Varna Port. Then in 1910 it was moved to Sea Garden/Morska Gradina where it is still there. Its marble craftsmanship is elegant and admirable.
Compiled and Written by Kigarian
Copyright © 2013-Varna1444 All Rights Reserved
A Reformer Man : Helmuth von MoltkeHelmuth Karl Bernhard Graf
Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf was a German Field Marshal. The chief of staff of the Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as one of the great strategists of the latter 19th century, and the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field.
He was not just a great soldier also he had interests about art, archeology, poetry, music and theatre. He wrote some short novels and trial essays. As you understood he was not a straight general but sophisticated one. The defeat in Balkans and Caucasus reminded once more to the Sultan how the works about military is bad. And in a sort of way He had to find some good and fast solution to reform the Imperial Army. Of course,the Sultan didn't miss the great Prussian Marshal because Helmuth von Moltke was ideallly suited for this job. In 1835 He was requested from Constantinople to help modernize the Imperial Army. Moltke stayed two years in the Capital and meanwhile He learned Turkish , surveyed the City ,the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles after He travelled through to Rumelia, Bulgaria and Wallachia. In Bulgaria, his stop was Varna. He prepared drafts for the collapsed fortress of Varna. He was a genius in defense systems. He knew about financial problems of the Ottomans so He preferred to make his fortress from the ruins of old temples, palaces and demolished walls of old Bulgarian capital Pliska and ancient Roman settlement Marcianapolis which were brought on carts.Within two years the fortress was re-constructed.The fortress had six ornated gates. There were other new buildings that are completed ; the barracks, the hospital, the customs office, the jetty and monumental fountains. Compiled and Written by Kigarian Copyright © 2013-Varna1444 All Rights Reserved |
The Watchmen of the Past: MosquesAziziye Mosque, today Varna
If you visit Varna and take a taxi just say "Dou Djamiata / To the Mosque" then you will reach a white painted building, it is Aziziye Mosque will welcome you. It is the most known Mosque in Varna however it is not known when it was built.
Aziziye Mosque today on the street of Angel Georgiev where was called Tatar Mahala(district) during the late Ottoman era.After the exodus of Bulgaria that nearly 600.000 Turks immigrated to Turkey due to oppressive rule of the communist Bulgarian government and many others lost their lives in Bulgaria.So many mosques in Bulgaria left unsupported and deserted like Aziziye. In 1976 the roof of the mosque collapsed because of disrepair, then in 1990 repairs started. Most probably during these years the mosque lost its identity which was its tablet(written inscription about its built) and its oriental patterns on the walls. Today the mosque quiet purer and simpler than it was before. It is assumed that -the mosque was built in the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz (1861-1876). It is also known the Sultan visited Bulgaria in 1867. Compiled and Written by Kigarian Copyright © 2013-Varna1444 All Rights Reserved |
The Sea Garden where Skele Kapu Fountain in.
Aziziye Mosque