Büyük Saat ( en, The Great Clock Tower) is a historical clock tower in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

, rising high. The tower symbolizes the modernization of the city, which lasted from 1863 to the Adana massacre. During this period many Ottoman and European businesses, moved to the city for the exploding cotton trade. The tower was constructed by the mayor Kirkor Bezdikyan on the main street (Roland street, now known as Ali Münif) who was credit for starting the first modern municipal governance. Bezdikyan was also the architect of the tower together with another Armenian architect Kasbar Agha Bezdikyan.

History

The construction of Büyük Saat was started in 1879 by the mayor Kirkor Bezdikyan. Besides the architect mayor, another

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

architect, Kasbar Agha Bzdikian, was also responsible for its design. It was completed by the mayor Mangoyan in 1882, as a symbol of modernization. Mayor Hacı Yunus also made a significant contribution to the construction. It has since stood as one of the major landmarks of the city.

Architecture

Büyük Saat was constructed as a square

prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

, and its tower walls were built with bricks. The tower has a height of , but the depth of the foundations is thought to be even deeper, at . There were rumors that the water that springs from the foundations had healing powers. During the period of its construction, similar clock towers were also built in the other large cities of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Büyük Saat was the highest of them all, the second-highest being the

Dolmabahçe Clock Tower Dolmabahçe Clock Tower ( tr, Dolmabahçe Saat Kulesi) is a clock tower situated outside Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. Its construction was ordered by Ottoman sultan Abdülhamid II (1842–1918) and designed by the court architect Sa ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Function

The construction of the Büyük Saat made the residents' life easier by improving their timekeeping. Every hour, the loud bell of the tower, which could be heard from most sections of the city, would ring. After the construction of the tower, the city's officials arranged their office hours according to the time given by Büyük Saat. The times for Islamic prayer, previously defined by the position of the sun, were also now set by Büyük Saat. The major issue with Büyük Saat today is the lack of pedestrian areas at its base. The tower is in the middle of a busy street which makes visitor access difficult. The Adana Metropolitan Municipality have plans to widen sidewalks of Ali Münif Caddesi and re-route some of the local traffic to another street to improve the situation.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buyuk Saat Clock towers in Turkey Baroque Revival architecture in Turkey Towers completed in 1882 Ottoman architecture in Turkey Landmarks in Adana Ottoman clock towers

History

Architecture

Function

See also

Notes