In the sixth week of NIT Urban Heritage Lab: Water Heritage for Sustainable Cities, Fatma Sarıkaya Işık (Boğaziçi Uni) and Pelin Yoncacı Arslan (METU) will focus on Visualizing the Valens Aqueduct in Early Modern Istanbul. After their presentation, Fokke Gerritsen will moderate the discussion.

The Aqueduct of Valens has had an important role throughout history, in distributing the city and its people with water sources. But this monumental aqueduct has had much more value than its functionality. It has been a prominent figure in the urban landscape for centuries and thus has been prominently depicted in the early-modern illustrations of the city, such as in city maps, bird's eye views, miniatures, atlases, and panoramic depictions starting from the fifteenth century. This week's seminar will focus on the Valens aqueduct's role and its changing status and reception in early modern Istanbul.

NIT Urban Heritage Lab is an initiative of the Netherlands Institute in Turkey that investigates the role of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in achieving inclusive, circular, and sustainable cities. After the successful 2021 UHL course on Industrial Heritage, the Netherlands Institute in Turkey, in collaboration with Middle East Technical University (METU), Radboud University, LDE Centre for Global Heritage and Development, and the Netherlands Consulate-General in Istanbul, offers a series of public webinars on Water Heritage for Sustainable Cities. These webinars address past experiences and current and future challenges of urban water supply. With a focus on Istanbul’s water heritage, the program explores how water heritage can act as a driver for sustainable development and raise awareness of contemporary water issues worldwide.

During October and early December, webinars take place on Fridays between 4 pm and 5 pm Istanbul time.

Date: 28 October 2022, Friday
Time: 4 pm - 5 pm (Istanbul time)
The event will be online. The session will be in English.

Please follow the link to register for the webinar.

Image: Map of Constantinople by Cristoforo Buondelmonti, ca 1481.