Ebubekir Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: ابوبکر پاشا; Turkish: Ebubekir Paşa; 1670 – 1757/1758[1]), also referred to as Koca Bekir Pasha (Turkish: Koca Bekir Paşa) and Abu Bakr Pasha or Abubakr Pasha (Serbo-Croatian: Ebu Bekir Paša; Greek: Απού Μπεκίρ Πασάς), was an Ottoman statesman. He served as Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Navy; 1732–33, 1750–51); as governor (beylerbey) of the provinces of Egypt, Jeddah, Cyprus, and Bosnia; and as head of the Imperial Mint. He was the fourth and last husband of Safiye Sultan and thus son-in-law (damat) of Sultan Mustafa II.
A great philanthropist, Koca Bekir Pasha was considered one of the most enlightened and productive statesmen of his time.[2]
Background
Ebubekir was born in 1670 in Alaiye (modern-day Alanya, Turkey).[3] He was of Turkish origin.
Bekir Pasha (Kamares) Aqueduct
His most notable legacy is the still-standing Kamares Aqueduct, also known as the Bekir Pasha Aqueduct, built in 1746 or 1747[4] during his tenure as the Governor of Cyprus, which he financed personally to aid the water supply to the area.
Realizing 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 tunnel, 250 air wells, and three series of overland arches. It was completed by 1746.
Foreign travelers 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 Ebu 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.[5]
The aqueduct was repaired in 1856, and the renewed structure made it possible for the aqueduct to remain in active use until the 1950s.[6] 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 1757 or 1758 at the age of about 88 and was buried in Aksaray in Istanbul.[1]
He donated his property to a foundation (Turkish: vakıf) in his name and his will has been documented in detail.[7]
See also
Footnotes
- ^a Turkish for "Great" or "Old"