2014 yılında başlayan, “Uşak İl ve İlçeleri’ndeki Türk Dönemi Yüzey Araştırması” ve 2015 yılında Uşak Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri (BAP) Birimi Koordinatörlüğü tarafından kabul edilen “Uşak’taki Su Mimarisi” adlı proje çalışması kapsamında Uşak İl merkezi, il merkezine bağlı köyler ile merkez ilçelerde çalışmalar başlamıştır. 2014 yılı çalışmalarında il merkezine bağlı 91 köy taranmış ve bu köylerde 61 çeşme, 12 köprü, 2 çamaşırhane, 1 kaplıca tespit edilmiştir. Ulubey İlçesi’ne bağlı sadece 16 köye gidilebilmiş ve 5 çeşme ile 2 köprü belirlenmiştir. İl merkezinde 9 mahalledeki yapılar incelemiş, 14 çeşme ve 1 hamam çalışılabilmiştir. 2015 yılı çalışmalarında merkezde yer alan 17 çeşme de incelenerek çalışmaya eklenmiştir. 2015 yılı arazi çalışmalarımız, Ulubey ve Eşme ilçeleri ile bu ilçelere bağlı köylerde devam edecektir. Üç yılda tamamlanması düşünülen proje kapsamında diğer ilçe ve köylerdeki çeşmelerin de tespit edilerek çalışmaya eklenmesi hedeflenmektedir. Proje çalışmamızda amaç Uşak’taki tüm su yapılarının tespitini ve dokümantasyonunu yapmaktır. Projenin bir bölümünü oluşturan, su mimarisinin en dikkat çekici yapılarından biri olan çeşmeler, Uşak’ta tarihi kent dokusu içerisinde özel bir yere sahiptir. Yapılar, kentteki tarihsel mimari mirasın bütünlüğünde öncülük etmektedir. Çalışmamızın bu aşamasında merkezde tespit ettiğimiz çeşmelerin korunma durumlarına dikkat çekilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Henüz tüm çeşmelere yerinde inceleme fırsatımız olmamış, sadece 2014 ve halen devam etmekle birlikte 2015 yılı çalışmaları sonucu elde ettiğimiz verilerle yapıların korunma durumlarına yönelik bir ön çalışma hazırlanmıştır. Tüm çeşmelerin tespiti sonrasında elde edilecek verilerle birlikte hazırlanacak çalışmada ise, Uşak’taki çeşmelerin Anadolu Türk çeşme mimarisi içerisindeki yeri plan, mimari ve süsleme programı açısından incelenip derlenecektir.

A most striking section of aqua architecture, fountains occupy a special place in the historical urban fabric of Uşak. These buildings lead the totality of architectural legacy the city possesses. In the scope of the project work “Aqua Architecture in Uşak” accepted by the Scientific Research Project (BAP) Unit Coordinatorship of Uşak University, studies were started in Uşak’s city center, and the villages connected to city’s center, along with other central districts. In the scope of this project, estimated to be complete in three years, the main objective is to detect and include the fountains revealed in other districts and villages. In this stage of our study the objective is to draw attention on the state of protection these fountains located in the central region of the province receive. As the first stage of the 2015 study, fountains located in the city center of Uşak were scrutinized and a pre-study was prepared as to the protection conditions of the buildings according to the gathered data. And, in the study to be prepared when the data gathered from the entire province is complete, the place of Uşak’s fountains in Anatolian Turkish fountain architecture will be examined and a review will be compiled with respect to planning, architecture and ornamentation programs. Most of the fountains detected in Uşak’s city center were designed to maintain an attachment to walls of a residence, mosque, garden or cemetery (hazire). Most of the fountains were built either simultaneously with or before the construction of the buildings to which they are adjacent. Of the 33 fountains Uşak province hosts, 28 have a single front, 4 have double fronts and 1 has triple. Of the main niches 12 were lancet arches, 7 were round arches, 2 had arches resembling the bottom of a ship, 3 were drop arches, 1 was cusped and 1 was covered with flat lintel stone. In most examples shape of the body part is in the form of a vertical rectangle. 28 of these fountains have their body in vertical rectangle form, while 2 have horizontal rectangles, and 3 have the form of a tetragonal prism. When the water tanks are reviewed, it is apparent that they were placed either adjacently to the back of the structure or in the middle of it. In city-center located fountains of Uşak face stones were commonly employed as construction material. Though in fewer quantities, rubble stone and pitch-faced stone along with marble and unneeded material collected from older structures are amongst the material used in construction of fountains. Architectural plastics of Roman and Byzantine Eras were generally used as ornamental slabs or plasters limiting the main niche from both sides. The most unfortunate circumstance these fountains present is that half of them are out of use. Whilst 16 of the city-center fountains maintain their function, 17 remains dysfunctional. Another unfortunate instance is that most of these Uşak’s fountains do not have epigraphs. Of all the fountains located in Uşak’s city center 8 possess epigraphs while 25 have none. Most of the fountains located in Uşak are dysfunctional. These fountains were exposed, with damage caused by time, nature and most bitter of all by humans, local losses and deformation. Because most of the fountains still stand the interventions performed can be observed. The fountains, with partial interventions, reached today, protecting most of their original architectural qualities. Among the structures that form the identity of our city, holding a special place within Uşak’s historical urban fabric, Uşak’s fountain, which were briefly described and evaluated by their protection status, lead the way in protection of city’s historical architectural legacy and obtaining a sense of integrity. It is crucial that for purposes of protection, these structures must be presented, functioned and required maintenance be completed by experienced personnel.