This enigmatic building is about 40 metres east (40°25’35.2″N 29°43’30.7″E) of the ruined Church of the Dormition (Koimesis). Access is gained by means of stairs descending two metres from ground level. Considering that the ground level has risen significantly since Byzantine times, it is difficult to work out the extent to which this was a subterranean structure when in use. Yalçin skirts the issue by referring to it as semi-ipogeo.

View of the Ayazma from the street

The ayazma building may be one of the oldest in Iznik and probably dates from the sixth century. It is about 4.5 metres in diameter and the interior of the brick dome reaches a height of 3.8 metres. The construction is slightingly referred to by Alioğlu as ‘rubble stonework with fillers of brickwork’. However most of the building, including the lovely dome, is done expertly in brick.

The hole in the floor through which the sacred spring may have been accessed

If the ayazma was built in the sixth century, it has undergone a good deal of renovation during its life. The marble slabs on four sides of the interior near the floor come from other buildings of different times. Two of them appear to have been originally used in a synagogue from as old as the second century BC. Another has a Greek inscription that indicates that it was once used in a late Byzantine tower.

Southern niche of the ayazma

There is speculation as to the use of this building during its active lifetime. There was once a sign outside that indicated that it had been a baptistry. Prof Mehmet Şahin suggests that it may have been part of an Asclepion. The consensus appears to be that it was a sacred spring. Its proximity to the Koimesis (Church of the Dormition) that was the katholikon of the Monastery of Hyakinthos is a good indication that the spring was attached to that monastery. I have not managed to find evidence of any systematic study of the building.

Brick dome and eastern niche

Alioğlu, E. (undated) Similarities between Early Ottoman Architecture and Local Architecture or Byzantine Architecture in Iznik. UNESCO. Available online at: http://www.unesco.org/archi2000/pdf/alioglu1.pdf Accessed 12th April 2016

Kastrinakis Nikos (undated) “Nicaea (Byzantium), Hagiasma” Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor Available online at: http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=8279 Accessed 12^th April 2016

Şahin, M. (2014) İznik Koimesis Kilisesi ve Böcek Ayazma Üzerine. Bursa’da Zaman. Available online at: http://bursadazamandergisi.com/makaleler/iznik-koimesis-kilisesi-ve-bocek-ayazma-uzerine-2646.html Accessed 12th April 2016

Yalçin, A.B. (ed.) (1997) Nicea, Roma, Enciclopedia dell’arte Medievale VIII available at: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/nicea_%28Enciclopedia-dell’-Arte-Medievale%29/ Accessed 12^th April 2016

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