The famous Fountain of Tears is located in the Khan’s Palace complex in Bakhchysarai. It was built by the Iranian master Omer (Umer) in 1764. The fountain is located in the courtyard of Khan-Saray, and initially it was located near the wall of the Dilyara-bikech mausoleum. The fountain is decorated with two inscriptions – a poem by the court poet Sheikhiy, dedicated to Qirim Girey, and a quote from the 18th verse of the 76th sura of the Quran.
The fountain is a marble slab with an ornament on which there are nine bowls – three large bowls in the center, three small bowls on the sides. At the top of the fountain you can see a marble lotus flower with five petals, symbolizing the human eye. Water flows from the core of this flower, symbolizing tears. It goes into the top large bowl, from it into two small side bowls, and from them into the middle bowl. This is repeated three times.
At the foot of the fountain there is a spiral, similar to a snail, representing the continuation of human life.
The Bakhchysarai fountain is a modest structure, but made with great artistic taste. Fruits, flowers, leaves, patterns masterfully carved in marble look translucent; not a single curl and not a single flower repeats each other.
First of all, it is worth noting that Fountain of Tear” belongs to the selsebil type. This type of wall fountains has long been known in the East. The word selsebil itself is taken from the Quran. According to Muslim beliefs, the souls of the righteous in Paradise will drink water from a source called selsebi”. Fountains of the selsebil type are structures for religious purposes: they were placed in holy places or in cemeteries.
According to a beautiful legend, the fountain was built in memory of the beautiful Dilyara-bikech, who died early, whom Khan Qirim Geray loved with all his soul. Khan wanted the fountain to forever flow with tears, which symbolized his sadness. History is silent about who Dilyara was. The most likely possibility is that Dilyara was a Circassian. However, the mystery of this figure has shrouded it in many legends. And the most famous of them says that behind the name Dilyara lies the Polish Countess Maria Potocka herself. In addition to Pushkin, Adam Mickiewicz and Lesia Ukrayinka addressed the legend of the creation of the Bakhchysarai fountain.