fbpx
Wikipedia

Sabil (fountain)

December 02, 2023

A sabil or sebil (Arabic: سبيل, romanized: sabīl ; Turkish: sebil) is a small kiosk in the Islamic architectural tradition where water is freely dispensed to members of the public by an attendant behind a grilled window. The term is sometimes also used to refer to simple unmanned fountains with a tap for drinking water,[1] though other names often exist for such fountains (such as çesme in Turkish).[2]

The sebil-fountain of Abdülhamid I, a historic sebil in Istanbul dating from 1777. It includes both an actual sebil (the curved kiosk with windows) and two wall fountains with taps (çesme in Turkish) on either side.

Historically, sabils are structures of both civic and religious importance in Muslim cities, most prominently in the cities of the Ottoman Empire,[3][4] based in Istanbul, and of the Mamluk Empire, based in Cairo.[5] They were built at crossroads, in the middle of city squares, and on the outside of mosques and other religious complexes to provide drinking water for travelers and to assist ritual ablutions before prayer.

Etymology edit

The word sabil comes from the Arabic verb root sabala (سبل) meaning "to let fall, drop, to let hang down, to close eyes or to shed tear".[6]: 34  Sabil initially meant "road" or "path" and is used both metaphorically and literally in multiple instances in the Qur'an.[6] Its use as an architectural term for a public water building or fountain likely derives from a more abstract meaning it acquired to refer to general acts or provisions done for the sake of God (such as a charitable act).[6][7]

Description and function edit

A typical sabil was built over an underground cistern which supplied the water for distribution.[8] In some cases, the water drawn from the cistern then ran down a decorative carved marble panel called a salsabil, which may also have served the purpose of aerating the water as it came from the cistern.[8]: 63, 262  An attendant collected the water and distributed it to passers-by outside the sabil, usually through a window with a metal grille.

This service was free to members of the public, and was paid for by the revenues or funds of a charitable endowment, an Islamic waqf, provided or set up by the patron who commissioned the building.[8][3][5] Endowing money for the construction of sabils was considered an act of piety, and the construction of many sabils was considered the hallmark of a beneficent ruler.[7][9]

  •  

    The street facade of the Sabil of Tusun Pasha (or Sabil of Muhammad Ali), Cairo, completed in 1820.

  •  

    Water dispensing area inside the sabil. (Sabil of Tusun Pasha or Muhammad Ali, Cairo, 19th century.)

  •  

    The underground water cistern for the sabil. (Sabil of Tusun Pasha or Muhammad Ali, Cairo, 19th century.)

History edit

Origins in the Islamic world edit

 
A typical Mamluk "sabil-kuttab" in Cairo, attached to the Wikala and Sabil-Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay (near al-Azhar Mosque) and completed in 1477.

During the formative period of early Islamic society (seventh century onward), the Islamic world inherited the water traditions of the late antiquity Mediterranean world (formerly under Roman and Byzantine rule) and Iranian world (formerly under Sasanian rule).[10] Islamic society developed existing methods into new ones or revived neglected ones.[10] In addition to the regular water needs for drinking and for agriculture, water also had an important religions role in the ablutions or purification ritual required before prayer in Islam, such that even early mosques were equipped with either a water basin or fountain.[10][6] Water also had other religious or spiritual symbolic importance, being associated with Paradise (heaven) and being used in the Qur'an as a symbol of Creation.[6] The Qur'an describes water as a blessing from God (Allah), and some hadiths exhort Muslims to offer water to thirsty humans and animals.[6]

As a result, water became an important element in Islamic architecture, both as a practical/religious provision as well as for aesthetic effects. Hammams (public bathhouses), inherited from the Roman thermae, continued to be an essential public facility in Islamic cities in addition to public fountains. At the same time, water was featured in palace and garden design as early as the Umayyad Caliphate (7th–8th centuries).[9] It played a role in formal gardens (such as Persian gardens) and in palace architecture such as in the famous example of the Alhambra in Spain.[10]

How the architectural format of the sabil itself first developed is debated. While water was implicated in architectural design across the Muslim world, the sabil as a recognizable structure with a particular purpose is associated mainly with the Mamluk Sultanate and with the Ottoman Empire, with both Istanbul and Cairo having numerous examples.[6] Its architecture has been argued to draw inspiration from the descriptions of Paradise in the Qur'an.[6]

Sabils in Mamluk Cairo edit

 
Sabil-Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay in Cairo

The oldest sabil for which we have a date is in Damascus, Syria, and is dated to 1077–78 CE (570 AH) according to its inscription, which is well before Ayyubid or Mamluk rule in Egypt and Syria. The earliest (surviving) sabil in Cairo is the one installed by the Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad at the corner of his father's monumental hospital-madrasa-mausoleum complex during restorations in 1325–26.[6][8][5] As Mamluk architecture developed, sabils became a standard feature of the religious and funerary complexes built by the Mamluk elites and also came to be typically accompanied by a kuttab (a space offering primary education, especially reading of the Qur'an).[6][5][8] These "sabil-kuttab" structures were often located at the corner of the building complex along a busy road or at an intersection.[6] The sabil was located at ground or street level (where it was accessible to passersby) while the kuttab was usually above it on the upper levels. Mamluk sabils had facades with large windows covered by heavy bronze grilles and their exteriors were well-decorated, typically with stone-carving along their surfaces and with multi-coloured marble panels above the windows.[6] The interiors were also typically decorated with marble mosaics and with painted wooden ceilings, while the water from the cistern often trickled over an ornamental carved marble panel (known as a salsabil) before being collected by the sabil's attendant.[6][8]

During the Mamluk period, such structures were almost always integrated into a larger building, and were rarely ever built as separate or stand-alone structures.[6] The earliest free-standing or independent sabil-kuttab was the one built by Sultan Qaytbay in 1479 (the Sabil-Kuttab of Qaytbay) along Saliba Street.[11][8] It was only under Ottoman rule (from 1517 onward) that independent sabil-kuttabs became a common building type in Cairo, with notable examples like the Sabil-kuttab of Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda at Bayn al-Qasrayn.[8] This was in part because the Ottoman governors and elites of this period had relatively limited resources and Cairo itself had become densely built-up, leaving little space to build more. As such, the small but multi-level "sabil-kuttab" structure became a cost-effective option for political elites to offer charitable services to the general population, which in turn helped them publicly display their piety.[8]

Sebils in Ottoman Istanbul edit

 
The Fountain and sebil of Sultan Ahmed III in Istanbul, built in 1728 in front of the Topkapı Palace gate.

In 16th century Istanbul, sebils[a] were a symbol of public possession. The attempt to add spigots (taps) was opposed because this was perceived as limiting public access to the blessings of nature.[7] In later centuries, sebils became elaborately decorated structures, either attached to mosque complexes or existing as stand-alone structures, often at busy intersections or street corners.[7] They were a prominent type of construction in the "Tulip period" during the reign of Ahmed III in the early 18th century, which saw an emergence of the "Rococo" Ottoman architectural style, and during the later "Baroque" phase of Ottoman architecture that followed.[3][2] The Fountain of Ahmed III, next to Topkapı Palace and the Hagia Sophia, is one of the most famous and elaborate examples.[2][4] Like other public monuments, they were often inscribed with Ottoman Turkish verses that formed a chronogram using the Abjad numbers to date the construction.[7] Historically, during holidays and major celebrations, some sebils also distributed a sweetened fruit drink known as "sherbet" or another fruit juice.[7]

Until the spread of in-house plumbing by the end of the 20th century, sebils and other fountains were essential for the daily life of the inhabitants of Istanbul. In present-day Istanbul, many sebils have either been abandoned or serve other functions such as commercial shops.[7] Some have been restored as part of wider historical architectural complexes, but still do not serve their original purpose.[7][4]

Examples edit

See also edit

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Sebil is the Turkish rendition of sabil.

Citations edit

  1. ^ Petersen, Andrew (1996). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. New York: Routledge. pp. 254. ISBN 0415213320.
  2. ^ a b c Goodwin, Godfrey (1971). A History of Ottoman Architecture. Thames & Hudson.
  3. ^ a b c Kuban, Doğan (2010). Ottoman Architecture. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 9781851496044.
  4. ^ a b c Sumner-Boyd, Hilary; Freely, John (2010). Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City. New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 9781848851542.
  5. ^ a b c d Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (2007). Cairo of the Mamluks : A History of Architecture and Its Culture. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774160776.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mostafa, Saleh Lamei (1989). "The Cairene Sabil: Form and Meaning". Muqarnas. 6: 33–42. doi:10.2307/1602278. JSTOR 1602278.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Saǧlar Onay, Nilüfer; Uǧurlu, Ayşe Hilal (2010). "A public meeting point: "Sebil" of Nuruosmaniye". A Z: ITU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture. 7 (1): 38–53. ISSN 2564-7474.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Williams, Caroline (2008). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (6th ed.). Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774162053.
  9. ^ a b Ottoman sabils of Jerusalem 24 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b c d "Fountain". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2009.
  11. ^ Blair, Sheila S.; Bloom, Jonathan (1995). The Art and Architecture of Islam: 1250–1800. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. p. 92.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sebils.
  • in the dictionary of Islamic architecture
  • Fountains of Istanbul

December 02, 2023
sabil, fountain, sabil, sebil, arabic, سبيل, romanized, sabīl, turkish, sebil, small, kiosk, islamic, architectural, tradition, where, water, freely, dispensed, members, public, attendant, behind, grilled, window, term, sometimes, also, used, refer, simple, un. A sabil or sebil Arabic سبيل romanized sabil Turkish sebil is a small kiosk in the Islamic architectural tradition where water is freely dispensed to members of the public by an attendant behind a grilled window The term is sometimes also used to refer to simple unmanned fountains with a tap for drinking water 1 though other names often exist for such fountains such as cesme in Turkish 2 The sebil fountain of Abdulhamid I a historic sebil in Istanbul dating from 1777 It includes both an actual sebil the curved kiosk with windows and two wall fountains with taps cesme in Turkish on either side Historically sabils are structures of both civic and religious importance in Muslim cities most prominently in the cities of the Ottoman Empire 3 4 based in Istanbul and of the Mamluk Empire based in Cairo 5 They were built at crossroads in the middle of city squares and on the outside of mosques and other religious complexes to provide drinking water for travelers and to assist ritual ablutions before prayer Contents 1 Etymology 2 Description and function 3 History 3 1 Origins in the Islamic world 3 2 Sabils in Mamluk Cairo 3 3 Sebils in Ottoman Istanbul 4 Examples 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Notes 6 2 Citations 7 External linksEtymology editThe word sabil comes from the Arabic verb root sabala سبل meaning to let fall drop to let hang down to close eyes or to shed tear 6 34 Sabil initially meant road or path and is used both metaphorically and literally in multiple instances in the Qur an 6 Its use as an architectural term for a public water building or fountain likely derives from a more abstract meaning it acquired to refer to general acts or provisions done for the sake of God such as a charitable act 6 7 Description and function editA typical sabil was built over an underground cistern which supplied the water for distribution 8 In some cases the water drawn from the cistern then ran down a decorative carved marble panel called a salsabil which may also have served the purpose of aerating the water as it came from the cistern 8 63 262 An attendant collected the water and distributed it to passers by outside the sabil usually through a window with a metal grille This service was free to members of the public and was paid for by the revenues or funds of a charitable endowment an Islamic waqf provided or set up by the patron who commissioned the building 8 3 5 Endowing money for the construction of sabils was considered an act of piety and the construction of many sabils was considered the hallmark of a beneficent ruler 7 9 nbsp The street facade of the Sabil of Tusun Pasha or Sabil of Muhammad Ali Cairo completed in 1820 nbsp Water dispensing area inside the sabil Sabil of Tusun Pasha or Muhammad Ali Cairo 19th century nbsp The underground water cistern for the sabil Sabil of Tusun Pasha or Muhammad Ali Cairo 19th century History editOrigins in the Islamic world edit nbsp A typical Mamluk sabil kuttab in Cairo attached to the Wikala and Sabil Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay near al Azhar Mosque and completed in 1477 During the formative period of early Islamic society seventh century onward the Islamic world inherited the water traditions of the late antiquity Mediterranean world formerly under Roman and Byzantine rule and Iranian world formerly under Sasanian rule 10 Islamic society developed existing methods into new ones or revived neglected ones 10 In addition to the regular water needs for drinking and for agriculture water also had an important religions role in the ablutions or purification ritual required before prayer in Islam such that even early mosques were equipped with either a water basin or fountain 10 6 Water also had other religious or spiritual symbolic importance being associated with Paradise heaven and being used in the Qur an as a symbol of Creation 6 The Qur an describes water as a blessing from God Allah and some hadiths exhort Muslims to offer water to thirsty humans and animals 6 As a result water became an important element in Islamic architecture both as a practical religious provision as well as for aesthetic effects Hammams public bathhouses inherited from the Roman thermae continued to be an essential public facility in Islamic cities in addition to public fountains At the same time water was featured in palace and garden design as early as the Umayyad Caliphate 7th 8th centuries 9 It played a role in formal gardens such as Persian gardens and in palace architecture such as in the famous example of the Alhambra in Spain 10 How the architectural format of the sabil itself first developed is debated While water was implicated in architectural design across the Muslim world the sabil as a recognizable structure with a particular purpose is associated mainly with the Mamluk Sultanate and with the Ottoman Empire with both Istanbul and Cairo having numerous examples 6 Its architecture has been argued to draw inspiration from the descriptions of Paradise in the Qur an 6 Sabils in Mamluk Cairo edit nbsp Sabil Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay in CairoThe oldest sabil for which we have a date is in Damascus Syria and is dated to 1077 78 CE 570 AH according to its inscription which is well before Ayyubid or Mamluk rule in Egypt and Syria The earliest surviving sabil in Cairo is the one installed by the Mamluk sultan al Nasir Muhammad at the corner of his father s monumental hospital madrasa mausoleum complex during restorations in 1325 26 6 8 5 As Mamluk architecture developed sabils became a standard feature of the religious and funerary complexes built by the Mamluk elites and also came to be typically accompanied by a kuttab a space offering primary education especially reading of the Qur an 6 5 8 These sabil kuttab structures were often located at the corner of the building complex along a busy road or at an intersection 6 The sabil was located at ground or street level where it was accessible to passersby while the kuttab was usually above it on the upper levels Mamluk sabils had facades with large windows covered by heavy bronze grilles and their exteriors were well decorated typically with stone carving along their surfaces and with multi coloured marble panels above the windows 6 The interiors were also typically decorated with marble mosaics and with painted wooden ceilings while the water from the cistern often trickled over an ornamental carved marble panel known as a salsabil before being collected by the sabil s attendant 6 8 During the Mamluk period such structures were almost always integrated into a larger building and were rarely ever built as separate or stand alone structures 6 The earliest free standing or independent sabil kuttab was the one built by Sultan Qaytbay in 1479 the Sabil Kuttab of Qaytbay along Saliba Street 11 8 It was only under Ottoman rule from 1517 onward that independent sabil kuttabs became a common building type in Cairo with notable examples like the Sabil kuttab of Abd al Rahman Katkhuda at Bayn al Qasrayn 8 This was in part because the Ottoman governors and elites of this period had relatively limited resources and Cairo itself had become densely built up leaving little space to build more As such the small but multi level sabil kuttab structure became a cost effective option for political elites to offer charitable services to the general population which in turn helped them publicly display their piety 8 Sebils in Ottoman Istanbul edit nbsp The Fountain and sebil of Sultan Ahmed III in Istanbul built in 1728 in front of the Topkapi Palace gate In 16th century Istanbul sebils a were a symbol of public possession The attempt to add spigots taps was opposed because this was perceived as limiting public access to the blessings of nature 7 In later centuries sebils became elaborately decorated structures either attached to mosque complexes or existing as stand alone structures often at busy intersections or street corners 7 They were a prominent type of construction in the Tulip period during the reign of Ahmed III in the early 18th century which saw an emergence of the Rococo Ottoman architectural style and during the later Baroque phase of Ottoman architecture that followed 3 2 The Fountain of Ahmed III next to Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia is one of the most famous and elaborate examples 2 4 Like other public monuments they were often inscribed with Ottoman Turkish verses that formed a chronogram using the Abjad numbers to date the construction 7 Historically during holidays and major celebrations some sebils also distributed a sweetened fruit drink known as sherbet or another fruit juice 7 Until the spread of in house plumbing by the end of the 20th century sebils and other fountains were essential for the daily life of the inhabitants of Istanbul In present day Istanbul many sebils have either been abandoned or serve other functions such as commercial shops 7 Some have been restored as part of wider historical architectural complexes but still do not serve their original purpose 7 4 Examples edit nbsp Hafsid era fountain or sabil near Bab Sidi Abdessalem Tunis nbsp Fountain of Qayt Bay at the Temple Mount Jerusalem 1482 nbsp The 16th century Mouassine Fountain in Marrakech nbsp The Grand Fountain in Samokov Bulgaria built by the Ottomans in 1660 nbsp Sabil Kuttab of Katkhuda Cairo 1744 nbsp Damat Ibrahim Mosque sebil Istanbul 1720 nbsp Sultan Ahmed III Fountain in Uskudar Istanbul 1728 nbsp A sabil window in Tunis next to the entrance of the Madrasa al Bashiya dating from 1752 nbsp The Sebilj in Bascarsija Sarajevo 1753 nbsp Sabil of Ali Bey Al Kabir in Tanta Egypt 18th century nbsp Sabil of Isma il Pasha in Cairo 1828 nbsp An Ottoman sabil attached to the al Jazzar Mosque in Acre nbsp Early 19th century Ottoman fountain sabil attached to the Mahmoudiya Mosque in Jaffa Israel nbsp Fountain sabil outside Rachel s Tomb near Bethlehem A late Ottoman coat of arms is carved on its face nbsp The Nejjarine Fountain in Fes Morocco 19th century See also editCantharus Christianity a fountain in the esonarthex of Christian churches for ablutions Shadirvan a typical Ottoman fountain usually built in the yard or at the entrance of religious buildings mosques khanqahs madrasas and caravanserais References editNotes edit Sebil is the Turkish rendition of sabil Citations edit Petersen Andrew 1996 Dictionary of Islamic Architecture New York Routledge pp 254 ISBN 0415213320 a b c Goodwin Godfrey 1971 A History of Ottoman Architecture Thames amp Hudson a b c Kuban Dogan 2010 Ottoman Architecture Woodbridge Suffolk UK Antique Collectors Club ISBN 9781851496044 a b c Sumner Boyd Hilary Freely John 2010 Strolling Through Istanbul The Classic Guide to the City New York Tauris Parke Paperbacks ISBN 9781848851542 a b c d Behrens Abouseif Doris 2007 Cairo of the Mamluks A History of Architecture and Its Culture Cairo The American University in Cairo Press ISBN 9789774160776 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Mostafa Saleh Lamei 1989 The Cairene Sabil Form and Meaning Muqarnas 6 33 42 doi 10 2307 1602278 JSTOR 1602278 a b c d e f g h Saǧlar Onay Nilufer Uǧurlu Ayse Hilal 2010 A public meeting point Sebil of Nuruosmaniye A Z ITU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 7 1 38 53 ISSN 2564 7474 a b c d e f g h i Williams Caroline 2008 Islamic Monuments in Cairo The Practical Guide 6th ed Cairo American University in Cairo Press ISBN 9789774162053 a b Ottoman sabils of Jerusalem Archived 24 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine a b c d Fountain The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture Oxford Oxford University Press 2009 Blair Sheila S Bloom Jonathan 1995 The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250 1800 New Haven London Yale University Press p 92 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sebils Sebil in the dictionary of Islamic architecture Fountains of Istanbul Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sabil fountain amp oldid 1173337520, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.