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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]
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.
- ^ Petersen, Andrew (1996). Dictionary of Islamic Architecture. New York: Routledge. pp. 254. ISBN 0415213320.
- ^ Goodwin, Godfrey (1971). A History of Ottoman Architecture. Thames & Hudson.
- ^ Kuban, Doğan (2010). Ottoman Architecture. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 9781851496044.
- ^ Sumner-Boyd, Hilary; Freely, John (2010). Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City. New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 9781848851542.
- ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (2007). Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and Its Culture. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774160776.