Agnieszka Dobrowolska

مدينة الشمس تولد من جديد

هليوبوليس

Khaled Fahmy

These pages introduce a spectacular and important building in Cairo, one of special historical significance. They explain why and how it was constructed, how it was used, and how it changed over time, and they tell the story of the extraordinary life and fascinating personality of the founder of the building, Muhammed 'Ali Pasha, whose long rule profoundly changed Egypt and its people.

A Guide to the Permanent Exhibition in the Sabil Muhammad ʻAli Pasha in Al-Aqqadin, Cairo

Muhammad ʻAli Pasha and His Sabil

Jarosław Dobrowolski

The small sabil-kuttab (a charitable foundation particular to Cairo that combines a public water dispensary with a Quranic school) built in 1760 opposite the venerated Sayyida Zeinab Mosque is almost unique in Cairo: it is one of only two dedicated by a reigning Ottoman sultan, and--astonishingly--it is decorated inside with blue-and-white tiles from Amsterdam depicting happy scenes from the Dutch countryside. Why did the sultan, Mustafa III, cloistered in his Istanbul palace, decide to build a sabil in Cairo? Why did he choose this site for it? How did it come to be adorned with Dutch tiles? What were the connections between Cairo, Istanbul, and Amsterdam in the middle of the eighteenth century? The authors answer these questions and many more in this entertaining and beautifully illustrated history of an extraordinary building, describing also the recent conservation efforts to preserve it for posterity.

Agnieszka Dobrowolska

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