Publication Date
11th - 12th century AH / 17th - 18th century AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;28;ar
Library Location
Meknes, Morocco
Date
11th - 12th century AH / 17th - 18th century AD
Notes
Sultan Mawla Ismail, according to the historian Al-Miknasi Ibn Zidane, prepared a huge cistern inside the Kasbah, in which it was possible to travel by pleasure boats. In fact, the Alaouite prince, a contemporary of King Louis Its size (148.75 meters long, 219 meters wide, and 3.20 meters deep); However, nothing remains today of the three high walls with merlons that were supposed to have surrounded the pond, except a piece of an isolated wall, located in the northwest towards the Beni Ahmed neighborhood, as well as traces of the base of a wall exceeding two meters thick. The pond, in its capacity, resembles the lakes of the Middle Atlas Mountains, located south of the city. The pond’s water came from two sources: - Water from ten wells dug near the cistern under the river, which was brought in thanks to ten waterwheels, through a network of pottery canals. Well water was used during periods of unrest (wars, etc.) and drought. The water of the Boufkrane River Valley, which descends from the Middle Atlas Mountains and passes through the southern part of Meknes, feeding the pond and part of the city of Meknes. Today, the cistern is considered a site that attracts tourists who visit Meknes, and its residents, who supply it - the cistern - during the weekend in pursuit of the cool weather, which becomes rare during the summer.
Sample Text
Mohamed Mezzine “Al-Sawani Cistern (The Waterwheel Cistern)” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;28;ar
