Publication Date
712 - 914 AH / 1312 - 1508 AD
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;27;ar
Library Location
The water arches extend from the bank of the Nile in the mouth of the Gulf area to Sayyida Aisha Square near Citadel Square, and are intersected by some modern roads, Cairo, Egypt
Date
712 - 914 AH / 1312 - 1508 AD
Notes
The idea of constructing an aqueduct to carry water to the Al-Jabal Citadel dates back to the era of Saladin Al-Ayyubi (ruled in the period 564 - 589 AH / 1169 - 1193 AD), who built a wall for Cairo that begins near Al-Fustat and made a stream or canal above it for the water that the watermen raise from one of the wells to travel in this canal until it reaches the citadel, where it is used for watering and irrigating the crops around the citadel area. When the citadel expanded during the Mamluk era and the Mamluks settled there and their number increased, Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun thought of another project to increase the flow of water from the Nile to the citadel. In the year 712 AH / 1312 AD he ordered the construction of a huge tower that includes four waterwheels in the Foum Al-Khaleej area (currently Al-Qasr Al-Aini Street) on the bank of the Nile, which raises the water to a stream or canal located above a group of high arches carried on huge supports (shoulders) of stone that are designed in a slope. It then connects to the arches that Salah al-Din built so that the water flows towards the castle. Al-Nasir Muhammad aimed to provide the citadel with sufficient water to irrigate crops and water soldiers and animals, allowing him to expand his facilities in the citadel, including the Ablaq Palace and the Al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun Mosque. Sultan Qaytbay (r. 872-901 AH / 1468-1496 AD) renovated the arches in 885 AH / 1480 AD, and then Sultan Qansuh restored it. In 914 AH / 1508 AD, Al-Ghuri built some parts of the arches, renovated the Al-Sakia tower, and placed his logo on the tower. Water collected in the field under the castle and was then lifted by drivers to water tanks inside the castle. The water bridges continued to perform their work until the 13th century AH / 19 AD in the Ottoman era. These arches were misused during the French campaign against Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte (1213 - 1216 AH / 1798 - 1801 AD) when the French soldiers turned some parts of the arches into fortresses, blocking some of the openings of the arches and fortifying themselves behind them. The length of the remaining part of the arches is about three kilometers, and these water arches are considered one of the most beautiful examples of water arches not only in Egypt, but In the entire Islamic world. The Supreme Council of Antiquities is currently (2005 AD) implementing a project to restore Al-Saqia and the Qanater wall.
Sample Text
Tarek Torky “Water Aqueduct” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;eg;Mon01;27;ar
