Thin-sheet fountain for evaporatively cooling buildings or water
A salsabil (or salasabil[1]), also known as a shadirwan,[2] is a type of fountain which maximizes the surface area of the water. It is used for
evaporative cooling of buildings, cooling and
aeration of drinking water, and ornament[3][4] (it has also been used to prevent
eavesdropping[5]). The water may flow in a thin sheet or thin streams, often over a wavy surface with many little waterfalls.[4][3] Its use extends from southern
Spain through
north Africa and the
Middle East to northern
India.[3]
Etymology and name
The name salsabil likely derives from
a Qur'anic reference.[6] The term shadirwan is also used for devices for aerating drinking water.[7][2] However, the term shadirwan or shadirvan has slightly different uses in other cultures, such as designating a central
ablutions fountain for a
mosque courtyard in
Turkish (see shadirvan).[8][9]: 459
Design and setting
The water flows in a manner designed to maximize the surface area, and thus evaporation. A salsabil may be a near-vertical marble waterfall mounted on a wall,[4] or the sheet of water may flow down a slanted chute.[3]
Evaporative cooling causes the water and the surrounding air to cool as some of the water evaporates.
Passive ventilation may be used to maximize the flow of
unsaturated air over the water surface and carry the cooled air to where it is needed in the building. Salasabils are often used with
windcatchers.[10]
A salsabil may also be used to
aerate water for drinking in a
sabil (or sebil).[11]: 63, 262 Salsabils, in the form of inclined marble slabs over which drinking water flowed before being dispensed, were often included inside the sabils of Mamluk architecture.[7][11]: 63, 262
Salasabils were used in
Mughal architecture from the 1200s to the 1600s. They were also used in recent centuries in
Iran.[3] They were sometimes used as decorative features in
Ottoman domestic architecture.[12][9]: 441
Near-vertical salasabil in the mostly-1500s
Agra Fort (dry)
^Mostafa, Saleh Lamei (1989). "The Cairene Sabil: Form and Meaning". Muqarnas. 6: 33–42.
doi:
10.2307/1602278.
JSTOR1602278.
^
abBehrens-Abouseif, Doris (2007). Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture. The American University in Cairo Press.
ISBN9789774160776.
^Sumner-Boyd, Hilary; Freely, John (2010). Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City (Revised ed.). Tauris Parke Paperbacks.
^
abGoodwin, Godfrey (1971). A History of Ottoman Architecture. New York: Thames & Hudson.
ISBN0500274290.
^
abWilliams, Caroline (2008). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (6th ed.). Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.
ISBN9789774162053.
^Kuban, Doğan (2010). Ottoman Architecture. Translated by Mill, Adair. Antique Collectors' Club.
ISBN9781851496044.