Two Ottoman Sabils in Jaffa (c. 1810–1815): an Architectural and Epigraphic Analysis

Abstract

This article discusses two sabils built in Jaffa during the second decade of the nineteenth century. The first is a fountain whose remains could be seen in the southern wall of the Great Mosque of Jaffa, and the second is an independent building outside the boundaries of the early-nineteenth century city on the road to Jerusalem. Architectural, epigraphic and archival sources are brought together to discuss issues of style, patronage and builders in late Ottoman Palestine. It is the thesis of this article that although the two sabils had the same patron and general architectural characteristics, they were built by two different mimars (master builders) and reflect different building traditions. Notwithstanding their differences, however, the epigraphic evidence from the two sabils provides testimony to the trials and tribulations of the founder's political career. A postscript is appended to the main article dealing with the regional variations of the use of ‘sabil’ as an architectural term, and its specific use in Medieval and Ottoman Palestine.