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A salsabil (or salasabil), also known as a shadirwan, is a type of fountain which maximizes the surface area of the water. It is used for
File:Agra Fort 25 (Friar's Balsam Flickr).jpg, Near-vertical salasabil in the mostly-1500s
A salsabil (or salasabil), also known as a shadirwan, is a type of fountain which maximizes the surface area of the water. It is used for evaporative cooling
An evaporative cooler (also known as evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning sy ...
of buildings, cooling and aeration
Aeration (also called aerification or aeriation) is the Systems engineering process, process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or solvation, dissolved in a liquid or other substances that act as a fluid (such as soil). Aeration proces ...
of drinking water, and ornament (it has also been used to prevent eavesdropping
Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information.
Etymology
The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eaves ...
). The water may flow in a thin sheet or thin streams, often over a wavy surface with many little waterfalls. Its use extends from southern Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
through north Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
to northern India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Etymology and name
The name ''salsabil'' likely derives from a Qur'anic reference. The term ''shadirwan'' is also used for devices for aerating drinking water. 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'').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, or the sheet of water may flow down a slanted chute.Evaporative cooling
An evaporative cooler (also known as evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning sy ...
causes the water and the surrounding air to cool as some of the water evaporates. Passive ventilation
Passive ventilation is the process of supplying air to and removing air from an indoor space without using mechanical systems. It refers to the flow of external air to an indoor space as a result of pressure differences arising from natural forces ...
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
A windcatcher, wind tower, or wind scoop ( ar, برجيل ; fa, بادگیر) is a traditional architectural element used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs: unidirectional, bid ...
.
A salsabil may also be used to aerate water for drinking in a sabil (or sebil). 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.
Salasabils were used in Mughal architecture from the 1200s to the 1600s. They were also used in recent centuries in Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. They were sometimes used as decorative features in Ottoman domestic architecture.
Agra Fort
The Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India also known as the Red Fort. Rebuilt by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1565 and completed in 1573, it served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when t ...
(dry)
File:Front of Bibi Ka Maqbara.jpg, 1660s Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India (dry)
File:Atrium of the House of the Centenary at Pompeii, 1901.jpg, Atrium
Atrium may refer to:
Anatomy
* Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart
* Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods
* Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain
* Pulmona ...
of the House of the Centenary
The House of the Centenary (Italian ''Casa del Centenario'', also known as the House of the Centenarian) was the house of a wealthy resident of Pompeii, preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house was discovered in 1879, and was ...
, Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
, mid-2nd century BC (dry)
File:Villa Getty.JPG, Replica of a Roman fountain in the House of the Large Fountain, Pompeii.
File:Indoor fountain with water channel - Alcázar of Seville, Spain - DSC07295 (cropped).JPG, A near-horizontal ridged channel in the Room of Justice, 1360s Alcazar of Seville, Spain (wet)
File:Fuente Alhambra.JPG, Water flows out over the corrugated sides of a fountain, 1360s , Alhambra
The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...
, Granada, Spain (wet)
File:Fontaine chambre Murad III harem palais Topkapi.jpg, Privy Chamber of Murat III, late 16th century, Topkapı Palace
The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio
A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...
, Istanbul, Turkey (dry)
File:Al-Ghuri sabil DSCF8913.jpg, Marble salsabil in the sebil
A sebil or sabil ( ar, سبيل, sabīl ; Turkish: ''sebil'') is a small kiosk in the Islamic architectural tradition where water is freely dispensed to members of the public by an attendant behind a grilled window. The term is sometimes also ...
chamber of the al-Ghuriya Complex, Cairo, Egypt (dry)
See also
* Passive coolingReferences
{{HVAC Arabic words and phrases Passive cooling Passive ventilation Water treatment