What is a Fountain

Irrigating cities and providing their inhabitants with water was a priority for Muslim dynasties throughout Islamic history-particularly if those cities were central to the caliphate or heavily populated.^[1] One of the ways in which this goal was accomplished was by commissioning the building of drinking fountains throughout different cities like Jerusalem that could be used for drinking or ablution. ^[2]

Al-Aqsa Fountains

Al-Aqsa has many fountains distributed in the plaza of the mosque.^[3] Most of the fountains date back at least to the Mamluk period and many were rebuilt during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.^[4]

Construction

Because the fountains built near Al-Aqsa were built or renovated in different eras, their architectural styles differ. Some of them are shaped like pools like the cup fountain and the Narinj fountain, some look like tanks like the King Issa fountain, some like a square room with windows,and still others are basins or are shaped like ordinary kitchen taps .^[5]

List of Al-Aqsa Fountains