Damascus, (SANA) – The traditional drinking fountains in Damascus, referred to as "sabeel" in Arabic, are viewed as one of the most important historic and cultural landmarks in the city.

Since ancient times, the people of Damascus were skilled in carrying water to bathhouses, mosques, palaces and houses using over 140 channels and ducts.

Due to the disappearance of several old drinking fountains, the campaign for restoring and rehabilitating them in the old city was launched, an effort carried out by the Damascus City Governorate, the Old City Department, the French Institute of the Near East, the German Agency for Technical cooperation, and the Syrian Environment Society.

According to researcher Abdel-Rahman bin Hamza al-Naasan, drinking fountains were known in Damascus before the year 580 Hijri, spreading during the Islamic era and becoming a phenomenon that distinguished Damascus from other cities.

Originally, drinking fountains were built in order to deliver water to populated areas with little effort and no cost, replacing primitive and difficult ways of delivering waters.

Later, the idea that running clean water is a form of alms or charity turned drinking fountains into a social ideal. Care for drinking water and competing over their construction and decoration developed them into rich architectural models.

The more rich and high-standing the person that donated the drinking fountain, the larger, more elaborate and beautiful it became. The idea was that hundreds of people drank from a fountain each day, and each of them read the name of the man who built it and prayed for him.

The distribution of drinking fountains in the Old City was irregular, as they were more numerous in the southwestern and northwestern sides of the town than in the northeastern, and almost absent from the southeastern side.

This distribution is related to the distribution of population density and commercial activities in the city. There were around 110 fountains within the walls of the old city and three outside it.

The drinking fountains in the city date back to several consecutive eras, representing the development of architecture and the relationship between the distribution of water and the urban development of the city.

Early fountains built during the Umayyad Era were constructed using light materials consisting of baked bricks and wood over black stone bases.

The drinking fountains lend an extra dimension to the architecture of the traditional Damascene streets, enriching them and breaking any sense of blandness.

Fountains are known for carvings and writings on marble or stone plaques above them, denoting the sanctity and purity of water as the source of all life and a symbol of blessing and philanthropy. The plaques also bear the names of the people who built or renovated the fountains, commemorating them after their death.

The Department of Water is responsible for repairing and maintaining the drinking fountains that suffer from wear and tear. Meanwhile, the restoration campaign repaired several disused drinking fountains across the Old City as part of an initiative by the General Secretariat of the "Damascus, Arab Capital of Culture 2008" festivities.

H. Sabbagh