The restoration and development works of Sabil Ruqayya Dudu in the Souk El-Salah Street have been completed; it comes within the framework of the project launched by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to restore and save 100 historic buildings in Cairo.
The project aims to restore and raise the efficiency of archaeological buildings and restore them to be an archaeological path.
The renovation works took place in cooperation with the inspection of antiquities of Al-Darb Al-Ahmar and Al Sayeda Aesha and under the supervision of the General Administration of the Historic Cairo Development Project.
Brigadier Hesham Samir, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Antiquities and Museums Projects and Supervisor of the Historic Cairo Project, stated that the restoration work was carried out according to the monument’s old artistic and archaeological maps and documents.
The renovation work included the restoration of the front of the monument and the decorated display of the copper windows, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful facades of the Ottoman monument in Cairo.
Samir added that the internal restoration work of the Sabil included the restoration of the marble floor of the basement room, the treatment of the ornate wooden ceiling of the room as well as the wooden windows and shelves in the book room.
It also included the rehabilitation of the back of the monument.
Archaeologist Mahmoud Abdel-Baset, director-general of the Historic Cairo Development Project, noted that during the restoration work, archaeology assessments, as well as a stone staircase of the main entrance block, were uncovered, and electricity grid was developed and a new integrated lighting system was developed inside and outside.
It is worth mention that the monument of Ruqayya Dudu was established by Badawiya bint Shaheen after the death of her daughter, Ruqayya Dudu, in 1174 AH.
According to many inscriptions at the front of the Sabil, Dudu was the granddaughter of Radwan Katkhuda Al-Jalfi. They were prohibited from writing his name on the building due to his defeat by Mamluk opponents and his death.
The monument follows in its layout the Ottoman monuments with an arched front, which consists of a rectangular stone in three sides, and the fourth side is formed in a curved shape to open the windows of the sabil, and above it is the Kuttab.
Contributed by Yara Sameh
Follow the latest news on Google News
