Sabil Sulayman, designed in the form of an arched niche, is embedded into the southern wall of al-Mahmudiyya Mosque. The sabil is decorated with gray, pink and white marble panels, with marble pilasters, blind arches and Arabic inscriptions and framed by a wide stone arch.

The sabil was built in the beginning of the 19th century during the renovations of al-Mahmudiyya Mosque. While the mosque was reconstructed by the governor of Jaffa, Muhammad Abu-Nabbut, the sabil was built by Sulayman Pasha, Abu Nabbut's superior and governor of Acre.

Before the walls of Old Jaffa were dismantled, the sabil was situated in a walled area in front of the main gate to the city. It was a place where travelers could drink, wash their hands, faces and feet, rest from a long voyage or prepare for a forthcoming journey.


Sources:

Or, Even, Peder, Shimon and Shaham, Zvi. 1988. Midrakhon Yafo: Madrikh leSiyur Azmi. Tel Aviv: Israel Museum.

Petersen, Andrew. 2001. A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine: Part 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 172.

Yanon, Ya`acov. 2001. Sviv Kikar ha-Shaon. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 50-52, 56-57.