The Nilometer in Roda Island
The Nilometer (861/247) : is considered one of the oldest monument in Cairo, situated at the southern tip of the Al-Roda island. The Nilometer is housed in the little building with a pointed roof, which is a recent reconstruction of a Turkish original. The pavilion on the west side is all that remains of the palace of Hassan Pasha Al-Monasterli, built 1830. It was a part of the Salamlik area and is now used as an exhibition center for local artists and crafts
The Nilometer (861/247) : is considered one of the oldest monument in Cairo, situated at the southern tip of the Al-Roda island. The Nilometer is housed in the little building with a pointed roof, which is a recent reconstruction of a Turkish original. The pavilion on the west side is all that remains of the palace of Hassan Pasha Al-Monasterli, built 1830. It was a part of the Salamlik area and is now used as an exhibition center for local artists and crafts
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The garden that once surrounded it has been replaced by a water
treatment plant. The Nilometer has been altered and repaired on numerous
occasions, but the basic structure dates back from 861, when it was
built on the order of the Caliph Al-Motawakkil. It is a stone lined pit
that goes down well below the level of the Nile. Three tunnels lead into
it at different levels.
In the center of the pit is a column graduated into 16 cubits of about 54 cm each. Enter and go down the steps to the level of the upper tunnel which is the widest of the 3 levels. The pointed arches in the recesses are apparently from the original structure (they appeared here 300 years earlier than those at Europe). As you go back up, notice the Quran inscriptions in Kufic script that runs around the pit.
These inscriptions are verses about rain, corps, flourish, etc, that says : "We send down rain as a blessing from heaven whereby we cause gardens to spring froth and the grain to harvest." (50:9) "Hast thou not seen how that God has sent down out of heaven water, and in the morning the earth become green" (22:62) . Originally this frieze ended with a short dedicatory inscription saying that the structure was built in 861.
This was removed and replaced by more verses from the Quran, perhaps by Ibn Tulun in 872, who did not want to give credit to Al-Motawakkil. When the water rose during the time of the flood in August, it was possible to tell by the highest point it reached on the column whether it would by a year of too much, too little or just enough water.
When it reached 16 cubits, this was the signal for (Cutting the Dam) that held the water back from the Khalig, a task that was performed with much ceremony. The tunnels to the river are now blocked up, and the Nilometer no longer functions.
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In the center of the pit is a column graduated into 16 cubits of about 54 cm each. Enter and go down the steps to the level of the upper tunnel which is the widest of the 3 levels. The pointed arches in the recesses are apparently from the original structure (they appeared here 300 years earlier than those at Europe). As you go back up, notice the Quran inscriptions in Kufic script that runs around the pit.
These inscriptions are verses about rain, corps, flourish, etc, that says : "We send down rain as a blessing from heaven whereby we cause gardens to spring froth and the grain to harvest." (50:9) "Hast thou not seen how that God has sent down out of heaven water, and in the morning the earth become green" (22:62) . Originally this frieze ended with a short dedicatory inscription saying that the structure was built in 861.
This was removed and replaced by more verses from the Quran, perhaps by Ibn Tulun in 872, who did not want to give credit to Al-Motawakkil. When the water rose during the time of the flood in August, it was possible to tell by the highest point it reached on the column whether it would by a year of too much, too little or just enough water.
When it reached 16 cubits, this was the signal for (Cutting the Dam) that held the water back from the Khalig, a task that was performed with much ceremony. The tunnels to the river are now blocked up, and the Nilometer no longer functions.
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