2004 and 2006 World Monuments Watch
Among the most ornate eighteenth-century structures still standing in the historic center of Cairo, the Sabil Ruqayya Dudu is a rare example of Rococo-influenced Ottoman-period architecture. Built in 1761 in memory of Ruqayya Dudu, a daughter of Badawiyya Shahin and the prince Radwan Bek, the interior of the structure, which served as a public water fountain, has a painted wooden ceiling bearing numerous inscriptions, sacred and secular. The exterior facade is distinguished by its use of Turkish ceramic tiles, its wooden canopy, segmented arches, and muqarnas, or stalactites, as well as abundant geometrical and floral ornamentation engraved in stone. Little conservation work has been done, apart from a few repairs made early in the twentieth century. The building now suffers from widespread decay.
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