Magra
El-Oyoun Aqueduct
Whenever you stroll
along Egypt’s districts, history will reveal secrets and stories of people who
lived in these districts through the numerous monuments and landmarks dotted
around Egypt generally and Cairo in particular.
A walk through the
Old Cairo neighborhood will lead you to one of Cairo’s historical landmarks. It
embodies Islamic thoughts and concepts with features of resilience and
determination inherited from its ancient Islamic architectural style.
All of that makes
you wonder how that masterpiece was designed and what is the
story behind it.
To answer your
questions, let us tell you the story of the Magra El-Oyoun Aqueduct, one of Egypt’s most fascinating water projects built
in Egypt. It is the fence that connects the Old Cairo and El-Sayeda Aisha
neighborhoods.
The obsession to supply
fresh water to the Salah El-Din Citadel haunted sultans and kings ever since it
was built. So, Sultan El-Naser Salah El-Din Yousef ibn Ayoub, the founder of
the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, dug a well to supply water to the citadel, and it
was named “Yousef Well” after him. However, the well did not deliver enough
water to the citadel.
During the Mamluk era, the architects of Sultan Mohammad ibn
Qalawun's government thought of implementing a mega water project to lift and
transport water from the Nile River lowlands west of Fum El-Khalig Street up to
the Salah El-Din Citadel east of the street.
So, the architects built a high wall known as” Magra El
Oyoun Aqueduct” extending from Fum El-Khalig to the Salah El-Din Citadel, as
well as four water wheels on the banks of the Nile in Fum El-Khalig area.
Moreover, Sultan Qansuwa renovated the aqueduct and built
another six water wheels near the Sayyeda Nafisa neighborhood. The wheels were
built to boost water flow to the citadel’s wells.
Nothing remains of the Magra El-Oyoun Aqueduct except for
the wall stretching from Fum El-Khalig to Sayyeda Nafisa areas.
Magra El-Oyoun Aqueduct, which was the only source of water
back then, consists of the “Maakhaz Tower,” which comprises six water wheels to
convey water from the small channel on the aqueduct’s arches to the deep wells
within the citadel to supply it with enough water.
Magra
El-Oyoun was known as “The Seventh water wheels,” given it consisted of seven
water wheels that supplied water to the citadel.
