Shadirvan

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title: "Shadirvan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["fountains", "islamic-architectural-elements", "water-and-islam"] description: "Fountain used for ablutions in a mosque" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadirvan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Fountain used for ablutions in a mosque ::

::callout[type=note] fountains in mosque courtyards ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Fountain_Hagia_Sophia_2007_002.jpg" caption="A şadırvan for ritual ablutions in front of [[Hagia Sophia]], Istanbul, Turkey"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Po-i-Kalân_Mosque_2.jpg" caption="Shadırvan in [[Po-i-Kalyan]], Bukhara, Uzbekistan"] ::

A shadirvan (, , ) is a type of fountain that is usually built in the courtyard or near the entrance of mosques, caravanserais, khanqahs, and madrasas, with the main purpose of providing water for drinking or ritual ablutions to several people at the same time, but also as decorative visual or sound elements.

Shadirvans are Persian in origin and, with a curtain or drape, were originally placed in the tents of rulers or on the balconies of palaces. They are a typical element of Ottoman architecture.

References

References

1. Rabbat, Nasser. (1960–2007). "Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition". Brill.
2. Sumner-Boyd, Hilary. (2010). "Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City". Tauris Parke Paperbacks.
3. Goodwin, Godfrey. (1971). "A History of Ottoman Architecture". Thames & Hudson.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::