Sabil of Muhammed Ali Pasha Cairo

This elegant 1820 sabil (public fountain) was the first in Cairo to have gilded window grilles and calligraphic panels in Ottoman Turkish. It has been meticulously restored, with interesting displays about Muhammed Ali, who had the complex built to honour his son Tusun, who died of the plague. Nifty details include access to the cistern below and desks in the kuttab (Quranic school) upstairs, which welcomed students until 1992.