Roda Island

Roda Island (or Rawdah Island, Arabic: جزيرة الروضة, Jazīrat ar-Rawdah  [ɡɪˈziːɾɪt eɾˈɾoːdɑ]) is an island neighbourhood in the Nile in central Cairo, alternatively or partially known as Manial al-Roda, or al-Manial,[1] in reference to the main village that existed on the island before it was urbanised,[2] and is part of the Misr al-Qadima district.

For other locations bearing similar names, see Rawda.
Roda Island
Native name:
جزيرة الروضة
Nile branch between Roda Island and Old Cairo
OpenStreetMap rendering of Roda Island
Geography
LocationNile River, Cairo
Coordinates30°01′15″N 31°13′32″E
Administration

History

The island was known in Antiquity as Babylonian Island (Ancient Greek: Νῆσος Βαβυλῶνος), referring to the Babylon Fortress.[3]

During the reign of caliph Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik of the Umayyad dynasty, a nilometer was built on the southern tip of the island opposite the mouth of the Khalij canal in AD 715 to measure the annual Nile flood.[4][5] The structure was replaced in AD 861, during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil,[6] overseen by the astronomer Alfraganus, and despite a number of modifications, is still extant today and known as the Roda Island Nilometer.[7]

The Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub (Reigned 1240 to 1249, great-nephew of Saladin) built a palace at the southern tip of the island near the nilometer.[8][9]

The mamluk Bahri dynasty originally settled on Roda Island at the palace.[9] The name of the dynasty, "Bahriyya", means 'of the river', referring to their original settlement on the island on the Nile.

The Bostan al-Kebir (Great Gardens) started to be planned and grown on the island in 1829 by Viceroy Ibrahim Pasha, of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.[10] In 1851 the Manasterly Palace, also known as the Kiosk was built on the island's southern tip on the ruins of the Ayyubid palace for Hassan Fouad Pasha Al-Manasterly, Katkhoda of Egypt during the reign of Abbas I.[8] Later in the early 20th Century the Prince Muhammad Ali Palace was built in the island's mid-north.[11]

Today, the island is a bustling neighbourhood of Cairo.[1]

  • Northern tip
    Northern tip
  • c.1800 map of Roda Island
    c.1800 map of Roda Island
  • Wooden bridge near the Nilometer
    Wooden bridge near the Nilometer
  • The Roda Island Nilometer, and island in the Nile
    The Roda Island Nilometer, and island in the Nile
  • The Manasterly Palace
    The Manasterly Palace

References
  1. "Manial Al-Roda: Birdsong and the call to prayer - Features - Al-Ahram Weekly". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  2. Egyptian Survey Department (1915). "Map of Cairo". Al-Madaq. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  3. Maspero, Jean; Wiet, Gaston (1919). "Materiaux pour servir à la Géographie de l'Égypte". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 53 (4): 68.
  4. Brian Fagan (1 August 2010). The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-59691-780-4.
  5. Ibn ʿAsākir. Tārīkh Madīnat Dimashq. pp. 8:84.
  6. Doris Behrens-Abouseif (1992). Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction. BRILL. p. 51. ISBN 90-04-09626-4.
  7. "Rawda Island Nilometer". egymonuments.gov.eg. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  8. "A Virtual Tour through Al-Manasterly palace and the Nilometer". egymonuments.gov.eg. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  9. Al-Maqrizi, p.405/vol. 1
  10. Rafaat, Samir (1997-11-27). "Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik Manial Retreat". www.egy.com. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  11. "Manial Palace Museum". egymonuments.gov.eg. Retrieved 2023-02-19.

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