The small sabil-kuttab (a charitable foundation particular to Cairo that combines a public water dispensary with a Quranic school) built in 1760 opposite the venerated Sayyida Zeinab Mosque is almost unique in Cairo: it is one of only two dedicated by a reigning Ottoman sultan, and--astonishingly--it is decorated inside with blue-and-white tiles from Amsterdam depicting happy scenes from the Dutch countryside. Why did the sultan, Mustafa III, cloistered in his Istanbul palace, decide to build a sabil in Cairo? Why did he choose this site for it? How did it come to be adorned with Dutch tiles? What were the connections between Cairo, Istanbul, and Amsterdam in the middle of the eighteenth century? The authors answer these questions and many more in this entertaining and beautifully illustrated history of an extraordinary building, describing also the recent conservation efforts to preserve it for posterity.

The Ottomans, who patronaged the muslim and non-muslim nations from Indonesia to Spain, from the Crimea to Yemeni always pursued justice and brought it to the lands they conquered, as well as development and civilization without any language, religion and race discrimination. Only the Ottomans was bestowed with establishing a government ruled by 36 sultans, lasted for 622 years uninterrupted in the history of the world. The Sultans of the Ottoman Empire, from Osman Ghazi to Vahdettin Khan who ascended the throne had done important works as much as possible to keep the state on its feet, for the public welfare and content. Today, as the archives are opened and new documents are emerged, many secrets about the sultans and their periods come out.

This collection explores the ancient fountains of Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul, reviving the senses of past water cultures.

Despite the recent overthrowing of the tyrannical sultan, the reign of the new sultan, Baltor Elysian, may soon be over. After all, Baltor has simultaneously inherited throngs of powerful enemies, both foreign and domestic, who wish to command-and-conquer the tattered Sharia Empire. The first-of-many imposing threats is the massive army that has been traveling, by land and sea, for the Empire's Capital City named Pavelus--now only a handful of weeks away from their destination. This bloodthirsty army outnumbers Baltor's forces three-to-one, possessing more than one hundred and twenty thousand elite soldiers. They are led by none other than the younger brother of the previous sultan, who wants his property back no matter the costs--Emperor-Sedious Vaspan the Terrible. Will Baltor be able to strategically unite-and-train his horribly outnumbered people and eliminate every last enemy--including those chaotic-evil denizens who can magically teleport from other words or dimensions like Hell?? Read the sequel in this Epic Fantasy Trilogy to find out not only this "mysterious answer"...yet many, many more!