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.
Native name: جزيرة الروضة | |
|---|---|
 Nile branch between Roda Island and Old Cairo | |
 OpenStreetMap rendering of Roda Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Nile River, Cairo |
| Coordinates | 30°01′15″N 31°13′32″E / 30.02083°N 31.22556°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]
Gallery
Northern tip
c.1800 map of Roda Island
Wooden bridge near the Nilometer
The Roda Island Nilometer, and island in the Nile
._Plan_g%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral_de_Boul%C3%A2q,_du_Kaire,_de_l%27%C3%AEle_de_Roudah_(el-R%C3%B4da),_du_Vieux_Kaire_et_de_Gyzeh_(J%C3%AEzah)_(NYPL_b14212718-1268726)_(cropped).jpg){kind=small}
References
External links
Media related to Rhoda Island at Wikimedia Commons
- The Al-Manyal Palace Museum and gardens
- (in German) Wikivoyage.org: Rōḍa - on Wikivoyage.org