The fountains of Istanbul are the patrimony of Ottoman and Islamic civilization. Şadırvan fountains in the courtyards of mosques give Muslims water with which to wash prior to prayer. Streetside Çesme fountains once provided the people of Istanbul with water for cooking, washing, and sanitation. Kiosk-like Sebils once dispensed water and cool drinks to quench the thirst of passersby. In Ottoman times, the building, donation, and maintenance of Çesmes and Sebils -- like many religious and secular structures -- was a pious act endowed by the public-spirited, who also conserved wealth to pass on to their heirs by assigning ownership of their gifts to specially established charitable foundations or Vakfıye.