"Sebilj" or "Sebil" is an Arabic word which
means “road”, but in this context the term
defines a very old charity institution, an
unusually designed fountain at the city square,
where an authorized man would scoop up the
water with a salver from the fountain and give it
to thirsty people for free. The Sebilj Fountain in
Bascarsija is the only structure of this kind in
Sarajevo, constructed in 1891, probably
according to project of Josip Vancas. The
Sebilj Fountain which was built in 1754 by
Bosnian vizier Mehmed-Pasa Kukavica,
located a little further down from the existing
one, was burnt down in a fire in 1852.