Ula


Small earthenware pots called ullal (singular 'ula') are arranged in small groupings in stands or wooden shelves raised from the ground. Ullal are made of a deep red clay, often with simple white wave patterns as decoration. They have rounded bottom chambers and narrow necks covered with earthenware lids. Ullal work through evaporation. Warm water percolates outward through the clay chamber, and heat is drawn from the water within to propel the evaporation of water from the outer surface. They often have a built-in earthenware filter at the base of the neck to prevent foreign materials from dropping into the water.

Ula Photograph Gallery

Five ullal, three of which have broken necks, sit in a metal ula rack in an alley. Four ullal with lids on a wooden shelf affixed to an exterior wall. Two men smile at the camera while sitting in the shade with a large collection of ullal, most of which are covered with pieces of tile. A woman in a colorful hijab walks past a mural of ullal in a rack and a zīr. Two children near a rack of ullal located on a street corner. The older boy drinks from an ula while the girl holds a white cat. Five ullal sit on a metal shelf decorated with artificial greenery, affixed to an exterior masonry wall. A colorful birdcage with two birds is also hanging from the wall. In the foreground, a boy waters a collection of plants, many of which are succulents. A single dark brown ula sitting in a metal ring mounted on a wall; the bottom of the ula appears to be covered with gray cement. A middle-aged man in a light blue shirt drinks from the lip of a clay ula while holding a cigarette in his hand. There is a red metal ula tree in front of him with three additional ullal. Behind him is a storefront with stacks of boxes. A dark clay ula with white decorative lines sits in a metal ula tree in front of the trunk of a live tree on a sidewalk. Five ullal sit on shelves attached to a tile wall between two metal rolling doors. Below the shelves is a white kitchen sink cemented into the sidewalk filled with water and surrounded by garbage. A dark red clay ula with carved decorations and a lid sits in a cushioned circle of a metal ula tree next to the trunk of a real tree on a sidewalk.