Walls of Fatimid Cairo..Glory of Egypt

By Ali Abu Dashish and Ahmed Yasser

CAIRO, Feb. 22. (SEE)- Archaeologist Dr. Hussein Basir director of the Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, reported that the Cairo city was built in 969 AD and had eight doors in its walls.

In the north, there is the Bab El- nasr and Bab El-Futuh, and in the east there is Bab El- barqia and Bab El-Qarateen, and in the south there is Bab Zuwaila and Bab El-Faraj, in the west there is Bab Saada and Bab El-Qantara.

The Fatimid Cairo doors are:

1- Bab El- Nasr was the gate in which Egypt’s military contingents entered the city after their victories over enemies and passed through it the greatest sultans of Egypt, such as; El-Zaher Baibars, Qalawun, Ashraf Khalil and El-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun. It was built by ”Jawhar El-Siqilli” and transferred by Badr El-Jamali with Bab El-Futuh from their origin places to the judge corner .

This door is considered one of the most important military monuments in Egypt, and contains writings that referred to the name of the builder and the history of building.

2- Bab Zuwaila is located in the tribal wall of Cairo, and was built by Badr El-Jamali in 1092, in front of the ancient Bab Zuwaila built by ''Jawhar El-Siqilli” .

Bab Zuwaila is the largest of Cairo's doors and is located at El-Moez Street, also called Bab El-Moayad or Bab El-Metwally. When 'Hulaku' sent his envoys to threat Egypt, Sultan ''Qutz'' executed them and hung their heads on the door of Zuwaila.

3- Bab El-barqia is located in the eastern wall, built by ''Jawhar El-Siqilli” in 970, and known as Bab El-Gharib because it was east of El-Gharib Mosque.

It was restored more than once and recently by Prince Abd El- Rahman Katdkha, and demolished in 1936, during the construction of El-Azhar University.

4- Bab El- Saada, it is located in the western wall parallel to the Egyptian Gulf, and built in 969. The name of the door attributed to ''Saada bin Hayyan''.

5- Bab El- Faraj is located in the South Cairo, and does not exist now. It was close to the shrine of El- Set Saada.

6- Bab El- Qantara which name is attributed to the El- Qantara that built by ''Jawhar El-Siqilli” on the Gulf and it demolished at the Mamluk era in 1270.

7-Bab El-khawkha, built by ''Jawhar El-Siqilli” in the west Cairo in the direction of the Yahya Zine El Abidine mosque.

8- Bab El-Futuh is located on Bab Al-Futuh Street. When Al-Gamali rebuilt the gate in 1087, he put both the Bab Al-Futuh and Bab Al-Nasr in their current positions and linked them with an underground passage.

The gate has two rounded towers with shafts in the middle for pouring boiling water or burning oil onto attackers. It is covered in vegetal and geometric motifs.