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Still existing in our days, Bab Zuweila
represents one of the Egypt capital’s medieval gates which
construction lasted from 1087 to 1092. The second wall that
surrounds the beautiful capital of Egypt was arisen in 1092 by
Badr al-Jamali when Bab Zuweila became the southern gate of this
wall. In the Ottoman administration the gate was called Bawabbat
al-Mitwali. The gate’s name is inspired from Zuwayla – one of
Berber’s troop of fighters that were set to guard the gate, and
Bab (“the gate”). Starting with the 15th century, the Bab
Zuweila’s neighbor was the sultan’s Mu'ayyad Shaykh mosque with
its two minarets added between 1415 and 1420 were integrated in
the gate. In the ancient times the minarets were used to search
the surroundings for detecting the enemy armies. Nowadays they
offer a great view of the beautiful ancient Cairo, being
accessible for tourists through an arduous climb. The Bab
Zuweila and the two minarets appear in numerous Oriental
paintings of the 19th century. Also, till the 20th century,
outside the gate were made the public executions. Bab Zuweila is
one of Cairo’s and implicit Egypt’s important landmark as well
as a live model of walled architecture existing before the
crusades times. Although over the years Bab Zuweila evolved into
an important place for celebrations, commerce, justice,
religious processions, because of the pollution, traffic and
moisture, the gate’s initial structure was affected. That’s why
the gate and the mosque were recently restored. If you decided
to visit the wonderful Egypt, include the Bab Zuweila, one of
the Cairo’s oldest monuments, on your touristic objectives list,
to feel the atmosphere of the old Egypt. |
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