Bab Zuweila

The Bab Zuweila, built by Badr Al-Gamali in 1092 when Fatimid fortifications were being reinforced, was one of the three main gates in the city walls. At 20 m high, with a 4.8-m wide multi-storey arch between two solid stone towers topped by twin minarets, it presents a beautiful and impressive sight particularly from the south. It is named after mercenaries from the Al-Zuweila tribe of Berbers who were stationed in the nearby barracks. The gate was soon inside the city following the successive expansions and Salah Al-Din’s construction of larger walls further out from the centre. Cairo was in effect divided into two with the inner walls still in existence and both sets of gates locked at night.

Bab Zuweila also has a more popular history linked to the annual caravans departing both to Mecca and the south, which the caliph used to watch depart from his window. It was not only the location of street performers including snake-charmers, storytellers and dancers, but after the 15th century it also became the site of grisly public executions. Common criminals were beheaded, garrotted or impaled, while cheating merchants were hanged from hooks or rope. Defeated Mamluk Sultans, including the last one in 1517, were hanged and sometimes nailed to the doors. Well into the 20th century, sick people came to Bab Zuweila to be cured by miraculous healings worked by the spirit of a saint. They would tie bits of clothing or an offending tooth to the knobs of the gate and rub their foreheads and chests against it, while praying to the saint, Zuweila. From the top of the minarets there is an excellent view over the surrounding area and the adjacent mosque.