Cairo's gates are reflection of the Fatimid era
Egypt, History, 12/31/1999

When the city of Al-Cahira (Cairo) was founded by al Mu'izz and Jawhar al-Siqilli, it was surrounded by brick walls with several gates. Later, Badr al-Jamali replaced these brick walls by stone walls.

The gates and walls of al-Jamali are considered masterpieces of architecture. Portions of these structures survived as Bab al-Fotouh and Bab al-Nasr. Towers are interspersed along the walls with halls and rooms. They protrude with slits on three sides to allow guards a full view of the exterior.

Bab al-Fotouh was so called because the army used it as an exit to secure the country's borders or to launch campaigns to annex new lands to the Islamic state.

According to historic accounts the gate was an entrance and exit for Cairnene dwellers and was closed at night as the other gates. The gate provides us with a clear idea about Egyptian fortifications in the Fatimid age.

The gate has a circular shape. The towers are semicircular, each having a carved round arch and above each arch there is a carved rectangle with three arrow slits.

When A1-Qahira was built it was basically allocated for the Fatimid Caliph, his entourage statesmen and guards. So, it maintained an aristocratic and fortified nature. This is why nobody was allowed to stay over night in the enclosed area. Visitors had to leave after Isha( night) prayers in order not to be locked in. But growing agglomerations were founded near the gates because those who assumed work within, preferred to live nearby.

The facade of the gate is ornamented with Fatimid weapons as daggers and swords and Qur'anic verses. The soldiers used to walk through a passage within the walls so that they would not be seen by outsiders. The upper rooms of the two towers were provided with holes to direct arrows and pour burning liquids.

The gates of Old Cairo provide a whole account of social and political life in Fatimid Cairo. Being among the major attractions of Islamic architecture, they are a part of a comprehensive plan to restore the glamorous face of Old Cairo.

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