Bab al-Futuh - Cairo




Bab al-Futuh is one of the three city gates still preserved in the medieval city of Cairo, which, as the palace city of the Fatimid dynasty founded in 969 AD, gave its name to today's Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Just like Bab al-Nasr, Bab al-Futuh leads north out of Medina, and Bab Zuweila forms a southern path.

After the conquest of Egypt by the Fatimid leader Jawhar al-Siqali in 969, his master, the Fatimid caliph al-Muizz Li Din Allah, who had previously resided in Kairouan (Tunisia), decided to transfer his residence to Egypt. The victorious general was commissioned to build a new palace city for his master near the former Egyptian capital of Fustat. To the north-east of Fustat, Jawhar al-Siqali established the city of Cairo with palaces, gardens, and residential neighborhoods for senior and soldiers of the occupation forces since 970, which he surrounded with a mud brick wall. Several gates passed through this wall in all directions.

In the middle of the new palace and the garrison of the city of Cairo there was a large square that had been constructed “Bayn al-Qasrine” (between two palaces). The main street in Cairo ran through the square, extending from Bab al-Futuh in the north to Bab Zuweila in the south. The Caliphs used this street for marvelous parades and processions.

The main traffic corridor at that time is now known as Al Muizz Street and it is a major tourist attraction in Cairo due to the many Islamic monuments located here.

Badr Al-Jamali new city wall

The Fatimid Empire in the eleventh century faced serious problems. National bankruptcy and various uprisings pushed the empire to the brink of collapse. In this case, the governor of Damascus, Badr al-Jamali, received broad special powers from the Caliph Al-Mustansir and thus a de facto will. He defeated the Seljuks, reorganized state administration and finance, and strengthened economy and trade. One of his achievements was an entirely new stone wall around Cairo in 1087, which replaced the old adobe wall and was supposed to prevent further attacks by the Seljuks. The new wall mainly extended outside the boundaries of the former city with some stretches. It now includes the Al-Hakim Mosque in the north, which previously stood outside the wall. Bab al-Futuh is located directly to the west of the mosque, which is still visible today. To the east, also at the north wall, is Bab al-Nasr. In the south, the new wall extended a great distance to the south, expanding the city with a wide strip. This is where the new Bab Zuweila was built around 1091/1092 and is still standing today.

According to architectural historians, these three gates display features of the Byzantine style. The Cairo historian al-Maqrizi states that Badr al-Jamali commissioned three Christian monks from Edessa in eastern Anatolia who fled from the Seljuks to Cairo to build the three gates.

Bab El Futuh is now considered a major attraction in modern Cairo

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