Bab Zuweila

Bab Zuweila or Bab Zuwayla (Arabic: باب زويلة) is one of three remaining gates in the city walls of historic Cairo in Egypt. It was also known as Bawabat al-Mitwali or Bab al-Mitwali. The gate was built in 1092 and the two minaret towers on top of it were added between 1415 and 1422 as part of the construction of the adjacent Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad.^[1] Today it remains one of the major landmarks of Cairo.

Name

Its name comes from Bab, meaning "gate", and Zuwayla, a Berber tribe originally from the Fezzan.^[2] This name was given because Fatimid soldiers from this tribe were lodged in this area when the gate was first created in 969 during the Fatimid founding of Cairo.^[1] In Coptic tradition the name was associated with Biblical Zebulun (Coptic: ⲍⲉⲃⲩⲗⲱⲛ).^[3]

The gate later acquired the popular name Bab al-Mitwali^[1]or Bawabbat al-Mitwali.^[4] According to art historian Caroline Williams, this name dates from the Ottoman period,^[1] while according to Nairy Hampikian the name dates from the 15th century around the time of the construction of the nearby al-Muayyad Mosque,^[4]^: 206 by which time the original association with the Zuwayla tribe in the Fatimid period had faded.^[5] The name Mitwali comes from Mitwali al-Qutub, a Muslim saint (wali), possibly fictional, who became associated with the area of the gate.^[4]^: 206

Construction history

Cairo was founded in 969 to serve as the new capital of the Fatimids right after their successful conquest of Egypt. The original walls of the city and their gates were built in mudbrick. The southern gate was called Bab Zuwayla, also known as Bab al-Qus, and it was originally located at a site about 100 metres (330 ft) north of the current gate, close to the present-day mosque of Sam Ibn Nuh.^[4]^: 204 In 1092, the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali refortified the city with slightly expanded city walls. The southern gate was rebuilt in stone at its current location and today's structure dates from this time.^[1]^[4]^: 204 The upper gate was accessed via an L-shaped staircase on its northeast side.^[4]^: 204

After al-Jamali's construction, various other constructions followed around it. A food storage facility called al-Ahra al-Sultaniyya occupied the space on the northwest side of the gate.^[4]^: 204 The al-Salih Tala'i Mosque was built on its south side in 1160. After this, various commercial structures were erected on the north side of the gate, including the Qaysariyyat Sunqur al-Ashqar, the Darb al-Saffira, the Qaysariyyat Raslan, the Qaysariyyat al-Fadil, and two hammams (bathhouses). A drinking trough for animals was also added on the south side of the gate.^[4]^{: 204–205}

In 1218, al-Ahra al-Sultaniyya was replaced by a prison known as Shama'il's prison.^[4]^: 204 This prison at one point held the future Sultan al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, who was imprisoned during the reign of Faraj ibn Barquq and vowed to turn the prison into a religious and educational complex if he ever came to power. In 1408, al-Mu'ayyad built a zawiya (meaning a small prayer room) and sabil (water dispensary) to the south, directly across from the gate, and after winning the Mamluk throne he demolished the prison and replaced it with the large Mosque of al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh between 1415 and 1422.^[1]^[4]^: 205 He re-used the two bastions of the gate as bases for two minarets to accompany his mosque, which remain standing today.^[1] In addition to the mosque, he constructed other commercial structures in the vicinity, including shops inside the gate's passage and along the façade of his mosque. He attached a residential complex (tibaq) to the top of the gate. Stones from the central part of the gate were taken out and re-used to build the mosque's secondary entrance. The newly empty space created inside the gate by this was converted into a vaulted library (kitabkhana).^[4]^{: 205–206}

The next major changes to the area occurred around 1650 when Radwan Bey constructed a market street (today's al-Khayyamiyya) and a palatial complex just south of the gate.^[4]^: 206 It may be around this time that the gate was plastered and given white and red stripes, which are visible in old paintings and photos of the gate. During the 18th century, urban and residential construction encroached on the area, covering parts of the old city wall as well as the staircase that led to the upper part of the gate. Among these constructions were two large houses named after al-Alayli and al-Qayati, which stood on the southeast side of the gate.^[4]^{: 206–207}

The red and white stripes were probably re-painted before the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Sometime between 1860 and 1875, the tops of the minarets collapsed, while in 1880 a flat stone lintel beneath the arch of the gateway was destroyed in order to make room for the mahmal procession.^[4]^: 207

From the 1880s onward, the newly created Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe (charged with conservation and restoration of the city's Islamic-era monuments) began a series of works to restore the gate and the nearby mosques. These works also cleared or moved many of the urban structures that had encroached on the gate over the previous centuries.^[4]

Historical uses

The gate also served as a venue for public executions and the heads of executed criminals or political enemies were often put on display on spikes above the gate.^[1] One such occurrence was in 1260, when the Mongol leader Hulagu was preparing to attack Egypt and sent six messengers to the Mamluk ruler Qutuz in Cairo, demanding his surrender. Qutuz responded by killing the six envoys, halving them at the waist, and displaying their heads on Bab Zuweila. The Mamluks went on to confront and defeat the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut.^[6] The last Mamluk sultan, Tuman Bay II, was hanged here in 1517 on the orders of Selim II after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt.^[1]^[7] The gate was still used as a place of execution in the time of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century.^[8]

In the early Mamluk period, sultans would sit on the platform above the gate to watch the procession carrying the mahmal (ceremonial palanquin) as part of the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.^[1] On a daily basis, drummers would also be positioned on this platform and would play their drums whenever an important Mamluk amir (commander) entered the city.^[1]

At some point, a tradition developed whereby the gate also became a religious site associated with Mitwali al-Qutub, an imaginary Muslim saint (wali) whose name also became the popular name of the gate. Local people came to pray here for the saint's intercession in times of need.^[1]^[4]^: 206 They would hang hair, a piece of clothing, or some other item on the doors of the gate in order to supplicate for Mitwali's assistance against sickness.^[1]

Architecture

The structure also has a platform. It has twin towers (minarets) which can be accessed via a steep climb. The corresponding gate on the northern side of the city was the Bab al-Futuh, which still stands on the northern side of the Muizz street.

Gallery

Bab Zuweila (gate)
Bab Zuweila (towers)
Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad
Surrounding buildings
Bab Zuweila minaret
Bab Zuweila minarets

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Williams, Caroline (2018). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (7th ed.). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. pp. 189–191. ISBN 9789774168550.
^ Vikør, K. S. (2002). "Zawīla". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XI: W–Z. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 466. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.
^ Amélineau, Émile (1850-1915) Auteur du texte (1893). La géographie de l'Égypte à l'époque copte / par E. Amélineau,...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Hampikian, Nairy (2005). "Medievalization of the Old City as an Ingredient of Cairo's Modernization: Case Study of Bab Zuwayla". In AlSayyad, Nezar; Bierman, Irene A.; Rabbat, Nasser (eds.). Making Cairo Medieval. Lexington Books. pp. 201–234. ISBN 978-0-7391-5743-5.
^ AlSayyad, Nezar (2013). Cairo: Histories of a City. Harvard University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-674-07245-9.
^ Timeframe AD 1200-1300: The Mongol Conquests. Time-Life Books. 1989. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-8094-6437-1.
^ Petry, Carl F. (2022). The Mamluk Sultanate: A History. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-108-47104-6.
^ Fahmy, Khaled (1997). All the Pasha's Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt. Cambridge University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-521-56007-8.

External links

Irene Beeson (September–October 1969). "Cairo, a Millennial". Saudi Aramco World. pp. 24, 26–30. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-09.

30°2′34.17″N 31°15′28.07″E / 30.0428250°N 31.2577972°E / 30.0428250; 31.2577972

[:03-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Williams, Caroline (2018). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (7th ed.). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. pp. 189–191. ISBN 9789774168550.

[EI2-2] Vikør, K. S. (2002). "Zawīla". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XI: W–Z. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 466. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.

[3] Amélineau, Émile (1850-1915) Auteur du texte (1893). La géographie de l'Égypte à l'époque copte / par E. Amélineau,...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[:0-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p Hampikian, Nairy (2005). "Medievalization of the Old City as an Ingredient of Cairo's Modernization: Case Study of Bab Zuwayla". In AlSayyad, Nezar; Bierman, Irene A.; Rabbat, Nasser (eds.). Making Cairo Medieval. Lexington Books. pp. 201–234. ISBN 978-0-7391-5743-5.

[:1-5] AlSayyad, Nezar (2013). Cairo: Histories of a City. Harvard University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-674-07245-9.

[6] Timeframe AD 1200-1300: The Mongol Conquests. Time-Life Books. 1989. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-8094-6437-1.

[7] Petry, Carl F. (2022). The Mamluk Sultanate: A History. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-108-47104-6.

[8] Fahmy, Khaled (1997). All the Pasha's Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army and the Making of Modern Egypt. Cambridge University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-521-56007-8.

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