Editing Fortifications of Cairo (section)

== Preserved gates ==
Many gates existed along the walls of Fatimid Cairo, but only three remain today: [[Bab al-Nasr (Cairo)|Bab al-Nasr]], [[Bab al-Futuh]], and [[Bab Zuwayla]] (with "Bab" translating to "gate").<ref name=":142"/><ref name=":322">{{Cite journal |last=Kay |first=H. C. |date=1882 |title=Al Kāhirah and Its Gates |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25196925 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=229–245 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00018232 |issn=0035-869X |jstor=25196925 |s2cid=164159559}}</ref> These gates are among the most important masterpieces of historic military architecture in the Islamic world.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=245}}<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Behrens-Abouseif |first=Doris |url=https://www.archnet.org/publications/3146 |title=Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=1989 |isbn=9789004096264 |location=Leiden, the Netherlands |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=68}}A restoration project from 2001 to 2003 successfully restored the three gates and parts of the northern wall between Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Warner |first=Nicholas |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/929659618 |title=The monuments of historic Cairo : a map and descriptive catalogue |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2005 |isbn=977-424-841-4 |oclc=929659618}}</ref>

=== Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr (northern gates) ===
{{Main|Bab al-Futuh|Bab al-Nasr (Cairo)}}

[[File:Bab_al-Nasr_DSCF9983_(retouched).jpg|thumb|[[Bab al-Nasr (Cairo)|Bab al-Nasr]], one of the northern city gates in the Fatimid walls, dated to 1087]]
Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh are both are on the northern section of the wall, about two hundred yards from each other.<ref name=":322" /> Bab al-Nasr, which translates to "the Gate of Victory," was originally called Bab al-Izz, meaning "the Gate of Glory," when constructed by Gawhar al-Siqilli. It was reconstructed by Badr al-Gamali between 1087 and 1092 about two hundred meters from the original site and was given its new name.<ref name=":142"/><ref name=":022" /> Similarly, Bab al-Futuh was originally called Bab al-Iqbal, or "the Gate of Prosperity," and was later renamed Bab al-Futuh by Badr al-Gamali.<ref name=":022" />

Bab al-Nasr is flanked by two towers of square shape, with shield insignias carved into the stone, while Bab al-Futuh is flanked by round towers.<ref name=":022" /> The vaulted stone ceilings inside Bab al-Nasr are innovative in design, with the helicoidal vaults being the first of their kind in this architectural context.<ref name=":142"/> The façade of Bab al-Nasr has a frieze containing Kufic inscriptions in white marble, including a foundation inscription and the Shi'a version of the ''[[Shahada]]'' which was representative of the Fatimid caliphate's religious beliefs.<ref name=":322" /><ref name=":022" /><ref name=":04">{{Cite journal |last=Shalem |first=Avinoam |date=1996 |title=A Note on the Shield-Shaped Ornamental Bosses on the Façade of Bāb al-Nasr in Cairo |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4629499 |journal=Ars Orientalis |volume=26 |pages=55–64 |issn=0571-1371 |jstor=4629499}}</ref>

Bab al-Futuh features no inscriptions on the gate itself,<ref name=":322" /> but an inscription can be seen nearby to the east, on the wall salient around the northern minaret of the al-Hakim Mosque.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Caroline |title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2018 |edition=7th |location=Cairo}}</ref>{{Rp|page=245}} Inside Bab al-Futuh, through its eastern flanking doorway, is the tomb of an unidentified figure, and through its western flanking doorway is a long vaulted chamber.<ref name=":022" />

=== Bab Zuwayla (southern gate) ===
{{Main|Bab Zuwayla}}
[[File:Bab Zuwayla Cairo 12 0864.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bab Zuwayla]], the southern gate of the Fatimid walls, dated to 1092]]
The third surviving gate, Bab Zuwayla, sits in the southern section of the wall.<ref name=":022" /> Badr al-Gamali rebuilt Bab Zuwayla further south than Gawhar al-Siqilli's original gate.<ref name=":322" /> The construction of the current gate is dated to 1092.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Hampikian |first=Nairy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QofAgAAQBAJ&q=making+cairo+medieval |title=Making Cairo Medieval |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7391-5743-5 |editor-last=AlSayyad |editor-first=Nezar |pages=204 |language=en |chapter=Medievalization of the Old City as an Ingredient of Cairo's Modernization: Case Study of Bab Zuwayla |editor-last2=Bierman |editor-first2=Irene A. |editor-last3=Rabbat |editor-first3=Nasser}}</ref> Similar to Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh, Bab Zuwayla was also adjacent to gardens, namely the gardens of Qanṭara al-Kharq.<ref name=":23" /> The [[Mosque of al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh]] was built next to the gate between 1415 and 1420, at which time a pair of minarets were constructed on top of the two bastions that flank the gateway.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=190–192}}

=== Eastern gates ===
{{Main|Bab al-Barqiyya}}
[[File:Bab_al-barqiyya.jpg|thumb|[[Bab al-Barqiyya]] (possibly the historic Bab al-Jadid), an Ayyubid gate rediscovered during excavations in 1998]]
One of the eastern gates of the city, part of the Ayyubid reconstruction of the walls, was also uncovered in 1998 and subsequently studied and restored. It has a complex defensive layout including a [[bent entrance]] and a bridge over a [[moat]] or [[Ditch (fortification)|ditch]].<ref name=":8" /> Initially identified as ''[[Bab al-Barqiyya]]'',<ref name=":8" /> it is possible that it was actually known as ''Bab al-Jadid'' ("New Gate"), one of the three eastern gates mentioned by [[al-Maqrizi]]. If so, then the name ''Bab al-Barqiyya'' most likely corresponded to another gate a short distance to the northeast.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Pradines |first=Stephane |date=2008 |title=Bab al-Tawfiq: une porte du Caire fatimide oubliée par l'histoire |url=https://www.academia.edu/1478648 |journal=Le Muséon |volume=121 |issue=1–2 |pages=143–170}}</ref> The latter gate, originally discovered in the 1950s,<ref name=":11" /> dates from Badr al-Gamali's time and, according to an inscription, was also called ''Bab al-Tawfiq'' ("Gate of Success"). It would have replaced the earlier 10th-century Fatimid gate in this area. Archeologists discovered a number of ancient stones with Pharaonic inscriptions that were re-used in the gate's construction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Régen |first1=Isabelle |last2=Postel |first2=Lilian |date=2005 |title=Annales héliopolitaines et fragments de Sésostris I réemployés dans la porte de Bâb al-Tawfiq au Caire |url=https://www.academia.edu/1900432 |journal=Bulletin de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale |volume=105 |pages=229–293}}</ref><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=99}} It was likely replaced by an Ayyubid-era gate built in front of it, but as of 2008 this had not yet been excavated.<ref name=":10" />

Another gate further north, near the northeast corner of the walls, was known as ''Bab al-Jadid'' up to the present day and thus possibly contributed to confusion over the identification of the Ayyubid gate uncovered in 1998, with which it shares a similar layout.<ref name=":10" />