Bab Zuweila

This monumental medieval gate marks the southern entrance of the old Fatimid-walled city and dates from the late eleventh century. Two rounded stone towers flank the passage, later crowned with the twin minarets of the adjoining Mosque of al-Mu'ayyad. In earlier centuries the gate served as a site of public executions and the display of heads, and it was from here that pilgrim caravans set out for Mecca. Climbing the narrow internal stairs to the minaret platform rewards visitors with a panorama across the dense rooftops of Islamic Cairo.