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Things To Do in Cairo

5. Bab Zwayla

  • Sharia al-Muizz
    Cairo
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5. Bab Zwayla

Bab ZwaylaMore Photos
If it would have cost me LE50 to climb the minaret at the Mosque of al-Maridani, the LE10 I paid at Bab Zwayla must count as one of Cairo's best bargains.

It seems odd that, after heading north from Ibn Tulun for about three hours i had finally reached Cairo's southern gatehouse. The entire area to the north, taking in the Al-Azhar mosque, Midan el-Hussein, Khan el-Khalili, and the mosque of al-Hakim, all the way up to Bab al-Futuh and Bab al-Nasr would have been walled, and provided the heart of Islamic Cairo, a seething sea of activity and trade. As late as the nineteenth-century the gates were still closed and barred at night, even though the city sprawled far beyond the walled bounds. Bab Zwayla, its sturdy cylindrical buttresses surmounted with ornate twin minarets is the most impressive of the surviving gateways.

Approaching along the curving Sharia Darb al-Ahmar, Bab Zwayla stands on your right, astride the Sharia al-Muizz which continues south into the covered Tentmakers' Market or Qasaba - atmospherically '1,001 Nights', but a chief tourist destination and so home to doggedly persistent salesmen. You can get some decent street food from vendors here though. Admire the southern aspect of the gates before entering, and passing the shrine to a local saint. Once through double back to your left to enter the gatehouse. There are numerous panels in English talking you through Bab Zwayla's function and construction as you climb. Eventually you reach the top of the gatehouse where you are free to wander and take photographs. You can go higher however - if you go round the back of the minarets you get access to more stairs. These take you up to a balcony. Thin columns hold up a hexagonal roof above you, surmounted with a graceful turnip-shaped peak. From here you get quite exceptional views south to the Citadel, and north into the heart of the old city. Immediately to your left is the stripey al-Muayyad Mosque, topped by an oddly-proportioned dome. Sharia al-Muizz carries on into a souk that caters more for locals than tourists. The souvenirs and jewellery to be found in Khan el-Khalili is replaced here by piles of shoes, garish robes and GG bras. Racks of clothing jut out into the street like curtains, and young boys sway effortlessly through the crowds bearing trays of hot tea for the stall holders. periodically you are forced back by a larger obstacle - two lads on a motorcycle, a truck trying to force itself along the narrow road, or a vendor pushing a stove on a cart, selling hot jacket potatoes.
From journal Conquering Al-Qahira: a Walk Through Old Cairo