Articles Sightseeing Bab Al-Futu
We talked previously about Bab Zuweila, and today we will look at another door of the Fatimid Cairo wall, which is Bab Al-Futuh, the northern gateway to Fatimid Cairo. It was built by the Fatimid leader Jawhar al-Siqilli in 480 AH, 1087 AD, and it was renovated by Prince Badr al-Jamali to be in its current location at the entrance to the Fatimid Al-Muizz Li-Din Allah Street, next to the Al-Hakim Mosque.
If we look closely at its design, we will find that it was made of stone, and that its building block is 25.85 meters wide, 25 meters deep, and 22 meters high. Bab Al-Futuh consists of two round towers, built solid to two-thirds of the height, and the solid part of each tower is topped by a defensive room, and on top of the two towers we find openings designated for pouring boiling liquids on any aggressor who thinks of besieging the city of Cairo. You will also notice during your visit to it that between the two towers, there is a gate that takes the form of a semi-circular vault that is decorated with floral and geometric motifs. The gate has a huge door made of wood and iron, topped with openings like those in the two towers. And for the entrance, you will be amazed by the adornment of the cables, some of which are in the form of a ram's head, protruding from the face of the wall. The gate has a huge door made of wood and iron, topped with openings like those in the two towers. As for the entrance, you will be amazed by the adornment of the cables, some of them are in the form of a ram's head, protruding from the face of the wall.
Among the important and influential events that this door witnessed was the departure of Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, founder of the Ayyubid state in Egypt, in order to liberate Jerusalem from the hands of the Crusaders, who succeeded in defeating them in the Battle of Hattin in 1187AD. Also, the Mamluk Sultan "Saif al-Din Qutz" with his companion "Al-Zahir Baybars" at the head of the Egyptian army to meet the Tatars in the Battle of Ain Jalut 1260AD.