A new project has been launched by Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damati to restore the northern and part of the eastern wall of the 11th century Fatimid Cairo Wall. The project will be undertaken jointly by the Antiquities Ministry and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, the latter shouldering the EGP167 million worth work on the project.
The Cairo wall is a piece of outstanding Islamic military architecture. The northern walls are built on three levels that include the vestibules, gates, corridors where mounted guards could ride, galleries connected with vaulted rooms and halls with arrow slits. Only three gates remain today: Bab al-Nasr, Bab al-Futouh, and Bab Zuweila. The mosque of al-Hakim was built amid the fortifications on the northern wall, and still stands today.
Watani International
16 June 2015