Bab Zuwayla

Yesterday was the 6th of October, so we got the day off. I decided to do a little bit of exploring around Cairo. Esther has offered to take me and 2 other girls to Bab Zuwayla. Bab Zuweila is a medieval gate in Cairo, which is still standing in modern times. It was also known as Bawabbat al-Mitwali during the Ottoman period, and is sometimes spelled Bab Zuwayla. It is considered one of the major landmarks of the city, and is the last remaining southern gate from the walls of Fatimid Cairo in the 11th and 12th century. Its name comes fromBab, meaning "Gate", andZuwayla, the name of a troop of fearsome Berber warriors from thewestern desert who were charged with guarding the gate.

The city of Cairo was founded in 969 as the royal city of the Fatimid's Dynasty. In 1092, Badr al-Jamali built a second wall around Cairo. Bab Zuweila was the southern gate in this wall. It has twin towers (minarets) which can be accessed via a steep climb. In earlier times they were used to scout for enemy troops in the surrounding countryside, and in modern times, they are hailed for providing one of the best views of Old Cairo. The structure also has a famous platform. Executions would sometimes take place there, and it was also from this location that the Sultan would stand to watch the beginning of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. (courtesy to Wikipedia).

We got there around 11 and we stayed until the call to prayer, as people say it is quite impressive to hear all the surrounding mosques going on at the same time. We waited patiently and it was indeed impressive. I called it "traffic jam of sounds" - there are like 6 mosques around and it sounded quite morbid to hear them all from the top of the minaret.

I richly enjoyed it!

After that we decided to go for a walk around the area and we ended up in a souk; it was fascinating!! So many people, so many things, cars and bicycles, scooters trying to all find their way on this little path!

We were close to Khan el Khalili so we stopped there for a bit as well. I've never been to Khan during the day - there were too many tourists there i thought. In the evening it is nicer .. there are lights and there's a special feeling about it!

I took the girls to the famous (in my opinion) restaurant that sells Egyptian Pancakes. We got 2 big ones: one with bananas and one with mixed sweets (honey, sugar, coconut, raisins etc). The girls loved it!! I think every tourist needs to stop there and try a pancake; they are quite different than the American pancakes or the European crepes.It was a day full of fun!