DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4645#0005
THE MINARETS AT THE BAB ZUWEYLEH, AND ENTRANCE TO THE
MOSQUE OF THE METWALIS, CAIRO.
This gate was built in the reign of the Caliph El-Mutansir, about the year 1092, of the Hegira 485.
It stands between the fine minarets of the mosque of Gama El-Mu-eiyad, called also the mosque of
Bab Zuweyleh, and of the Metwalis; the latter name derived from a devout saint, or Wallee, who is
supposed mysteriously to visit the spot, and from which it has acquired its most popular name. To
the above Caliph, Cairo owes others of its present gates, for the Bab en Nasr and Bab el Futooh
were built by him. The original gate of Bab Zuweyleh, which, like those above mentioned, was built
by Gohar, the general of El Moez, was removed from the original site which he chose, and erected
on the present, by El-Guyoosh, the vizier of the Caliph El-Mutansir.
The difficulty of obtaining accurate information about the founders and the periods of foundation
of many of the public buildings, particularly the mosques of Cairo, is increased by the confusion in
which the Arabian authors have either left their records, or in their contradiction of each other. Ibn
Abd-ez-Zahir says the gate was built by Aboo-Mansoor, son of El Moez, the founder of Cairo, and
completed by the Emir El-Guyoosh. The adjoining mosque was built by the Sheik El-Mahmoodee,
who removed the towers of the gate, and built the two beautiful minarets which flank it, a.d. 1414,
three hundred and fifty years after the gate was erected. The mosque is seen on the right of our
view, where the steps lead to the principal entrance, and lamps are suspended from the beam which
hangs in front of the portal.
The direction of the main street appears to have controlled the geographical position of the
mosque, for neither of its sides is in the direction of Mecca. Upon its facade, seen in the vignette
of the gate, the date of its erection is recorded, together with the names of the Caliph El-Mutansir
and the Emir El-Guyoosh. Formerly a rope remained suspended beneath the archway, by which
Toman Bey, the last Memlook sovereign, was hung, in 1517, by order of the Turkish Sultan Selim,
after having endured the severest insults and tortures. Close to the gate was the place of public
execution of malefactors, and their headless bodies were often left on the ground in the street exposed
for two or three days.
The rude construction of the balconies to the windows and houses, and the awnings and sheds
over the shops, and the raised floors on which the dealers sit, are in striking contrast with the
massive walls of the mosque and the beautiful forms of the minarets. These are of the enriched and
decorated style so peculiar to Arabian architecture.
MOSQUE OF THE METWALIS, CAIRO.
This gate was built in the reign of the Caliph El-Mutansir, about the year 1092, of the Hegira 485.
It stands between the fine minarets of the mosque of Gama El-Mu-eiyad, called also the mosque of
Bab Zuweyleh, and of the Metwalis; the latter name derived from a devout saint, or Wallee, who is
supposed mysteriously to visit the spot, and from which it has acquired its most popular name. To
the above Caliph, Cairo owes others of its present gates, for the Bab en Nasr and Bab el Futooh
were built by him. The original gate of Bab Zuweyleh, which, like those above mentioned, was built
by Gohar, the general of El Moez, was removed from the original site which he chose, and erected
on the present, by El-Guyoosh, the vizier of the Caliph El-Mutansir.
The difficulty of obtaining accurate information about the founders and the periods of foundation
of many of the public buildings, particularly the mosques of Cairo, is increased by the confusion in
which the Arabian authors have either left their records, or in their contradiction of each other. Ibn
Abd-ez-Zahir says the gate was built by Aboo-Mansoor, son of El Moez, the founder of Cairo, and
completed by the Emir El-Guyoosh. The adjoining mosque was built by the Sheik El-Mahmoodee,
who removed the towers of the gate, and built the two beautiful minarets which flank it, a.d. 1414,
three hundred and fifty years after the gate was erected. The mosque is seen on the right of our
view, where the steps lead to the principal entrance, and lamps are suspended from the beam which
hangs in front of the portal.
The direction of the main street appears to have controlled the geographical position of the
mosque, for neither of its sides is in the direction of Mecca. Upon its facade, seen in the vignette
of the gate, the date of its erection is recorded, together with the names of the Caliph El-Mutansir
and the Emir El-Guyoosh. Formerly a rope remained suspended beneath the archway, by which
Toman Bey, the last Memlook sovereign, was hung, in 1517, by order of the Turkish Sultan Selim,
after having endured the severest insults and tortures. Close to the gate was the place of public
execution of malefactors, and their headless bodies were often left on the ground in the street exposed
for two or three days.
The rude construction of the balconies to the windows and houses, and the awnings and sheds
over the shops, and the raised floors on which the dealers sit, are in striking contrast with the
massive walls of the mosque and the beautiful forms of the minarets. These are of the enriched and
decorated style so peculiar to Arabian architecture.