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First Person

Built in 1092 as the southern gateway of the walled city, Bab Zuweila became over time a site for commerce, religious devotion, processions, celebrations and justice.

Bab Zuweila, a treasured 900-year-old Islamic monument, is located in the heart of historic Cairo. Easily identified by its famous twin minarets, the landmark is one of the finest extant examples of fortified architecture predating the Crusades. With the passage of time, however, moisture, air pollution, and traffic wore away the structure and urban development obscured its original layout.

The United States Agency for International Development funded a L.E. 2.8 million (Egyptian Pounds) project for the American Research Center in Egypt to restore and protect the monument in cooperation with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. An international team led by an Egyptian expert began the restoration in 1998 and a completion ceremony was held September 14, 2003. The U.S. has provided more than L.E. 55 million funding for the preservation and restoration of antiquities in Islamic Cairo, Coptic Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria, and at Red Sea sites.

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