Bab Zuwayla or Bab El Metwalli lies in El-Metwalli Square next to the Mosque El Muayyad Sheikh . This gate is one of the remaining gates that were erected in the Fatimid period for protecting the city from the outer attacks from the southern side. The gate was constructed in 1092 by the minister or Wazir Badr El-Gamaly who is credited to the construction of Cairo Walls , Bab El Nasr and Bab El Futuh as well. It carries the name of a brave soldier from the Berber tribe who was living nearby the original gate that was constructed in 969.

 

The gate is called also Bab El-Metwalli which was the name of Ottoman Wali or Officer who was living next to the gate and after that there was another Saint called Metwalli El-Qutb that was visited by a large number of people. From the platform that was placed between the towers of the gate the Mamluk Khalifa was able to see the Mahmal or the groups of people who were traveling to perform pilgrimage. The gate was used for a while as a place for executing the criminals whose heads were usually hanged over the gate to be seen by the mob.

 

The most remarkable execution that happened in that place is the execution of Tumanbay who was a good ruler by Ottoman Sultan Selim the Grim in the 16th century. The towers over the gate are designed on the Byzantine style with their round shape and the covered corridor the links between them. Over the eastern tower appears a collection of objects that were used in the medieval period. The west wall of the gate includes the Mosque of El Muayyad Sheikh with its two remarkable limestone Minarets that date back to the 15th century.The Minarets and the gate were restored in 2001 and the huge doors of it were renovated and regained their beauty. During this process of renovation, the lower parts of the towers that were buried due to the raise of the street level were uncovered.