Bab Zuweila, or Gate of Metwalli, is one of the gates of "Old Cairo" in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. This gate or portal is famous for being the gate under which the heads of the envoys of Hulagu, the Tartar leader, were hung when they came threatening Egypt, which eventually led to the defeat of the Mongols and the rise of the Mamluk state. The last of the Mamluk sultans, Tuman Bey, was also executed there after the Ottoman Sultan Selim I entered Egypt and annexed it to the Ottoman state, signaling the end of the Mamluk state.

The gate was built in the year 485 Hijri (1092 AD), and it consists of a huge block of building with a depth of 25 meters, a width of 25.72 meters, and a height of 24 meters above street level. The gate consists of two round towers with a third of the building block protruding outside the wall, and in the middle of the towers is an open passage that leads to the entrance door. The towers rise to two-thirds of the height in solid construction, and the upper third of each of them is a defensive room covered by a longitudinal vault intersecting with a transverse vault.

The general public refers to Bab Zuweila as the Gate of Metwalli, where a Metwalli used to sit at its entrance to collect the entry tax to Cairo. The term Zuweila dates back to this.

Bab Zuweila is the third gate that still resists the factors of time and neglect after the other two old Cairo gates: Bab al-Nasr and Bab al-Futuh. This gate is considered the most beautiful and splendid of the three gates, and it has two arch-shaped towers at the base, which are similar to the towers of Bab al-Futuh, but they are more round.

Bab Zuweila occupies a square area, each side of which is 25 meters long. The passage of Bab Zuweila is all roofed with a dome, and most of its ornamental elements have disappeared. When King Al-Mu'ayyad Abu Al-Nasr Sheikh built his mosque in 818 Hijri, the mosque's engineer chose the towers of Bab Zuweila and erected two minarets on them.

One of the most prominent landmarks of Fatimid Islamic Cairo is the seven gates of Cairo, which define and separate the city of Cairo from its surroundings. They are the gates of (Bab al-Qilla, Bab al-Sha'riya, Bab al-Nasr, Bab al-Futuh, Bab al-Sa'ada, Bab al-Kharj, Bab al-Qantara, Bab Zuweila). The aim of the sultans in establishing the gates of Cairo was to defend it against aggressors and facilitate the processes of exiting and entering Cairo.

Bab Zuweila is located at the southern end of Al-Muizz Li Din Allah Al-Fatimi Street, the main street in Fatimid Cairo. The gate is characterized by the presence of two minarets that tower over it like twin towers, distinguishing it from the other gates of Old Cairo. The gate is the southern gateway to the city in the 11th century, and it was built from some Pharaonic stones, which were recycled for construction, so you find some Pharaonic inscriptions on the gate walls engraved until this time.

Was established by the Amir of the Armies, Badr al-Jamali, in 485 Hijri (1092 AD), and it was approximately facing Bab Zuweila, which was in the wall of the commander Jawhar and has since been demolished.

The pair of towers were added to the gate in the 15th century when the mosque of Al-Mu'ayyid, located inside the gate on the western side of Al-Muizz Li Din Allah Al-Fatimi Street, was built by the Mamluk Sultan Mu'ayyid Saif al-Din Sheikh.

Among the most prominent tourist landmarks that can be visited at Bab Zuweila in Cairo is the gate, apart from the twin towers, it contains prominent tourist landmarks, such as the Mosque of Al-Mu'ayyid, which can be visited.

Visitors can see its large square for performing Friday prayers, in addition to a small place built in the style of religious schools, which the greatest Islamic scholars in the Mamluk era used to teach doctrines and Islamic jurisprudence.

Today, the Mosque of Al-Mu'ayyid remains one of the most beautiful mosques in the Bab Zuweila area and represents a milestone in the architecture of Fatimid Cairo.

If you climb to the top of the twin towers on Bab Zuweila in Cairo, you will be able to see a beautiful view of Islamic Cairo, Al-Azhar Park, and the Citadel.