Cairo, Egypt has, in its history, had a significant number of fortified gates protecting both the inner and outer city. Apart from the purpose of defense, they were also used for differentiation of the varied social and economic classes. Often the gates were heavily decorated as artistic pieces.
Cairo's gates include:
Al-Bāb al-Baḩr (the Gate of the Shore), built in 1174 by Bahā’ al-Dīn Qaraqūsh, in the northern wall, near the northwest corner; destroyed during reign of Muḩammad ‘Alī.
Al-Bāb al-Barakīyyah (the Gate of Blessedness?) I, built by Jawhar al-Şaqalī; destroyed in 1936.
Al-Bāb al-Barakīyyah II, built by Şalāh al-Din in 1184; part of the eastern wall, which was built far to the east with the goal of expanding the city in that direction.
Al-Bāb al-Farajj (the Gate of Succour), in the southern Cairo wall at the hall where the tomb of Set Seada is located.
Bab El Fetouh
Al-Bāb al-Jadīd (the New Gate), built in 1170 in the eastern wall; still remains.
Al-Bāb al-Ghūrī (the Gate of the Attacker)
Al-Bāb al-Ḩusayniyyah (Ḩusayniyyah Gate, referring to a district)
Al-Bāb al-Khalq (the Gate of Creation)
Bab El Khoga
Al-Bāb al-Naşr (the Gate of Victory)
Al-Bāb al-Qanţarah (the Gate of the Bridge)
Al-Bāb al-Qilà (the Gate of Alkali)
Al-Bāb al-Sharī‘ah (the Gate of Law)
Al-Bāb al-Silsilah (the Gate of the Chain)
Al-Bāb al-Sir (the Secret Gate)
Al-Bāb al-Tawfīq
Al-Bāb al-Wazīr (the Minister's Gate), opened in 1341 by the wazīr (minister of state) Najm al-Dīn Muḩammad; still remains.
Al-Bāb Khān al-Khalīlī (Khān al-Khalīlī Gate, referring to a district)
Al-Bāb Sa‘ādah
Al-Bāb Darb al-Laban (Milk Road Gate)
Bab Zuweila
Bāb is Arabic for "door or entrance", from bawwaba (to divide).
Cairo is the thirteenth most populous metropolitan area in the world.
Cairo is located on the banks and islands of the Nile River in the north of Egypt, immediately south of the point where the river leaves its desert-bound valley and breaks into three branches into the low-lying Nile Delta region.
While western Cairo is dominated by the government buildings and modern architecture, the eastern half is filled with hundreds of ancient mosques that act as landmarks.