CAIRO: It is a shrine without a tomb, a fountainhead of blessings you need only walk through to be consecrated. But while some visit Bab Zuweila in search of miracles, others shun it for its long association with death and executions.
The shrines of holy saints might abound in Cairo, but Zuweila Gate (later known as The Mitwali Gate) is one of the few shrines that doesn’t house the body of an alleged saint.
Historically Zuweila was notorious for the impaled heads of the executed which were suspended on spikes from the top of the gate, the most famous victim being Tomanby, the last of the Mamlukes who was beheaded on the order of Sultan Selim the Grim in the 16th century.
But in the 19th century, after the gate came to be associated with Al Mitwali Al Qutb, the fortunes of one of Cairo’s seven entrances were reversed.
Al Mitwali allegedly worked miracles and was said to have lived near the gate.
More than a century after his death, people continue to hail from all over the country, especially from the rural areas, seeking his blessings.
Zuweila stood the test of time, and a thousand years after it was first built, the gate’s two leaves, weighing four tons each and made of iron-clad wood, did not need to be changed when it was restored in 2003.
During the renovation, workers recovered effigies and amulets, long rusty nails talismans, lottery tickets and even a ticket to one of Om Kuthoum’s concerts all wedged between the wood and the iron coating. Other amulets written by one woman to keep her husband from the snares of other women and horse-shoes for good luck, were also found.
These finds were exhibited at the museum set up within the gate’s towers, but more invocations for the Al Mitwali’s blessings continue to pour in.
According to oral tradition, Al Mitwali’s spirit was first believed to have inhabited the top of the Kaaba in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, but then moved to Zuweila gate.
He is believed to be residing behind the eastern leaf of the gate that never closes. A small boat hanging above the door marks the everlasting flow of ‘baraka’ (blessings) from this holy man.
The myriad talismans bear witness to a significant part of Egyptian common culture that continues to be practiced until today.
“Many villagers and Al Ghouhriya residents come to visit the gate, especially during Eid and Ramadan, said one of the museum’s guards.
“Those who suffer headaches hammer nails into the door to cast a spell on the pain; to treat toothache, they draw the ailing tooth and throw it in, others pass under the gate to allay their fears or fulfill their wishes, added the museum guard.
Mahmoud Hanafi, 35, a teacher and Al Ghouhriya resident says that even educated people believe in the miracles of Al Mitwali.
“I don’t know how much credence you can lend to the stories about that pious man, but the very fact that the gate exists within an area replete with mosques and other Islamic buildings would make you believe these stories are true, he added.
Alaa Kamel who works at a jewelry shop in the area added: “Some say that Al Mitwali is not a saint but, as the meaning of his name translates in Arabic, he is the one in charge. That man was historically in charge of collecting taxes. But the reason why the gate has acquired that reputation is that saints were buried near the city’s gates so that their burial places would evoke blessings. We still don’t know the whole truth.
Bab Zuweila was named after a Berber tribe that made up part of the Fatimid army. The Mamluke Sultan, Muaayad Shaykh (1415-22) built a mosque near the gate on the site of a prison in which he was incarcerated.
For 900 years the gate was an important thoroughfare into the city, the site of trade, religious processions, and executions.
Fatimid celebrations heralding the beginning of Ramadan were partly organized around Zuweila gate.
Today banquets to feed the poor are set up during the holy month near that gate. Although festivities have dwindled, Al Mitwali gate still harbors big secrets.
