Vintage 1900 Cairo Egypt Sebil Near Zuweyla Postcard

A lane near the gate of Zuweyla Watercolor drawing from a 1907 travel guide, retouched and restored. Bab Zuweila is a medieval gate in Cairo, which is still standing in modern times. It was also known as Bawabbat al-Mitwali during the Ottoman period, and is sometimes spelled Bab Zuwayla. It is considered one of the major landmarks of the city and is the last remaining southern gate from the walls of Fatimid Cairo in the 11th and 12th century. Its name comes from Bab, meaning "Door", and Zuwayla, the name of a tribe of Berber warriors from the western desert, members of which were charged with guarding the gate. A sebil (Arabic: سبيل‎) is a public water fountain, often decorated with stone carvings. Sebils were built at crossroads and outside mosques throughout the Ottoman Empire to provide drinking water for travelers and enable ritual purification before prayer. The construction of many sebils was considered the hallmark of a beneficent ruler.