Bab al-Futuh

When Cairo was originally founded in 969 by the Fatimid general Jawhar, on behalf of Caliph al-Mu'izz, it was surrounded by a set of city walls built in brick and pierced by multiple gates.

[3] Later, during the reign of Caliph al-Mustansir, the vizier and army commander Badr al-Gamali rebuilt the city walls and its gates in stone.

[3][4] The details of its stonework also suggest the influence of northern Syrian or Byzantine architectural traditions or craftsmen.

[7] On its outer façade, the gate's entrance is surmounted by a splayed arch covered by a stone-carved pattern of lozenges with rosette and cross motifs inside them.

[4] The overhang is supported on stone brackets, two of which are carved with the shape of ram's head, a symbol of Mars in the zodiac (known in Arabic as al-Qahir and associated with the founding of Cairo, called al-Qahira).

The transition between the dome and the rectangular space below is achieved through the use of pendentives, a feature more typical of Byzantine architecture.