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Click on any photo to see an enlarged version.
The Northern Enclosure of Cairo's Citadel is surrounded by the Citadel's original Ayyubid walls and towers.
The BURG KIRKILYAN (Tower of the 40 Serpents) is the best preserved of al-Kamil's square towers. It is
21 meters wide and 21 meters high. Some of the original round-topped merlons, which once lined all the
parapets of the Ayyubid walls and towers, still survive around its upper story. You can also see the remains
of corbels on its outer face, that once supported machicoulis, the projecting stone boxes that allowed
defenders to pour boiling oil on an enemy below. The '40 serpents' is probably a reference to the tower's
numerous, snake-like arrow-slits.
* The walls from the Burg Kirkilyan to the next small tower of Salah ad-Din were reclad in limestone by
Muhammad 'Ali, who also converted the Ayyubid crenellation into musket loop-holes.
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Last updated: 6/12/06