Egypt, Cairo, Citadel, Burg as-Sahra'

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The Northern Enclosure of Cairo's Citadel is surrounded by the Citadel's original Ayyubid walls and towers.
Salah ad-Din's BURG AS-SAHRA' (Desert Tower) was refortifled twice. In 1207, al-Kamil added a rear stone
platform as a base for mangonels. In 1501, Ganbalat encased the tower In rusticated stone blocks to
strengthen it against artillery fire.
* Beneath the Burg as-Sahra' Is a well from the reign of Salah ad-Din, surmounted by the ruins of a pumping
tower, probably built by the Mamluks. The tower seems to have connected to an aqueduct, which carried
water into the Northern EncIosure. Under the Ayyubids, access to the weil would have been by way of a
small postern gate (now walled up) to the west of the Burg as-Sahra'.
* From the Burg as-Sahra', Ganbalat's stone encasement continues along the next segment of Salah ad-Din's
walls, which runs west for 80 meters, before making a slight bend to the south..

Last updated: 6/12/06