Fortress of Babylon

One of the towers of the southern gate of the fortress stands to the right at the garden entrance to the Coptic Museum. The other tower is visible as the foundation of the Church of Saint George on the left.

The present fortress was built by the emperor Trajan, around 100 A.D., on what was then the east bank of the Nile, to guard the canal that linked the river with the Red Sea. The name derives from Bab il-On ('gate of On'), the ancient sanctuary of the sun god at Heliopolis. It became the center of Byzantine administration and Coptic religion. The fortress has several interresting associations with Islamic Cairo. Quartered here was the Byzantine garrison that 'Amr ibn al-'As defeated before making Egypt an Islamic country. The use of polychrome masonry, which is a hallmark of Mamluk architecture, is derived from the Roman tradition of building with alternating courses of brick and stone. This technique is visible in these towers in the layers of red brick and yellow limestone. Finally, although only two of the towers of the fortress are readily visible, the area it occupied is quite vast, and most of the churches of Old Cairo are built on its foundations. Several churches in this area contain interesting relics in the Islamic style.