Description of the attraction
Mahdia is the ancient city of Tunisia, famous for its medina and although its walls are not very old, some interesting structures have been preserved here. The Skifa-el-Kala gate is a fortress gate leading to the central Cairo square. They were built by the ruling Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century, as was customary in the Middle Ages, facing the mainland. They were built both for defense as a defensive structure and as a gate leading to the palace of the rulers. When the Spaniards, leaving in 1554, destroyed the protective walls, the Black Gate, or the gate of Skif al-Kala, they did not touch, but they had to be restored. After the gate, a 21 meter long serpentine winding corridor begins.
The gate was built in such a way that invaders coming from the sea had little chance of getting into the city - they had to walk to the gate and this was the only way to enter the city. At this time, the soldiers who were on the fortress walls could hit part of the army from above with arrows, boiling water, hot oil. The enemies who reached the gate were barred from the path of six descending wrought iron bars.
If you turn onto a stone staircase from the opening in the gate, then along it you can climb to the roof of a corridor with terraces, from which a magnificent panorama of the city with its surroundings and the ever-bustling port opens. Also, once a week, one of the famous noisy city oriental bazaars with small shops and restaurants unfolds near the gate of Skif al-Kala. It sells a variety of goods, including souvenirs depicting the gate itself.
