 Al @-@ Jamali preferred stone as the medium for his building works , introducing a new style into Cairo architecture . All three gates have massive towers linked by curtain walls above the passageways . They introduced architectural features new to Egypt including the pendentives that support the domes above the passageways of the Bab al @-@ Futuh and Bab Zuweila gates , and intersecting barrel vaults . Use of semi @-@ circular and horizontal arches , and lack of pointed arches , represented a departure from normal Fatimid architecture , probably taken from Syrian examples , and were never widely used during the Fatimid period . The use of stone also reflects Syrian tastes . 
