Page "Saladin" Paragraph 38

After leaving the al-Nusayri Mountains, Saladin returned to Damascus and had his Syrian soldiers return home.

He left Turan Shah in command of Syria, and left for Egypt with only his personal followers, reaching Cairo on September 22.

Having been absent roughly two years, he had much to organize and supervise in Egypt, namely fortifying and reconstructing Cairo.

The city walls were repaired and their extensions laid out, while the construction of the Cairo Citadel was commenced.

The deep Bir Yusuf (" Joseph's Well ") was built on Saladin's orders.

The chief public work he commissioned outside of Cairo was the large bridge at Giza, which intended to form an outwork of defense against a potential Moorish invasion.