Islamic heritage · Cairo
Wikala of al-Ghuri
One of the most impressive and best-preserved caravanserais of medieval Cairo, built in the early sixteenth century around an open courtyard.
The story
The wikala of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri was built around 1504 to 1505 and is today regarded as one of the most impressive and best-preserved buildings of its kind in Cairo. It has a rectangular open courtyard surrounded by halls on five floors; the lower levels are thought to have served as merchants' storerooms, while the upper floors were residential. It is part of al-Ghuri's complex of monuments, which also includes a madrasa, khanqah, sabil, kuttab and house, and it stands on Muhammad Abduh Street off al-Azhar Street.
Good to know
- The open courtyard is surrounded by halls on five floors.
- The wikala is registered among the Islamic and Coptic monuments under number 64.