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Islamic Cairo
El-Ghuri Wakala
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The El-Ghuri Wakala was built in 1504 by Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri as a commerical hotel for spice merchants, and is one of the most complete and best preserved wakala in Cairo. Today, the wakala is used by artists, but originally the spice merchants would lock themselves and their wares into the rooms on the upper floors. The courtyard served both to board the merchant's animals and as a market.
The external stone facade is impressive, with its uniformity of windows. There are a few small windows on the first floor, but the upper stories of the building have three rows of groupings of three windows of varying design. The last row is covered by mashrabiya panels, each panel being three windows wide. The entrance to the courtyard is via a great door mounted in a trilobate arch. Inside, the building is very regular, with the exception of the first floor, which has wide arcades interesected by a gallery.