Also known as khans or caravanserais, wikalas were hostels used by merchants arriving in caravans from North Africa, Arabia and the east. As well as accommodation, they provided stables, storage space and a place where merchants could trade. Wikalas were typically rectangular in shape with a central courtyard and the main gate that could be locked at night.
On the ground floor were the storage rooms and stables while the merchants slept in private rooms on the upper floor.
During the Mamluk era, Cairo’s golden age, some of the city’s wikalas were up to four or five storeys high. Unfortunately, none of these has survived. The finest remaining example is the Wikala of al-Ghouri, which dates from the early 17th century and is three storeys high.
It boasts beautiful mashrabiyya (carved wooden screens) on the upper floors and a once graceful fountain in the courtyard. Although parts of the building are closed for restoration, it now serves as an arts and crafts centre.
Its rooms have been converted into artists’ studios, a shop and a small exhibition of Bedouin crafts, while its courtyard is used as a concert hall and theatre.
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