Wikala of al-Ghuri

The wikala ({{Langx|ar|وكالة}}; sometimes wakala or wekala) is a term for an urban caravanserai, a building which housed merchants and their goods and served as a center for trade, storage, transactions and other commercial activity.{{Cite book|title=The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule: 1516-1800|last=Hathaway|first=Jane|publisher=Routledge|year=2008|isbn=9780582418998|pages=141}} Merchants could thus base themselves here to do business in the city. The word wikala means roughly "agency" in Arabic; in this case, a commercial agency, which may also have been a reference to the customs offices that could be located here to deal with imported goods.{{Cite book|title=Cairo: Histories of a City|last=AlSayyad|first=Nezar|publisher=The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-674-04786-0|location=Cambridge, MA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cairohistoriesof0000alsa/page/143 143]|url=https://archive.org/details/cairohistoriesof0000alsa/page/143}} Other examples of this sort are the nearby Wikala and Sabil-Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay and the separate Wikala of Sultan Qaytbay in the north end of the city, both only partially preserved, as well as the well-preserved Wikala al-Bazar'a.

The Wikala of al-Ghuri was built by Sultan al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri in 1504-1505 (CE) as part of a large construction project involving the creation of a mausoleum and religious complex that included a khanqah (Sufi lodge), a sabil-kuttab (water dispensary plus elementary school), and a mosque-madrasa. This religious and civic complex was located just west of the wikala and its revenues were intended to help finance its operations.{{Cite web|url=https://archnet.org/sites/4258|title=Wakala Qansuh al-Ghawri|website=ArchNet|access-date=January 2, 2018}}

The wikala building also included a rabʿ, a low-income apartment complex for permanent residence, above the wikala itself, combining two functions that yielded revenues.{{Cite book|title=The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo|last=Yeomans|first=Richard|publisher=Garnet|year=2006|isbn=978-1-85964-154-5|location=Reading|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo0000yeom/page/230 230-231]|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo0000yeom/page/230}} All these functions were established through a waqf, a protected agreement which gave certain buildings and revenues the status of charitable endowments guaranteed under sharia.

The building was most recently restored in 2004. Today it houses workshops and studios for artisans, local offices, and serves as a venue for cultural shows including Sufi whirling, generally aimed at tourists.

The building has five stories centered around a large rectangular courtyard. The first two stories are built in stone and distinguished by a portico of tall arches around the courtyard, while the three upper floors are made of brick and marked by regular rows of windows and (on the highest floor) mashrabiyas. Animals (pack animals or livestock) and merchandise would be kept on the ground floor, while the second floor housed the merchants (and possibly some merchandise as well).{{Cite book|title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide|last=Williams|first=Caroline|publisher=American University in Cairo Press|year=2008|isbn=9789774162053|location=Cairo|pages=168–169}} The three upper floors, above the portico, were part of the rab' (a complex of low-income apartments for rent). Each apartment was arranged vertically across three floors, with the first floor usually featuring a reception room and latrines and the upper floors containing sleeping quarters and other private spaces. In the middle of the main courtyard is a fountain decorated in marble mosaics.

The building's only external facade faces the street to the north, and is distinguished by its regular rows of windows and mashrabiyas just like its interior courtyard facade. The entrance is marked by a monumental portal that is ornately decorated with a trilobed groin vault, stone-carved muqarnas, marble mosaics, and alternating colored stone. Such monumentality was not typical of most wikalas, but it was a notable characteristic of both religious and commercial structures built by al-Ghuri and his predecessor Sultan Qaitbay (who built two other major wikalas as mentioned above).

File:Wikala al-Ghuri street facade.jpg|The street facade of the wikala

File:Wikala al-Ghuri portal.jpg|The entrance portal

File:Cairo, wikala di al-ghouri 03.JPG|The courtyard (with stage equipment for cultural shows)

File:Cairo, wikala di al-ghouri 08.JPG|The courtyard fountain

File:Cairo, wikala di al-ghouri 05,5.JPG|Stone arches along the courtyard

File:Cairo, wikala di al-ghouri 05.JPG|The facade of the upper floors around the courtyard

File:Cairo, wikala di al-ghouri 07.JPG|The second level

File:رقص فلكلور شعبى.jpg|One of the cultural shows that take place in the wikala today.

{{commonscat|Wikala al-Ghuri}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Islamic Cairo}}

Category:Mamluk architecture in Cairo

Category:Buildings and structures in Cairo

Category:Medieval Cairo