Wikala of Nafisa al-Bayda

Nafisa al-Bayda established this wikala in 1796 CE. It became known as the Wikala of Candles because candle manufacturing and trading took place there. The street-facing façade combines ground-floor shops with upper levels fitted with mashrabiyya screens. The entrance leads into the commercial interior, while rooms on upper floors were used by traveling merchants. The building belongs to a broader commercial and charitable complex associated with Nafisa al-Bayda, whose nearby sabil-kuttab survives as a separate monument. The Ministry currently publishes daily opening hours of 9 AM–4 PM for the wikala but does not display a standalone ticket price on the page used for this audit. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities currently lists the Wikala of Nafisa al-Bayda as open daily from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Its official record explains that the street facade combines ground-floor shops with upper merchant rooms screened by mashrabiyyas, while the central entrance leads into interior commercial spaces. The building's long association with candle manufacture and trade explains its historic nickname, the Wikala of Candles. Together with the adjoining sabil-kuttab, it preserves a rare and readable example of how commerce, lodging and charitable architecture were integrated along al-Muizz Street in the late eighteenth century. The upper merchant rooms and street-facing mashrabiyyas also show clearly how the wikala combined commercial storage, retail activity and temporary lodging within one compact urban building.