Nafisa al-Bayda (she was called the white due to the colour of her skin) established this complex in 1211 AH / 1796 AD. She was the wife of the Mamluk Ali Bey al-Kabir, after his death she married Murad Bey, a Mamluk general and joint-ruler of Egypt along with Ibrahim Bey.
This wikala was famed as wikala of Candles, due to the manufacturing and selling of candles inside. The main façade is overlooking al-Mu‘izz street, and divided into two sections. The right part of the façade contains dakakin (shops) surmounted with two floors each overlooking the street with mashrabiyyas. The left side, contains also dakakin (shops) on the lower floor surmounted with one floor with mashrabiyyas. The entrance lies in the middle of the façade and surmounted with mashrabiyya. It leads to several interior shops while the upper floors contains rooms dedicated to traveling merchants. On the corner of the street of the wikala is Nafisa al-Bayda’s elegant sabil-kuttab (public drinking fountain and Quranic school).
