above shops connected to markets stretching along the side street. To provide shade for the street a wooden roof links the buildings. This area was historically part of Cairo's textile market and textiles and clothes continue to be sold here today. Al-Ghuri also had a wikala (caravanserai) built nearby, slightly to the east along Sharia al-Azhar, known as the Wikalat al-Ghuri. It provided revenues for main complex and remains one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind today. The complex was designed to reveal its minaret-and-dome composition to an onlooker coming from the south. Although the dome and the minaret are separated by the street, they were conceived as a single, harmonious composition and were united by blue ceramic decoration. These blue ceramics are similar to the blue ceramic decoration other the sultan's minaret at Al-Azhar. Unlike other religious complexes, the facades of the complex are not adjusted to the street alignment. They rather follow the orientation of the two sides of the complex. This creates a square and is semi-enclosed at the north end by the projection of the sabil-kuttab of the mausoleum, and at the south end by the projection of the minaret of the madrasa. The market and the rents helped pay for the upkeep of al-Ghuri's complex. The facades of the two buildings are not identical, however they have similar features. The windows of the lower floor are rectangular while those above have a characteristic Mamluk triple composition with two arched windows and a round oculus above. The portals are recessed and have trilobed profiles, muqarnas carving, and marble paneling in variations of black and white. The columns at the corner of the mosque and the mausoleum have capitals of Coptic and Byzantine styles, indicating that the Mamluk craftsmen were imitating pre-Islamic designs. In addition to the various decorative details, the building has ablaq masonry of alternating beige and tawny colours. Madrasa-mosque (western building) The western building served as a Friday mosque but is also described as a madrasa or madrasa-mosque. It has a four-iwan layout around a central court, which was characteristic of late Mamluk architecture. The central courtyard is open to the sky and was originally covered with a netting to prevent birds from flying inside. The eastern iwan oriented towards the qibla (direction of prayer) and containing the mihrab and minbar of the mosque, while the western iwan at the back serves as