The 190-room urban palace in the Darb al-Ahmar neighborhood of medieval Cairo was abandoned in the 1960s, but a restoration project rehabilitated the eastern building between 1977 and 2007.

Originally built in the 15th century during the Mamluk era, Bayt al-Razzaz is a mansion now comprising two houses, two central courtyards, and other utility structures such as stables, baths, storerooms, etc.

[2] The first house (eastern side) was built in around 1480 by Sultan Qaytbay and features highly decorative mashrabiya windows on the second floor, overlooking the street and others looking out over the courtyard.

[6] The second house (western side) was built by a wealthy rice merchant, Ahmad Katkhuda al-Razzaz, in the 18th century, probably to accommodate a growing family and an increasingly complex network of relationships.

[10] From the late 1970s, a team led by American Research Center in Egypt carried out restoration work on the eastern complex which were completed in 2007.