The wikala (Arabic: 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.

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.

[4] 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.

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 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.