The Musafirkhana Palace, built between 1779 and 1888, burnt to the ground in November 1998 -- a very great loss to the architecture of Islamic Cairo.
The residence was built by Mahmud Muharram, an influential and wealthy merchant who traded between Egypt and the Hijaz. He built the nearby mosque of Mahmud Muharram.
At the beginning of the 19th century Muharram's house was acquired by Muhammad 'Ali and later used by his family as a royal guest house for distinguished visitors and emissaries. Khedive Isma'il was born in a room above the dining room.
The palace's rooms are arranged around a central courtyard. The interior, with its reception halls (qa'a), cooled naturally by air shafts (malqaf), continues an established tradition of palatial residences in Cairo.
Sources:
Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. 1989. Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction. Leiden; New York: E. J. Brill.
Rabbat, Nasser. 1999. "Cairo From Napoleon to Muhammad 'Ali." Website of MIT Course 4.615 on Architecture of Cairo.
http://web.mit.edu/4.615/www/handout17.htm. [Accessed February 14, 2007]
