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The Badi Palace
was built by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al Mansur ed-Dahbi (the golden)
between 1578 and 1539, following his accsession after his victory over
the Portugese at the battle of the three kings at Ksar el Kebir in northern
Morocco.
The 16 century el-Badi palace marks the height of the Saadian dynasty's
power, the centre piece of an imperial capital. It was a lavish display
of the best craftsmanship of the period, using the most expensive materials,
including gold, marble and onyx. Today only the great walls have survived
as a reminder of one of the periodic royal re-foundations of Marrakech.
The palace was largely destroyed in the seventeenth century by Moulay
Ismail, who stripped it of its decorations and fittings and carried
them to Meknes. El Badi Palace was more one for audiences and ceremonies
than a royal fortress.
During one of these ceremonies, the fate of the palace was predicted.
Among the crowds taking part at the banquet was a visionary who, at
the time, enjoyed a reputation for his saintliness : 'What do you think
of this Palace?' asked the Sultan al-Mansour in jest. 'When it is demolished,
it will make a big pile of earth' replied the visionary. El Mansour
was lost for words at this answer. He felt a sinister Omen'
El Ifrani, a historian writing in the 18 century, noted
the inauspicious numerical meaning of the palace' s name. The value
of its letters is 117- exactly the number of lunar years the palace
remaned intact (from 1002 AH to 1119 AH, that is 1594-1708).
The name El Badi ties in with the palace's one elaborate decoration.
In Arabic, 'Ilm al Badi' is one of the main varities of classical Arabic
rhetoric, the art of stylistic ornament- and the palace was certainly
one of the most decorated in its day. Above one of the main gates, the
following Arabic calligraphy : 'this gate is as beautiful the eloquent
beginning of a fine poem, and the palace is as the continuation of this
poem. Thus it was named Badi, using hyperbole, assonance and pleonasm'.
In its day, the Badi palace was was the physical symbol of the golden
sultan's glory. El Mansour had conquerred the Soudan bringing them under
the Islamic rule. Deeply influenced by Ottoman court traditions, he
no doubt hoped to establish the imposing ceremonial of the Istanbul
court in Morocco. The palace drew in wealth and skilled craftsmen from
all over. The colonnades were of marble, apparently brought or rather
exchanged with Italian merchants for their equivalent weight in sugar.
El Mansour had sugar-cane presses built. Perhaps there is an allegory
here, the power of the prince transforming crystalline sugar into powder
white marble and stucco. Sugar sweets were distributed to the sultan's
guests - at a time when well-refined sugar was a rarity.
The ill omens which had so frightened El -Mansour were realized : not
only was the palace destroyed, but all its fine building materials were
dispersed. The glory of the palace ws dismantled, and in the words of
one contemporary observer, "there was not a single city in Morocco
which did not receive some debris of El Badi". The vaulting ambition
and power of the great Moulay Ismail in turn had to find expression
in stone -or rather adobe- walls, but at Meknes, not Marrakech. Perhaps
there was a political logic to all this building activity. Moulay Ismail
is said to have declared : "If I have a sack of rats, I must move
the sack constantly to prevent them from escaping". The moral of
the tale : "Keep your subjects busy".
In june, El Badi comes alive for te annual festival of traditional dance
and music. Most of the year, however, it is a quiet sort of palace,
the high thick walls protecting the vast courtyard from the noise of
the surrouding streets. The courtyard is divided by water channels connecting
a number of pools. The largest of these even has an island. The ruins
on either side of the courtyard were probably summer houses, the one
at the far and being called the Koubba el-Khamsiniya after the 50 pillars
in its consruction. The complex contains a small museum which includes
the movable minbar of the Koutoubia Mosque. The scattered ruins of the
palace, with all fragments of decoration among the debris, includes
also stables and dungeons. To the south of the El Badi Palace is Dar
el Mekhzen, the modern-day royal palace.
Museum of Moroccan Arts and Crafts
The Dar Si Said, the Museum of Moroccan Arts and crafts is on Riad Zitoun
Jdid. This palace wa built by Si Said, visir under moulay el Hassan,
and half brother of Ba Ahmed Ben Moussa who built thee palace. The Museum
includes pottery, jwellery, leatherwork from Marrakech and a collection
of beautiful carpets from Chichaoua. It is particularly strong on berber
artifacts such as curved daggers, copperware, jwellery of silver, ivory
and amber. The first floor has been made ito an elegant salon with Hispano-Morish
decorations and some very elegant cedarwood furniture. The palace itself
is small but with a cool and pleasant courtyard where a remarkable collection
of old window and door frames are on display. Items to look out for
include a marble Basin, unusually decorated with heraldic birds, from
Islamic Spain, and a primitive four-seater wooden ferris wheel of the
type still found in moussems (country fairs) in Morocco. Those particulary
interested in traditional Moroccan artifacts will want to continue to
the neighbouring Maison Tiskiwin.
Maison Tiskiwin
Is a home to a fine collection of items related to Moroccan rural culture
and society. This small museum was put together by the Dutch art historian
Bert Flint. There is an exhibition of craftmen's materials and techniques
from regions as far apart as the Rif, High Atlas and the Sahara, including
jwellery and costumes, musical instruments, carpets and furniture. Note
the Nomad's tent from the middle Atlas. The building itself, around
a courtyard, is an authentic and well-maintained example of traditional
domestic architecture.
Bahia Palace
Bahia means 'briliant'. It was built in the last yers of the 19th century
by the vizir Ba Ahmed ben Moussa, or Bou Ahmed, a former slave who exercised
considerable power under sultans Moulay Hassan and Abd El Aziz. The
palace has the Andalusian inspired decor of the period, although executed
in a garish fashion which does not do justice to the craftsmanship of
the city. It is a maze of corridors, passageways and staircases. Bou
Ahmed was so hated that, on hid death in 1900, his palace was looted
and and his possessions stolen by slaves, servants and members of his
harem. The building is centered around a marble paved courtyard 50 meters
x 30 meters, the walls covered with ceramic tiles and round the sides
a glazed gallery which stood on wooden columns. There is a colorful
garden known as the Grand Riad or Moorish Garden which was planted with
fruit trees (bananas and oranges) cypress trees and fragrant flowers.
The apartments of the favourite wife looked out on this garden and also
on to a smaller, private patio.
The jewish quarter
The mellah was created in 1558. This lies south of the palace and to
the west of the Badi palace. This is an extensive quarter reflecting
the community's historic importance to the city, when they were involved
in the sugar trade and banking, as well as providing most of the jewellers,
metalworkers and tailors. There were different synagogues and under
the control of their rablis, the area had considerable autonomy. There
are now few jews left, but the quarter is still distinct in cramped
houses and narrow streets. Conditions here remain worse than in much
of the medina, with unpaved roads and insanitary drainage. It is worth
asking around to be let into one of the Synagogues
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