The Palaces of Marrakesh

Morocco officially has four imperial cities: Rabat, Fez, Meknes, and Marrakesh. What are imperial cities, you may ask? Each imperial city represents a particular historical period where various dynasties set up their imperial capital. Marrakesh, the second oldest of the four, was the capital of five different dynasties and is now the most well-known city in Morocco. As an imperial city, Marrakesh lacks grand palaces or mansions for visitors to sample. Ironically, the only palace not open to the public is the royal palace. There aren’t even that many pictures of the palace online! I suppose a sense of mystery is important for any modern monarchy.

Since all the palaces here are essentially “inward-facing,” it is difficult to assess their grandeur from the outside. I suggest researching which palaces might pique your interest the most. Below are some of my favorite palaces we visited on this recent trip. The admission fee for each is between 40 and 80 dirhams, which are all quite reasonable by western standards. With some proper planning, one might even be able to cover all five palaces below in one whirlwind day.

Bahia Palace

Setting aside the admission-free Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, Bahia Palace is perhaps the most visited attraction inside of Medina. The palace was constructed in the late 19th century as the private residence of Su Musa, a minister of the sultan. What made him particularly interesting is the fact he was descended from black African slaves who served the Moroccan monarchy. But with hard work and political skills, he entered the court and built his wealth. As it turned out, his son Ba Ahmed was an even more skilled politician. Ba Ahmed worked his way up to be the personal chamberlain of the sultan. When the sultan passed away, he became the regent of the teenage sultan, making Ba Ahmed effectively the power behind the throne. Now, that was a meteoric rise, wouldn’t you say?

The entry courtyard is the least ornate space of the whole palace.

Because the palace was gradually expanded, it did feel like a big labyrinth. It is organized into three main sections: Grand Riad, Petit Riad, and the Grand Courtyard. Each one represents a different period of development and has different characters. This palace was made to impress and designed to be the most luxurious palace in the realm, perhaps even surpassing the sultan’s palace. It covers over 20 acres and has over 150 rooms and half a dozen courtyards. But like most grand landmarks in Marrakesh, Bahia Palace is well hidden among the bustle of the city. Visitors could easily walk by it without noticing it.

The oldest and smallest section is Petit Riad, which dates to the time of Su Musa. This section is a story similar in scale and layout to the typical Moroccan riad. However, the interior decoration is several levels above your typical riad. The decorations are on par with Marrakesh’s magnificent Madrasa Ben Youssef’s richness and intricacy. Since this was the riad of Su Musa, this was also where some of the most important governmental meetings took place. Unlike most riads we visited, the courtyard is filled with tall trees and four segments of planted areas. Although they are very picturesque, they do ruin the architectural photographers.

The Petit Riad is actually quite grand already.

Although the palace overall is in a good state of preservation today, none of the original artworks or interior furnishings survived following the demise of the death of Ba Ahmed, the sultan, who long lived under his shallow, ordered to have the palace stripped of its belongings and shipped to the sultan’s palace. Legends show Ba Ahmed’s concubines and wives looted the precious items before the sultan’s men arrived. It just showed us that no wonder how powerful you are; everything you care about would be out of your control upon your death.

Because of the palace’s architectural splendors, no one would be bothered by the lack of original furnishing. The city uses a few rooms for avant-garde fashion exhibits. If you are a modernist like myself, the palace interior's white-washed walls are beautiful. They created a wonderful contrast with the richly decorated wooden doors and ceilings. If the original furnishings were still in place, I could imagine the place would be visually cluttered and feel quite stuffy. This is the same reason that I actively avoided staying at some of the most authentic or ornate riads in Marrakesh. Sometimes, the decoration should be done with moderation.

Merely a decade after Ba Ahmed’s death, the palace became the possession of Thami El Glaoui, the new Pasha of Marrakesh, who naturally set up his rule from here because of its grandeur. As an ally of the French, he often hosted lavish banquets here for various European delegations. It was with great irony that the French kicked him out of the palace there soon after and made this the official residence of the governor-general of the French Protectorate in 1912. Thanks to its beauty, this palace was never abandoned. Upon Moroccan independence, the palace became a royal residence until the current royal palace was completed.

For me, the most photogenic space in the palace would be the Grand Courtyard, the section next to Petit Riad. This space was formerly a stable and later served as the private quarter for Ba Ahmed’s wives and concubines. Covered with Carrara marble of Moroccan zelliges, the courtyard is the largest open space in the palace and is quite simple in its design compared to the rest of the palace. The baby blue and yellow palette makes this a wonderfully cheerful space and the favorite among Instagram influencers. I am particularly fond of the beautiful marble fountain in the middle.

The last section of the palace is the Grand Riad. True to its name, this is a scaled-up version of the Petit Riad. The decoration here is even more intricate than the other section, with a complex combination of various materials. The courtyard opens up to two ornate niches and two large rooms. The largest room has some amazing painted cedar paneled ceiling that is truly impressive. My favorite feature in these spaces is the skylight lantern, which may or may not have been original. According to the guidebook, the palace underwent modern upgrades under the French Protectorate. Massive fireplaces and electrical outlets were added to accommodate modern living.

As far as the official statistics go, Bahia Palace is Morocco's most visited historical monument. Although the palace is sizeable, it gets crowded quickly in the morning. If you are determined to take some tourist-free photography, you might have to get in right when the palace opens at 9 am. That may sound pretty late, but you have to consider that the sunrise in winter was half past eight. Overall, I think a visit to Bahia Palace is a must for anyone spending more than one day in Marrakesh.

El Badi Palace

As beautiful as the Bahai Palace is, my favorite palace in Marrakesh is the El Badi Palace. Also located in the Kasbah section of the Medina, it was only a five-minute leisurely stroll between the two palaces, and they made a natural pairing for sightseeing. Roughly translated as “Palace of the Incomparable,” this ruined palace was designed to impress its visitors of the past. Ahmad al-Mansur commissioned it as a reception complex for visiting foreign ambassadors and dignitaries. It was part of the larger Kasbah expansion project under the Saadian dynasty.

Constructed by Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib from 1578 to 1593, El Badi was a massive undertaking with no expense spared. Funded with newfound wealth through a monopoly of trans-Saharan trade and their recent triumph over the Portuguese, the sultan determined to showcase his wealth and power. The enormous palace reportedly had over 350 rooms, a large reflecting pool, courtyards, and lush gardens. As a showcase for his dynasty, the sultan employed a vast army of artisans from all over the Mediterranean. The workers had endless precious materials such as gold, onyx, and ivory. At that time, the sultan had firm control of the sugar trade to Europe, which was very expensive. It was even reputed that the sultan could trade sugar for Italian marble at equal weight.

With such a description of luxury and excess, it is easy to be disappointed as you enter the complex. The entrance to the palace is off a narrow road wedged between three-story walls. Upon entry, it was clear early on how barren the place is nowadays. The route of visitation (or “Sense of Direction,” as the signs would call it) is well signposted and strictly enforced by staff. Immediately after paying for the entry ticket, the route descended to the underground chambers of the palace. The underground network of rooms contains various historic photographs, graphs, and artifacts from the palace.

Upon exiting these chambers, we arrived at a small ruined area enclosed by five-story tall walls on either side, the palace annex that used to be the residential quarters of the visiting ambassadors. The bottom section of the original partitions and the zellige floor tiles gave us a glimpse of how this complex may have looked a few hundred years ago. We could still see the footprint of the original water fountain. This area is particularly photogenic because of the dramatic walls and vivid contrast between the tiles and barren walls. But for us, the most eye-catching feature for us is the enormous stork nest above the palace ruins.

Call us ignorant, but we did no know that storks are relatively common in Morocco. I always associate them with quaint European villages of the Alps. It never occurred to me that my first sighting of storks would be in Africa. According to old Berber belief, storks are holy animals that can transform into humans. I have even read somewhere that there is a law in the book that disturbing a stork nest is a punishable offense of up to three months in jail. I don’t know whether that is true, but even such a “rumor” speaks loudly for the animal’s mystical status in Morocco.

The great courtyard and the sunken orange grove.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the grand courtyard of the palace. This space is immense as it is easily ten times larger than the Grand Courtyard of the Bahai Palace. The courtyard roughly follows the principles of an Islamic courtyard garden, albeit on a massive scale. A large central reflective pool and walkways divide the courtyard into four quadrants of fruit tree groves. The most ingenious feature of the design here is the sunken gardens. By depressing the ground level of the gardens, guests can enjoy the treetop canopy from a higher vantage point without looking at the barren soil below. It also allows groundkeepers to disappear from view. I am surprised we haven’t seen this type of design more often.

Two massive pavilions anchor the central courtyard. The layout is said to be a copy of the Court of the Lions from Alhambra, Spain. On the west side is the Pavilion of the Fifty. The fifty means alludes to the fact that there used to be fifty columns that supported the dome, or the physical measurement of the pavilion is 50 cubits, an ancient unit of measurement. This pavilion is a throne room where foreign ambassadors present their credentials to the sultan. The niche where the throne once sat has been partially restored to give us a better historical context. Sadly, the roof, the fifty columns, and the interior walls are all gone now. The only trace of its former splendor is a section of beautiful floor tiles at the pavilion's entrance.

On the opposite end of the complex is a corresponding pavilion called the Pavilion of the Crystal, which is said to have identical dimensions and a similar exterior appearance. This pavilion is said to be reserved for the sultan’s private use and led to a separate “Crystal Garden” further to the east. Today, however, the only remnant of this pavilion is its exposed foundation. The demise of the El Badi Palace mirrored the decline of the Saddian dynasty in the first half of the sixteenth century. The maintenance expense and general disdain for their predecessors prompted the Alaouite sultans to abandon El Badi merely a hundred years after its completion. Around 1707, Sultan Moulay Isma'il officially ordered to have this place stripped of precious materials to be transported to Meknes, his new imperial capital. Fortunately, the palace ruins were never redeveloped.

The original drainage system of the Pavilion of the Crystal is purposefully exposed.

To better grasp the splendor of El Badi Palace, a computer animation of the palace in its heydays is played in one of the exhibit rooms. It provides the much-needed context for the reconstruction. I wish the government would reconstruct the palace one day. Better yet, could they have had major luxury resort chains like Aman Resorts or Taj Hotels undertake the project under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Contract? This could easily be the most epic wedding venue in Morocco, if not the world. Even in its current state, the palace is used for large-scale events such as the annual Marrakech du Rire or fashion shows of luxury brands like Christian Dior.

The back corners of the palace are perhaps the most interesting for the adventurous visitors.

Along the south side of the complex is the Pavilion of the Heliotrope, which is named after the sultan’s favorite concubines. This hall houses the palace’s best treasure: the historic Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque. The intricate staircase was moved here from the famous mosque in 1962 and was restored with the help of a team from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York. Scholars regard this minbar's intricate woodwork and design complexity as the high point of Moroccan design and craftsmanship. It is said that the piece was also highly influential in designing the minbar across North Africa. Unfortunately, photography of the minbar is not permitted during our visit.

The government decided to reconstruct/renovate at least one part of the palace complex.

Behind the Pavilion of the Heliotrope is a complex of a residential quarter, hammams, and smaller gardens. Visitors can go underground again to discover some of the original service quarters. But the must-visit before heading out would be the observation platform atop the southeastern corner of the palace. It provides panoramic views of the entire complex and a close-up view of the resident storks!

Museum of Marrakesh

Among all the different museums in Marrakesh, the aptly named Marrakesh Museum is perhaps the most controversial among travelers. Formerly known as Dar Mnebhi Palace, the building’s genesis is quite similar to that of the Bahai Palace. Both places were built by a high minister to Sultan Moulay Abdalaziz and were sized by Pasha Thami El Glaoui with the help of the French forces in 1912. Upon independence, the museum was turned over to the modern state of Morocco and served as a girls’ school for a few decades before being abandoned. Fortunately, the building was purchased by a cultural foundation. After extensive renovation, the palace is opened to the public as the Museum of Marrakesh.

The palace/museum is organized around a large and a small courtyard. Without a doubt, the highlight of the museum is its massive central courtyard, which seems to be similar in size to the Grand Riad in the Bahia Palace. The architecture is not quite as impressive, but it is still well worth a visit, in my opinion. However, many visitors are excited that both courtyards are covered. In the grand courtyard, in particular, they put in a modern fabric roof that completely obscured the blue sky above. The beige fabric unfortunately casts a very unappealing yellow to the museum, making any photography look dreary. Maybe they will install a glass dome, like the Norman Foster roof at the British Museum, in the future.

The grand courtyard of the museum is dominated by a massive four-tier chandelier.

While I agree that the fabric roof is unsightly, I think it comprises the enormous brass chandelier suspended from the roof. I do not know it as a fact, but this is the most beautiful light fixture in all of Marrakesh. The four-tired design is modern but Moroccan in its essence. The designer created a wonderful interpretation of the Muqarnas details that is just stunning. If anything, the chandelier alone is enough to draw visitors to this museum and justify the 70 dirham admission.

As a “museum of general history,” the museum holds a wide collection of artifacts covering various cultural groups of Morocco: Arab, Berber, and Jewish. At times, the items on display could seem quite random, from a few pieces of weaponry to some embroidery. A section near the smaller courtyard even showcases contemporary pieces on Moroccan women. From a museum-goer’s perspective, Marrakesh Museum missed the mark. Not only was the architectural lighting subpar, but the signage for the exhibit was also really inadequate. Being one of the most popular museums, I am quite surprised that all the signage is in Arabic and French only.

For me, the museum's most interesting section is the attached hammam that visitors could “experience” by going through a series of narrow rooms and passageways. The domed ceiling of the main bath area is stunning. But like elsewhere in the museum, the lack of quality architectural lighting removes much of its historic ambiance. Overall, I recommend this museum to those with a few days to spare in Marrakesh. Because it is not a haven for photography, it is not nearly as touristy as you would assume. I practically had the whole museum to myself around mid-morning.

Dar Si Said Museum

I may not be an expert on the history of Marrakesh, but it seems like the city’s best palaces were all built by the same cohort at the end of the 19th century. The next palace I want to recommend is the Dar Si Said Museum, commissioned by Si Sa'id ibn Musa, the brother of Ba Ahmed, the minister behind the building of Bahia Palace mentioned earlier. Like his brother, he also served as a high minister at the court of Sultan Abdul-Aziz. I did not find much other information in English about the life of Si Sa'id ibn Musa except for his general reputation as a fair administrator and jurist, but it is fair to say that he is not as controversial as his brother. Even after the sultan lotted Ba Ahmed’s palace upon his death in 1900, Si Sa'id ibn Musa kept his palace until he died in 1914.

While the Bahia Palace was later used as the residence of the Pasha of Marrakesh, Dar Si Said became the administrative building for the city of Marrakesh until 1930. Under the direction of Hubert Lyautey, the Resident-General of France in Morocco, the house was converted into the Museum of Indigenous and Ancient Arts, showcasing different varieties of Moroccan crafts. Even though Lyautey was the head of colonial interests in Morocco, he was an admirer of Moroccan art and a keen collector. After the recent renovation in 2018, the house is home to the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets under the umbrella of The National Foundation of Moroccan Museums (FNM).

The fireplace was a rather recent addition by the French.

With more than four hundred carpets on display, I was surprised by the exhibits' enjoyment. After visiting this museum, I may not be an expert on carpets, but at least I could now distinguish between Arabic and Berber carpet design. And for the record, I am more of a fan of the simplicity of Berber carpets. Since carpets are Morocco's most popular souvenirs, I recommend stopping by Dar Si Said Museum before buying your first rug in Marrakesh.

I am doubtful that the name National Museum of Weaving and Carpet is a draw for most foreign visitors. He groaned when I told Brian we were going to a carpet museum. It is not to take away from Morocco’s great traditions in carpet design and production; it is just a fact that it is probably not the most engaging subject matter for most of us. That said, Dar Si Said was quite an amazing place. Unlike Bahia Palace of the Museum of Marrakesh, this palace is constructed in two stories, and its interior mosaic is still mostly intact. The most celebrated space is the grand saloon on the upper floor. The colors here are just dazzling. Depending on your taste, you might find the interior here almost overbearing visually.

The riad garden is the loveliest corner of the Dar Si Said Museum. Unlike other riad gardens we saw on this trip, this garden is narrow and elongated, which creates a much more lush and intimate ambiance. Around the garden are a series of small rooms exhibiting various jewelry and artifacts. Besides the peaceful fountain under the pavilion, I love the zigzag green and white ceramic floor tiles. It is rare to see such a modern design in an otherwise traditional house. Overall, we were both impressed by this relatively small museum.

Le Jardin Secret

If you read the previous post on my thoughts on our time in Marrakesh, you know that my main gripe against this historic city is the lack of public recreational spaces. Aside from Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, there was hardly any public square open. At the risk of being ignorant and culturally insensitive, I was secretly looking for a European-style public square where we could sit, relax, and see the world go by. If you have ever been to Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, you would know it was hardly relaxing. The only places we could sit around the square were the benches at one of the street food stalls. While I did enjoy trying out delicious street food and strolling the square, it was not exactly the kind of escape from the hustle and bustle of Marrakesh.

As soon as I saw a picture of Le Jardin Secret, I was immediately intrigued. It was unlike any other riad or palace we visited in the city. It looked like a place where you could read a book or meditate. Though not technically a palace, this lovely riad could easily pass as one because of its size and beauty. Constructed in the sixteenth century as a proper palace and garden palace under Sultan Moulay ‘Abd-Allah, it fell into disrepair following the fall of the Saadian dynasty. In the 19th century, a new palace was built by al-Hajj Abd-Allah U-Bihi, an influential local ruler of the High Atlas Mountain region, whom the sultan then poisoned at the time. The property was passed through several powerful political figures in Marrakesh’s history.

Hbiqa Pavilion has an integrated gutter and downspout system for the rainwater collection.

Muhammad Loukrissi, a private chamberlain to the sultan, was the last private owner. Upon his death in 1934, the palace fell into disrepair and sat abandoned for the next seventy years. It eventually became government property. It was not until 2008 that the palace received a full renovation. The result of the renovation is gorgeous. Unlike most palaces or riads in the city, Le Jardin Secret does not follow the standard Moroccan courtyard configurations. The greenery takes center stage and is refreshingly airy and light-filled. The chirping birds and babbling sound of the marble fountain put us at ease immediately.

The palace complex comprises two separate gardens linked by a relatively narrow walkway. The first garden is the smaller Exotic Garden, which collects exotic plants from all over the world. There are a wide variety of cacti and unusually looking plants that I could not recognize. According to their pamphlet, the Exotic Garden celebrates Moroccan traditions in botanical science. Despite the vast array of different species, this garden still looks tidy and immaculate. The garden is bifurcated by a water channel leading to a small pool filled with a family of turtles.

The panoramic view of the Islamic Garden.

The second garden is the Islamic Garden, which roughly follows the remnants of the 19th-century layout with a central marble water fountain and water channel. Each quadrant has its own water fountain and four comfortable benches with white cushions. Everything about this place looks like my idea of an urban haven. This type of four-part garden design is a physical manifestation of how heaven may have looked according to the description in the Quran. And just like the formal garden of Europe, the rigidity of garden design here represents humanity’s dominance over the chaos of the natural world.

Water is the essential ingredient of any Islamic garden.

Above the central marble fountain is an enormous octagon-shaped canopy. The design reminds me of a cross between a Moroccan and French pavilion, with many intricate relief details and beautifully painted ceilings. But the highlight of the whole garden is the element of water. Water is often regarded as the most crucial element in Islamic garden design and has some special religious meaning with connotations of religious cleansing, ritual washing, and divine renewal in nature. In the Quran, heaven is described as a “garden in which streams flow.”

A major part of this recent renovation is restoring the traditional irrigation system known as khettara. This medical irrigation technique channels water from the High Atlas Mountain and was once the main water supply to Marrakesh’s hammams, fountains, and mosque. All around the garden are number signs, which indicate the flow direction and stages of the water. An ingenious yet crude hydraulics system helps distribute the water throughout the garden. Many original channels and water basins are signposted with excellent explanations. To better understand Le Jardin Secret’s khettara system, here is a wonderfully informative animation worth checking out.

In an era where sustainability is high on people’s consciousness, watching how the medieval world harnessed water in a desert climate made me think about how much we take water for granted nowadays. It did not occur to me that common sense techniques such as rooftop rainwater collection, and leeching irrigation has long been a tradition in Morocco. I must applaud the garden management for doing such a superb job in educating us about the ingenuity of our forefathers. For this reason alone, I would recommend visiting Le Jardin Secret.

While the outdoor garden makes out most of the palace complex, some interior spaces exist. Like the garden, everything is tastefully renovated. A physical model and computer animation provide a good historical context of the garden. What made this palace unique compared to other sites is that there are two lovely cafes, one by Hbiqa Pavilion and the other on the rooftop.

We could imagine spending a few hours here and enjoying the peace and tranquility. A tower lookout is supposed to be the second-highest structure in the Madina. However, it was closed during our visit and requires a separate ticket. Although the admission may be considered steep by Marrakesh’s standards, the palace does not receive public funding. Based on the pristine condition of the garden, I would say that they put all the money to good use.

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Bahia Palace

El Badi Palace

Museum of Marrakesh

Dar Si Said Museum

Le Jardin Secret

The Curious Case of Moroccan Hospitality

Marrakesh Beyond Medina