One of the special buildings in Marrakesh is the El Bahia Palace; it was built for Ahmed Ibn Moussa between 1894 and 1900 in the Alawi style that was popular at the time. Craftsmen were brought from Fez to work on this monumental task which took approximately fifteen years to complete. It is said that the palace was built as a home for Ba Ahmed’s official concubines, and it has also been said that the importance or favour of each concubine increased along with the size of their bedroom. The name ‘Bahia’ means ‘palace of the beautiful’ and this would seem to fit the purpose of this massive palace. There are 160 different rooms in the palace which are sprawled out in an open, rambling fashion. The reception halls and private quarters are lavishly decorated and there are several tiled courts – often complete with water features – that serve as open air areas where the women could have washed and rested themselves. Decorations take the form of subtle stucco panels, zellij decorations, tiled floors, smooth arches, carved-cedar ceilings, shiny marble (tadlak) finishes and zouak painted ceilings. The palace is surrounded by an eight-hectare garden, some of which now provides the peaceful, shaded entry walk through the orange grove.
The entire palace is sometimes closed when the royal family comes to town, however, as it is so huge, it usually remains open for visiting.
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- Ceilings and walls all beautifully adorned
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- Orange grove entry
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- Exquisite tiling
