SAADIAN TOMBS

The mausoleums of the princes of the Saadian dynasty, which ruled Marrakech and Morocco for 125 years, were built at the end of the 16th century by Ahmed the Golden. They were intended to embellish the koubba where the remains of his father, Moulay Abdallah, his grandfather, Mohammed ech-Sheikh, founder of the Saadian dynasty, as well as the Marinid sultan Abu el-Hassan, buried here in 1359, are buried. These tombs are the only vestige of the greatness of a dynasty whose commitment to the development of the arts and diplomatic relations with the rest of the world earned Marrakech some of its fame beyond the seas. Ahmed el-Mansour, to whom the city already owes the construction of the El Badi Palace, wanted to make these mausoleums the masterpieces of Marrakech art. Decorated with checkerboards of multicolored zelliges, bordered with arabesques, vaulted with stalactites of stucco and adorned with marble from Italy, these tombs are of such beauty that when Marrakech fell into the hands of the Alaouites, in 1654, the sultan Moulay Ismaïl, although inclined to raze everything that evoked the splendor of his predecessors, did not dare to touch it. He only decided to surround them with an enclosure where only a few believers could enter through a hidden door, located in the Kasbah mosque. The existence of the Saadian tombs was only revealed to the public in 1917. An access corridor is pierced next to the mosque to allow non-Muslims to admire this perfectly preserved architectural complex where 66 members of this illustrious dynasty are buried. Just after the entrance is the prayer room. Originally, it was not intended to receive tombs. You will discover a beautiful oratory divided into three naves by four white marble columns. On the left, the mihrab, is set in a refined decoration. Opposite it, a beautiful door gives access to the great funerary room, also called the room of the Kings. It is in the center of this room that lies Ahmed the Golden, who died of the plague in 1603. 12 columns of Carrara marble support the superb dome made of cedar wood carved and strewn with gold. Around him lie the members of his family and 3 of his successors. On the right, the Hall of the Princes contains the tombs of the children. In the garden, servants and wives lie. The courtyard, where the tombs of the servants of the dynasty are located, leads you to a second mausoleum, covered with green glazed tiles, and dedicated to Lalla Messaouda, the mother of Ahmed the Golden, who was buried here in 1591 in a carved white marble sarcophagus.