BAHIA PALACE

This fairy-tale palace of the Thousand and One Nights really deserves a visit. It was erected in 1880 by the Grand Vizier Sidi Moussa for his favourite (Bahia means "beautiful"), among his 24 official concubines. Most of the work took place under his successor Ba Ahmed. Once completed, the palace surpasses in wealth all the monuments of the kingdom, and it is said that the young king, Moulay Abd el-Aziz, will be very upset by it (which perhaps explains the order to plunder the Bahia in 1900!). The ensemble is erected in a somewhat chaotic manner (architecturally speaking) and on one level, it is said, in order to encourage the movements of the Grand Vizier Ba Ahmed, whose legendary stoutness made his movements problematic. The local architect, El-Hadj Mohammed ben Makki el-Misfoui, inspired by Andalusian art, built the palace in several stages and completed it after seven years of work. As the new wings of the palace must be well connected, the Grand Vizier's residence takes on the appearance of a veritable labyrinth, without any precise order. One of the reception rooms, with its splendid cedar wood panelling from the Meknes area, was transformed from 1912 into a council room by Lyautey during his stays in Marrakech. The hall of honour has a remarkably carved ceiling made of Atlas cedar wood, painted and illuminated by the greatest craftsmen of Fez. The adjoining courtyard of honour is 80 m². Paved with Carrara marble and surrounded by an ambulatory with painted columns decorated with zelliges, it was used as a harem at the time of the Grand Vizier. It also gives access to the Moorish garden planted with orange trees, cypresses, daturas and jasmines. From this large riad, a superb viewpoint allows you to discover the north of the medina and the Atlas Mountains. In the main courtyard, as in the flowered patios, there are multiple water-jet basins made of Meknes marble. The numerous reception rooms are lined with Tetouan earthenware and topped with Atlas cedar ceilings. The moucharabiehs (these famous wooden grills placed in front of the windows and allowing one to see without being seen) that adorn the upper part of the room are made of stucco and plaster, while the stained glass windows are made of glass imported from Iraq (unique in the Maghreb). Surrender to reverie during this visit by imagining these 150 rooms richly furnished and decorated with carpets, cedar wood armchairs, shimmering pouffes and sofas, poster beds and dyes..