Previous photo Next photo
In the rich and mysterious East, in the north of Africa, in the hospitable and mysterious Morocco, there is one of its main pearls - ancient Marrakech. Huge palaces, beautiful mosques, cool oases, oriental sweets, tales of Scheherazade - all this is Marrakesh, the third largest city in the country.
One of the main and most beautiful sights of Marrakesh, located in the Medina, is a fairly young (1880) Bahia Palace (Palais de la Bahia), or, in translation, the “Palace of the Beauty”. It was built for one of the four wives of the harem, Bu Ahmed Sidi Moussa, Grand Vizier of the rulers of Moulay Hassan and Moulay Abd al-Aziz. The Moorish-style palace is well preserved and covers an area of eight hectares.
Many secrets are kept in courtyards, decorated with elegant ornaments, and hedges, and shady alleys, and splashing neat fountains.
Sidi Moussa wanted to give his beloved wife the most magnificent and beautiful palace in the country, although later 3 more wives of the vizier and 24 of his concubines lived here. Therefore, over the seven years of its construction, the architect Al-Hajj Mohammed bin Makki al-Misfui completed and rebuilt the palace more than once, due to the fact that the grand vizier was constantly buying new neighboring plots. Materials (tiles, marble and others) were brought from all over the state.
The general Arab philosophy about the house says that everything personal should be kept away from prying and unkind eyes, with oneself, so as not to arouse envy among others. Here is the Bahia Palace outwardly quite unremarkable, even dull, but this impression is too deceptive.
Inside it is a magic box, where the rooms are arranged according to the principle of a labyrinth, devoid of a clear layout. The interior of the palace impresses with its unsurpassed beauty: painted ceilings and doors made of cedar wood, beautiful traditional mosaics combined with stone and wood carvings - everything is admirable.
Many secrets are kept in courtyards, decorated with elegant ornaments, and hedges, and shady alleys, and splashing neat fountains. According to legend, the courtyards in the palace are located so that the concubines do not meet while walking around the house. So it was a difficult task for the architect. Unfortunately, the luxurious furnishings of the Bahia Palace have not reached us.
The palace was built by almost a thousand workers from Fez. And when the construction was completed, the sultan himself began to envy the vizier, since the palace of the Beauty surpassed all the palaces in Morocco in sophistication and beauty. Immediately after the death of the vizier in 1900, by order of the Sultan Abd al-Aziz, the Bahiya Palace was devastated and plundered.
How to get to Bahia Palace
There is a market on the street of Riad Zitoun el Jdid jewelry. Directly opposite it is the Bahia Palace.
Bahia Palace opening hours
You can plunge into the sophistication of the interiors of the palace, decorated with mosaics, see the wonderful courtyard, the garden with orange trees, the fountain can be daily from 8:00 to 11:45 and from 14:30 to 16:30 for only 11 MAD.
Today, unfortunately, not all parts of the palace (more than 150 rooms) are open to guests - only the first floor. But this wonderful place, lost in the labyrinths of the narrow streets of the Medina, attracts tourists and gives, in addition to a lot of impressions, an idea of the life of the richest Moroccans a couple of centuries ago.
Prices on the page are for September 2018.
Compared to truly ancient castles, Bahia Palace is quite young - it was founded in the second half of the 19th century. Interestingly, the exact date of construction has remained unknown. Presumably, the first stage of construction was completed around 1867, and the second - from 1894 to 1900.
First owner palace complex was Si Mussa - the chief vizier of Hassan I. During his life, he managed to rise from the position of a slave to the position of the right hand of the Sultan. The great wealth of the vizier is evidenced by the fact that the palace was built in Medina - the central part.
After the palace complex passed to his son Ba Ahmed, who also became a vizier. He bought new lots and expanded the building, dedicating it to one of his wives. Under the new owner, the palace got its name, which in translation means “beauty, luxury, brilliance”.
Excursions
The palace complex can be visited both independently and with a guide. In addition, it is included in the program of many excursion tours in Marrakesh, and by contacting a travel agency, you can combine his visit with other attractions.
Bahia Palace on the map
- The Bahiya Palace looks very modest from the outside, and this is no accident - the vizier did not want to arouse the envy of those around him with the ostentatious splendor of his possessions.
- In the middle of the 20th century, the famous Jacqueline Kennedy, the wife of the American president, visited the Moroccan palace.
- During the construction period, the design of the palace complex had to be constantly changed, since the vizier bought more and more new plots and asked to expand the building.
Virtual tour
Quirky and full of oriental flavor, the Bahia Palace will be an interesting part of a walk in Marrakesh. Its inspection takes an average of about 1.5 hours, and after that you can go to the nearby Dar Si Said Museum of Moroccan Art or the Tiskivin Museum of Berber Life, go to the ruins of the El Badi fortress or to the famous Royal Palace. There is always something to do in this part of Marrakesh!
Business card
Address
Avenue Imam El Ghazali, Marrakech 40000, Morocco
Bahia Palace official website
Entrance ticket price
1 € (~319 RUB )
Working hours
Daily from 09:00 to 17:00
Is there something wrong?
Report inaccuracies
We continue our walk around Marrakesh. In the first part, we visited the tomb of the Saadites, the Jewish quarter of Mellah, the gardens of Menara and in general in Medina. This time we will see the two most beautiful sights of this wonderful city - the Bahia Palace and the Majorelle Gardens.
Let's start with the Bahia Palace
The palace was built in the 19th century by the Grand Vizier of Marrakesh Si Ahmed Ben Musa (Bou Ahmed)
Its name means "colourful". I think he well deserved it.
The interior decorations are especially impressive here. Ceilings first.
It's really something special
Bu Ahmed (It is curious that he was a black slave who gradually got rich and came to power), who built the first part of the palace (1859-1873), lived in it with four wives, 24 concubines and an incredible number of children.
Of course, he had fewer of them than Moulay Ismail, the founder of Meknes - who generally set a Guinness record in this matter, but Si Musa approached the matter very thoroughly.
As planned, Bahia was to become the greatest palace of its time.
Expressing the essence of Islamic and Moroccan architecture
Bu-Ahmed, who brought the best craftsmen from Fes to build the palace, paid Special attention palace architecture and decoration
Thus turning Bahia into one of the most beautiful structures in Morocco
The second part of the palace was completed by Bu Ahmed's son Moulay Abd el-Aziz (1894-1900).
Let's take a little more walk
With tourists, as we see, everything is fine here. Therefore, it is better to see the ceilings
Speaking of tourists, King Mohammed VI's official plan is to double their number by 2020. I must say that serious efforts are being made for this.
We go out to the patio
I have not yet been to Andalusia, but it seems to me that this is how the most beautiful palaces this region. Alhambra in Granada, for example.
Where we can see Islam in all its glory. And not what it has been turned into today.
Some more ceilings and doors
Ceilings here can be shown (and considered) forever
And other details too
The palace, by the way, reminded me a little of our Rally Museum in Caesarea -. Obviously similar style)
But Bahia, of course, is much cooler
There are places that leave the feeling that the photographs do not capture their essence and beauty at all. Bahia is clearly one of them.
It remains to admit defeat, and move on - to the Majorelle Gardens. With the hope that there the difficult work of the catcher of the moment escaping over the abyss in the rye will turn out better.
We enter the gardens
Fountain. A bit like those in Bahia, but completely different)
The vegetation here is impressive. Almost like the famous bamboo forest in Arashiyama -
We walk in the garden
The colors here are amazing.
The concept of "blue" here takes on a completely different meaning.
Here he can give odds even to the legendary blue city of Chefchaouen -
The gardens were designed by French artist Jacques Majorelle
He has been gardening for more than forty years - one can say that the project became the work of his life no less (or even more) than his paintings and creativity.
There is also an impressive collection of cacti.
I'm not a big fan, but the cacti here are beautiful
Jacques was the son of the famous Art Nouveau ebonist Louis Majorelle, a decorator and one of the most prominent Art Nouveau furniture designers.
Louis Majorelle also had a house in the Art Nouveau style - the famous villa in Nancy. Something of this was obviously passed on to the son, because his house is the main attraction of the Majorelle gardens.
Unfortunately, I was unable to capture it completely in the frame.
The house is in a typical Moorish style with touches of Art Nouveau
And the same blue color, which, by the way, was named after this house - Blue Majorelle
I really like this house. When I was just planning a trip, and I wasn’t sure whether I really wanted to go to Morocco or not, I saw Blue Majorelle and said, that’s it, I have to go. Of course, there were many other reasons too - Tangier -, Chefchaouen -, the Sahara desert - but this architectural marvel was a good catalyst.
The Majorelle Gardens, the Bahia Palace, and Marrakech in general have taken an honorable eighth place in the list of my favorite moments in Morocco -
Let's continue our walk through the gardens. After the death of Jacques Majorelle in 1962, the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent bought the gardens. Here is his memorial.
The memorial, as you can see, is very modest - which is quite surprising for such a shocking person as Saint Laurent was. Near the gardens, by the way, the Saint Laurent Museum is now being built - not at all modest. And the street on which the Majorelle Gardens and the future museum are located has long been called St. Laurent Street.
I really like the colors of this frame, although not purely blue.
Here it is Archaeological Museum- Museum of Berber Art. Not bad. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside.
There is also a shop here, apparently in the style of Saint Laurent
And a gallery of love
With this frame, we will finish the story about the two best attractions of Marrakech. However, there is a lot more to the city, so there will certainly be a sequel.
Bahia Palace is one of the most majestic and beautiful palaces of Marrakesh. The Bahia Palace or the "Palace of the Beauty" was built as a gift for his beloved wife by order of the Grand Vizier of Sultan Mohammed IV, Sidi Moussa.
History of occurrence
The construction of the palace took place in the 19th century. Construction took place in two stages. Its northern part was built between 1859 and 1876 at the behest of Sidi Moussa. The southern part of the palace was built by order of his son Ba Ahmed in 1894-1900. As the palace expanded, so did the territory that it occupied - additional lands were constantly bought up. When the construction of the palace was completed, it turned out that the Bahia Palace was more beautiful and richer than the palace of the Sultan. That is why, when Ba Ahmed died, the palace was plundered by Sultan Abd al-Aziz. However, the history of the Bahia Palace did not end there, and after 12 years, the residence of Lyoté, the ruler of the colony of Morocco, was made here.
Architecture
According to Arabic philosophy, everything personal must be hidden from the outside eye. So, from the outside the palace seems rather boring, however, from the inside it looks like a beautiful mosaic, striking in its beauty. Since the palace was built over several years, it lost its clear layout. The palace has many rooms that form a labyrinth. The layout of the palace was thought out so that the wives of Sidi Moussa did not intersect. Also, from the living rooms for official receptions, you will never get into the private quarters of the owner. In total, the palace has 150 rooms.
The architecture of Marrakesh is clearly expressed in the design of the palace. The interior of the palace is very rich. There are ceramic tiles, marble, cedar and zilijam. These materials were brought for construction from all over North Africa. The decoration is made in the form of mosaics and carvings, the columns are decorated with arabesques, and the windows are decorated with beautiful lattices made of wood. The council hall, one of the main halls of the palace, is striking in its splendor, the design of which is made of cedar wood. The doors of the hall lead to the main entrance, the floor of which is made of marble, and in the center there is a marble fountain.
Today the palace building is used not only for tours, but also for concerts and exhibitions.
Neighborhood
The entire territory of the Bahia Palace, which is 8 hectares, is decorated with beautiful gardens with orange and banana trees and marble fountains. There is also a mosque, a hammam and a stable. Near the Bahia Palace is the area of Moroccan artisans, where they sell Moroccan lamps, furniture and souvenirs. This area leads to the Badia Palace.
Not far from the Bahia Palace are the following famous attractions of Marrakech: the Dar Si Said Museum of Islamic Art, the ruins of the El Badi Palace, the Bab Agmat Gate and others.
Note to the tourist
You can go to the Bahia Palace along Riad Zitoun el Jdid Street. You can visit the attraction and admire the beauties of the palace from 8:30 to 11:45 and from 14:45 to 17:45 daily. A visit will cost 10 mad. On visiting days royal family Marrakech Palace is closed to the public.
The Bahia Palace in Marrakesh is a real masterpiece of Moroccan architecture, which is the main attraction of the city. The construction of the palace began in 1880 and ended in 1900. The building was erected by order of the Grand Vizier of Marrakesh Si Ahmed ben Moussa, for one of his wives.
During construction, the grand vizier continued to acquire new plots, so the plan of the palace was constantly changing. Most of the chambers were completed separately, as a result of which the palace building began to resemble a huge labyrinth. Like most other Arab-Andalusian style buildings, the Bahia Palace has a beautiful garden, a charming patio and many rooms decorated with patterned wooden ceilings and exquisite stucco work.
The older part of the palace consists of a garden with cypresses, oranges, banana trees and fountains. The new part was built already under Sultan Abd al-Aziz. This work was carried out by the famous architect Muhammad bin Al-Makki al-Misfiv.
The luxury and beauty of the palace could not leave the mature Sultan Abd al-Azize alone, becoming the object of envy, so after the death of the vizier Sidi Moussa, he simply plundered the palace.
From the outside, the vizier's house hardly resembles a palace. Fearing to arouse the envy of the people, the sultan ordered that any decorations outside be avoided. At the same time, inside the palace impresses with its wealth and beauty. Wooden carved decorations, national mosaics, painted doors and ceilings made of cedar, arouse special admiration for the guests who visited the palace.
To date, out of 150 palace halls, only the chambers of the first floor are available for visiting. The ceremonial hall decorated with cedar from Meknes enjoys great attention of visitors. From here you can get into the front courtyard, paved with expensive Carrara marble and surrounded by columns decorated with traditional arabesques. Here you can also admire the wonderful fountains made of Meknesian marble.