To take the excess Moroccan sultans, go to the palace El Badi of Marrakech. 16 years were needed to build it, it was used as a palace for less than 100 years before being destroyed for a period of 20 years.
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| North facade of El Badi Palace in Marrakech, Morocco |
The El Badi Palace is located east of the Kasbah in the south of Marrakesh Medina .
The palace hosts festivals such as the annual festival of folklore of Marrakech and the humorous Marrakech festival of laughter created by Jamel.
Nearby you will find the Saadian Tombs , burial sites of the sultan and his family. For oriental splendor, head to the nearby Bahia Palace .
History of the El Bladi Palace in Marrakech
The once sumptuous palace is today an impressive ruin .
The former palace was built by the Saadian Sultan al-Mansur to celebrate the victory over the Portuguese army in 1578 during the Battle of the Three Kings whose originality <spoiler> is that the three kings die at the end: One in the battle, one of being mounted on his horse and the third of drowning.
The victory of Al Mansur puts an end to the Portuguese pretensions to Morocco (and also to the end of the sovereignty of Portugal, soon conquered by Spain.
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| The moment when the Portuguese army is encircled by the Moroccan and Ottoman troops during the battle of the three kings. Image of Georges Jansoone. |
El Bladi (also called El Badia) was built with Carrara marble in Italy, gold dust from Sudan, porphyry from India, jade from China and other materials from France and Spain . The palace expressed the power and ostentation of the sovereign to his subjects and foreign embassies.
Its courtyard is a large version of the one of the Alhambra : 135 meters by 110 with in its center a fountain of 90 meters on 20.
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| The huge courtyard of the El Bladi Palace in Marrakech. |
Its underground system allowed slaves and servants to move through the palace and its 360 rooms without being seen.
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| What remains of the sumptuous and gigantic Saadian palace in Marrakech. |
In 1696, the sultan of the reigning new dynasty, the Alawite Moulay Ismaïl stripped the palace. The marbles, zelligues and other treasures were torn off to be transported to Meknes , new royal capital. Some 500 kilometers further. Nearly 20 years were needed to demolish the palace. A radical way to turn the page.
It was on the perimeter of the stables of the palace that was built the Jewish quarter : The Mellah.
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| Another view of what remains of El Badia Palace in Marrakech |
Today, there remains only a huge esplanade carved gardens , planted with orange trees and surrounded by high walls.
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| The dimensions of the courtyard are really impressive after for the pomp, it takes a lot of imagination. |
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