History & Architecture · Medina
Bahia Palace
Eight hectares, 150 rooms, and a vizier who didn't want his wives to meet
About the place
Si Moussa, grand vizier, started the palace around 1866; his son Ba Ahmed, regent of the kingdom, enlarged it over fourteen years with the best craftsmen from Fez. The layout is a deliberate maze: four wives, twenty-four concubines, and apartments arranged so that nobody would run into anybody. When Ba Ahmed died in 1900, the sultan had the palace emptied in a single night. What remains is the decoration: the great court, fifty metres of marble and zellige, the riad of orange trees, and above all the ceilings, cedar painted with saffron, henna and indigo, never the same pattern twice. The palace still serves as a residence during royal visits; some rooms then close without notice.
Don't miss
- 01Great court paved in marble and zellige
- 02Andalusian riad of orange trees and jasmine
- 03Ceilings painted with natural pigments
- 04Grand council hall and its stained glass
Visiting tip
Look up more than you look ahead. And go at 9: with Ben Youssef it's the most visited site in the medina, and by 11 the courtyards are full.
Location
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