Description of the attraction
El Badi Palace, located in the southern part of Marrakech, is one of the city's attractions. It was erected in 1578 by order of King Ahmed al-Mansur. Earlier, the army of Ahmed al-Mansur defeated the troops of Portugal and forced them to pay a large tribute. It was with this money that the construction of the palace with the proud name "Incomparable" was carried out.
The palace was built for almost 25 years. The best craftsmen from Andalusia and Catalonia were invited to build it, using the most exquisite building materials of the time: Irish granite, Italian marble and multicolored onyx delivered to India. The ceiling and walls of the building were decorated with beautiful gilding.
However, the palace could delight with its fabulous beauty no more than a century. After the Alawites came to power, they moved the capital to Meknes, and left Marrakech in provincial desolation for many centuries. A little later, Sultan Moulay Ismail ordered the destruction of the palace. It was demolished for 10 years, which once again testifies to the size and luxury of the palace. The marble and gold taken to Meknes were used as decorations for the newly erected Alawite residence.
Today, you can see only the walls of the courtyard and take a walk in the magnificent orange garden. Even in ruins, the palace looks unusually beautiful. The most amazing part of the architecture is the courtyard, which showcases all the wealth of its owners. The palace courtyard has become the largest in Marrakech, since its size is about 15 thousand square meters. m. The yard was so huge that all the buildings surrounding it seem very narrow.
El Badi Palace had 360 rooms on different floors, including a large network of underground tunnels. Also in the palace, between two high pavilions, a huge pool of about 2 thousand square meters was made. m. Each of the pavilions is surrounded by two more small pools. Nowadays, there are beautiful orange trees growing in the places where the pools used to be.
