Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rakshi man-bags; 20th-century High Atlas carpets; and doors carved with talismans, ward-
ing off the evil eye.
Upstairs, flower-painted musicians' balconies flank the spectacular painted domed
wedding-reception chamber credited to artisans from Fez. The rear staircase leads up to a
musical instruments display, or downstairs to the exit via the most delightful artefact of
all: a Ferris wheel for babies, with pint-sized palanquins on a hand-cranked axis.
Bahia Palace
( 0524 38 95 64; Rue Riad Zitoun el-Jedid; admission Dh10; 9am-4.30pm)
Imagine what you
could build with Morocco's top artisans at your service for 14 years, and here you have it:
La Bahia
(the Beautiful) has floor-to-ceiling decoration begun by Grand Vizier Si Moussa
in the 1860s and embellished from 1894 to 1900 by slave-turned-vizier Abu 'Bou'
Ahmed. But the Bahia proved too beguiling: in 1908 warlord Pasha Glaoui claimed the
palace as a suitable venue to entertain French guests, who were so impressed that they
booted out their host in 1911, and installed the protectorate's
résident-généraux
here.
Though only a portion of the palace's 8 hectares and 150 rooms is open to the public,
you can see the unfurnished, opulently ornamented
harem
that once housed Bou Ahmed's
four wives and 24 concubines. The quarters of his favourite, Lalla Zineb, are the most
spectacular, with original woven-silk panels, stained-glass windows, intricate marquetry
and ceilings painted with rose bouquets.
MUSEUM
