El Badi Palace
El Badi Palace
El Badi Palace (Bab Berrima, off Place des Ferblantiers Marrakech) — This once magnificent palace, whose name means the ‘incomparable’, was built in 1578 by the Midas of Marrakech, Saadian sultan Ahmed el-Mansour. Its 360 rooms were once sumptuously decorated in marble, gold, onyx, ivory, cedar wood and semi-precious stones, surrounding a vast central courtyard of pools, fountains and sunken gardens. This was the venue for parties of extreme extravagance until the sultan died, the capital was moved to Meknès and the palace was stripped of anything valuable.
Little remains of its glory days and the ruins of the battlements surround a vast empty space where sumptuous gardens and palace rooms once stood.
Nowadays the main attractions are the nesting storks that are found here and (for an additional entrance fee) the original 12th-century marquetry minbar (pulpit) inlaid with silver and gold and painstakingly restored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Every summer it comes to life as the main venue for the National Festival of Popular Arts, and recently it has served as a venue for lounge and electronica music festivals. Admission: 70 Dhm. per person. Hours: 8:30 am – 11:45 am & 2:30 – 5:45 pm daily.