Morocco 2014 - Bahia Palace

The Bahia Palace was built by Grand Vizier Si Moussa in the 1860s to house his 4 wives and 24 concubines. No expenses were spared and top craftsmen and artisans were brought in to build the palace over 14 years. You can imagine the beauty and opulence of the palace from all that work - every square inch of the building is covered with intricate woodwork, marquetry, mosaic, woven silk panels, and hand-painted patterns. Unfortunately, the beauty of the Palace did not escape the gaze of the French. When Morocco was occupied by the French in 1912, they installed the Residents-General in the Palace.

Bahia Palace is built in a garden compound of 8 hectares in size. As the palace was built haphazardly over a long period of time - there is no overall masterplan. There are over 150 rooms in total, and most of these are arranged around courtyards which provide natural light and ventilation to the large complex. Due to the arrangement of the spaces around these beautiful courtyards, you never feel that any parts of the building are out of place.

One of the inner courtyards - where the white walls with blue decorative lines are very distinctive.

The rooms in the Palace are beautiful and opulent. The craftsmanship that went into the decorations is simply breathtaking.