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Magical Morocco 2012
May 8-17th, 2012
Monday
14 May 2012 MARRAKECH
After breakfast, we will journey out for our guided tour of the second
imperial city and its rich monuments such as the Koutoubia minaret, a symbol
for the city for 800 years, the Bahia palace with its lovely courtyards and
late Moorish architecture, the remains of El Badia palace of the 16th
century and the Saadian tombs with the sumptuous royal pavilion.
Koutoubia Gardens - The Koutoubia is to Marrakech what the Statue of Liberty
is to New York and the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Nearly seventy metres in
height and visible for miles afar, the Koutoubia is a landmark that
dominates the whole of Marrakech, rising from the lowrise buildings of the
old town and the plains of the north. Originally built by the early Almohads,
this is the oldest and most complete of three great Almohad towers – the
other two are the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville.
Koutoubia Mosque, the most perfect minaret in Morocco and a great piece of
Almohad architecture. Built in the 12th Century.
Bahia Palace to put some charm on the visitor’s senses! Originally built in
1867 by Si Moussa, a grand vizier of Moulay Hassan, it was enlarged by his
son Bou Ahmed, who added a mosque, a hammam and a garden. The Bahia Palace
was recently restored to its former glory and splendour, although some work
is still yet to be carried out. You enter the Palace through an arcade
courtyard that leads to a small riad beautifully decorated in cedarwood and
carved stucco. In the riad itself, there are three adjoining salons leading
through elaborate reception halls, pleasure gardens, living quarters and
numerous secluded courtyards. You can only visit part of the Palace, as some
of it is still used by the royal family. The Bahia palace and gardens were
built in the late 19th century, intended to be the greatest palace of its
time. The name means 'brilliance'. As in other buildings of the period in
other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the nation’s
style: Moroccan and Islamic. There is a 2 acre garden with rooms opening
onto courtyards.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhpgjj_el-bahia-palace-great-attractions-marrakech-morocco_travel
Saadian Tombs
The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi
Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. Among the graves
are those of Ahmad al-Mansur and his family. The building is composed of
three rooms. The most famous is the room with the twelve columns. This room
contains the grave of the son of the sultan's son Ahmad al-Mansur. The stele
is in finely worked cedar wood and stucco work. The monuments are made of
Italian Carrera marble.
Outside the building is a garden with beautiful tall date palms and the
graves of soldiers and servants.
http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=784&lang=en
El Badi Palace - meaning the incomparable palace consists nowadays of the
remnants of a palace built by the Saadian King Ahmad al-Mansur in 1578. The
original building is thought to have consisted of 360 rooms, a courtyard of
135 m by 110 m and a pool of 90 m by 20 m, richly decorated with Italian
marbles and large amounts of gold imported from Sudan. The palace, which
took approximately 25 years to construct, was torn apart by the Alaouite
Sultan Moulay Ismail who used the materials to decorate his own palace in
Meknes. The design of the palace is influenced by the Alhambra in Granada
Tuesday 15 May 2012 MARRAKECH
Day at leisure
Many went out this day with Omari our guide to visit other sights and just
explore. Others enjoyed the time to just laze around the pool.
Overnight Sofitel Marrakech
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