Marrakech - palaces
Nov. 14th, 2010 09:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
motetusAlmost done, I promise!
Bahia (brilliance) Palace, built in the 19th century by the then grand vizier Si Moussa. Lots of gorgeous painted wood here, but it didn't feel like it was the greatest palace of its time that it was intended to be when it was built.
And on to a palace in not such a fine state. The 16th century El Badi (the incomparable) Palace must have been majestic once but now it's reduced to only its red walls, and inhabited by lots of storks.
I'm a wildlife photographer at heart.
The dungeons.
Okay, the next two aren't palaces at all. This unremarkable little building is the Almoravid Koubba, the only building in Morocco to survive intact from the 11th century Almoravid dynasty, and was probably an annexe to a mosque for washing before prayer.
The inside of the dome.
Lastly, the Ben Youssef Medersa, a 16th century religious school.
Reflections of carvings make the dirty little courtyard pool more appealing.
The students had the grim little prison cells on the ground floor, while the teachers get the nicer rooms overlooking the courtyard.
Bahia (brilliance) Palace, built in the 19th century by the then grand vizier Si Moussa. Lots of gorgeous painted wood here, but it didn't feel like it was the greatest palace of its time that it was intended to be when it was built.
And on to a palace in not such a fine state. The 16th century El Badi (the incomparable) Palace must have been majestic once but now it's reduced to only its red walls, and inhabited by lots of storks.
I'm a wildlife photographer at heart.
The dungeons.
Okay, the next two aren't palaces at all. This unremarkable little building is the Almoravid Koubba, the only building in Morocco to survive intact from the 11th century Almoravid dynasty, and was probably an annexe to a mosque for washing before prayer.
The inside of the dome.
Lastly, the Ben Youssef Medersa, a 16th century religious school.
Reflections of carvings make the dirty little courtyard pool more appealing.
The students had the grim little prison cells on the ground floor, while the teachers get the nicer rooms overlooking the courtyard.
