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El Bahia Marrakech - Cover

El Bahia – melancholic palace in the bustling heart of Marrakech

Marrakech has many faces and stories to tell. As everywhere in Morocco, the Medina is where the real life of ordinary people happens – colourful, noisy, and messy. In the midst of it is a building as serene as elegant and beautiful. El Bahia is one of the must-see landmarks of Marrakech, especially if you are in love with architecture and design.

El Bahia Marrakech - Cover
El Bahia Palace was designed to showcase essential mix of Moroccan and Islamic architectural styles.
Today, the building epitomes a sad beauty and a melancholy of sorts. Like an older lady that still wears her past beauty and grace on her face.
El Bahia Marrakech (3)
Sculpted just like lace carved stuccos and cedar wood bring grandour and sophisticated elegance from the type that is difficult to describe and impossible to replicate.
It does not surprises that palace’s name means “brilliance” in arabic.
Brilliant in its simplicity, the colours inspired by Nature marry perfectly in the frescoes on the tall walls.
An inner courtyard lures visitors to gather here, look up the deep-blue sky and breathe the fresh air as the air indoors is replete with the musty smell of old wood.
The architectural scale of this palace makes one feel small and the beauty of its details truly humbles.
Beautiful Moroccan mosaics in various shades and designs, arranged by skillful hand on the floors and the walls of the palace define the different areas of habitation.
Moroccan mosaics
Mesmerising examples of traditional Zellij mosaic tilework adorn the space, artfully matching the colours of doors and ceiling.
cat at El Bahia Marrakech (2)
The garden surrounding the palace is filled with orange trees which loads the place with freshness and tranquility.

My visit to El Bahia Palace was a bittersweet experience.

Despite the people roaming around, the palace felt empty. There was no furniture or other signs of the presence of the previous occupants – the family of the Grand Vezir of the Sultan. Just walls and frescoes.

An empty, beautiful, melancholic building in the heart of Marrakech.

To visit El Bahia palace Marrakech:

Address: Rue Riad Zitoun el-Jedid, Marrakech, Morocco
Entrance fee: 70 dirhams
Opening hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
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Geri is a writer and designer, and the principal author of this website. Born in Bulgaria, she now lives in Western Australia. Her expat experiences and interests in travel, feminism, design, and people are reflected in this blog.

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