El Badi Palace, Marrakech

Today we decided to visit the El Badi Palace. We had a guide but it is difficult remembering facts and figures on a very hot day so Wikipedia has helped to jog my memory.

The palace apparently took approximately 25 years to construct. It was torn apart in the seventeenth century by the Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail, who used the material obtained from El Badi Palace to decorate his own palace in Meknes.

In one of the refurbished pavilions, the Koutoubia minbar is now on exhibition. This was fascinating to see and the craftsmanship was amazing. Understanding how it was wheeled out by a hidden mechanism must have made it almost seem like a miracle to the worshippers.

There is extensive restoration work ongoing at the palace including rebuilding the walls and restoring the pools.

The storks have become a familiar sight to us as we see them flying in small flocks in the evening before they come in to roost for the night on their huge nests. Apparently they leave Marrakech in the ver hot summer months but return at this time of year again. These were nesting on the top of the very high walls. The views from the remaining viewing point in the palace are stunning.