Morocco

The Bahia Palace is a palace and a set of gardens located in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was 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 Islamic and Moroccan style. There is a 2-acre (8,000 m²) garden with rooms opening onto courtyards.

Set up at the end of the 19th century by Si Moussa Ba Ahmed, grand vizier of the sultan, for his personal use. This palace would bear the name of one of his wives. Here, the harem, which includes a vast court decorated with a central basin and surrounded by rooms intended for the concubines. As the black slave Abu Ahmed rose to power and wealth towards the end of the 19th century, he had the Bahia palace built by bringing in craftsmen from Fes.

The palace is divided into different rooms:

a hall for business and administrative purposes

4 rooms for his wives, which are equal in size, meaning all 4 wives were equal in status
the quarter for his 24 concubines, with 12 rooms to share (2 concubines in 1 room) and a dining room

a school, where Abu’s sons and daughters were taught by their teachers and turned into a mosque 5 times a day for praying

Abu’s own quarters, where there is his summer room with windows and a smaller one for winter without any windows, as well as his very own private dining room.Read more