Marrakesh - El Badii Palace and Eating Sheep Face
On our last full day in Morocco, I'm determined to find El Badi Palace. According to the map, it should have been easy, but it still took us multiple tries. We found it in the end though! You can't run from me, you immovable, inanimate object.
The name, El Badi, is said to mean the Palace of Wonder or Palace of the Incomparable. While the palace lies mostly in ruin now, down to the base materials, it is not hard to imagine the splendour. El Badi was commissioned by sultan Ahmen al-Mansur, took 15 years to construct and was completed in 1593. It was built with the most lavish and expensive materials of the Saadian era, including gold, onyx, ivory and Italian marble.
At the state opening of the palace, the court jester was asked what he thought of the palace and quipped "this will make a magnificent ruin." That it did.
The courtyard held several sunken orchards and a large pool. One end of the courtyard housed the audience pavilion (the Fifty pavilion - either named for its size or the number of columns), the other held the Crystal pavilion.
The ramparts and towering walls were once an imposing sight. Now they're adorable as storks have claimed the defences to raise defenceless chicks.
Along the south wall of the courtyard are the stables and dungeons, which now hold museum relics and the impressive Koutoubia minbar (the pulpit from which the imam delivers sermons in the mosque). Made in Cordoba in the 12th century, it was carved out of cedar with silver and ebony inlays and gold calligraphy. It was one of the most celebrated works of Mulsim art. Currently, it is undergoing restoration and preservation work. You are not allowed to take photos of the minbar, or the door to the room that hold the minbar apparently as I got an earful for taking this photo.
Across the courtyard, down the stairs are the summer rooms. They were built underground to take advantage of the cool earth and shade.
There's a cool video you can watch at the palace that has 3D renderings of what the palace likely would have looked like. I couldn't find the video, but here is the original archaeological study that produced the 3D renderings. You can check out the photos to help you imagine the splendour.
As seems to be the trend with palaces, after sultan al-Mansur died of the plague a long, bloody civil war started over the right of succession. The winning sultan looted El Badi palace of its materials around 1672. He repurposed them for his own residence after relocating the capital to Meknes.
We stopped for rooftop tea and snacks after our visit to Badi. After all, we had more exploring and shopping to do. We wandered and shopped our way back to the main square, stopping to buy whatever the heck we felt like. Except for turtles. We just made friends with turtles, as I was concerned the turtles would soon be food...
Back at Jmaa el-Fna, we wound our away through the busy marketplace and around a nondescript corner to reach a restaurant serving two local specialities: tangia which is slow-cooked lamb in a clay pot, and Tête de Mouton, literally head of sheep. Now, I have some food sensitivities and sadly couldn't partake in either, so here's Ang with a review of eating a sheep's eyeball!
The tangia got two thumbs up from the group while the Tête de Mouton got mixed reviews.
We took to the market streets again, meandering until it was time to head to a traditional music performance later that evening.
I'm pretty sure we were cheated assiduously by a man who appears to be the friendliest merchant in the market. His unwanted hand holding and cheek kisses did not equate to a fair price...
Last stop of the evening was a musical performance at the Mouassine Museum for traditional medina music. The museum was originally a privately owned house. The owner was surprised to discover that beneath the plaster was perfectly preserved Saadian architecture from around 1560. The douiria (guest quarters and courtyard) and the upper floors of the house have been restored and are dedicated art spaces.
In the upstairs salon, local musicians played several traditional songs on the oud (guitar-like instrument) and darabouka (hand-held drum).
Heading through the dark streets back to our hotel, we stopped for dinner at a slightly garish Chinese restaurant nearby because why not. Why not? Because I'm pretty sure the moderately priced duck we ordered was actually turkey.
In a weird way, that summed up our trip. Most of what we experienced in Morocco was, in one way or another, a let down. I believe we made the most of the time we had (when freed from the bus), and we certainly saw and did a lot of things upon reflection. But I can't shake the overall feelings of frustration and disappointment with the itinerary, lack of free time, inauthentic experiences and scams.
I guess I would caution future Morocco travellers to be aware that you may be expecting duck, but you're really getting turkey.
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