el badi palace

The Minbar de la Koutoubia at El Badi Palace

Not to be confused with the small fridge found in hotel rooms, a minbar is roughly the Islamic equivalent to a pulpit, the steps an Imam ascends during midday Friday prayers. It follows the form of the stairs used by the Prophet Mohammed to address the faithful in Mecca, and still remains an essential part […]

National Festival of Popular Arts

Hosted every year in the lavish courtyard of the El Badi Palace in the Marrakech Medina is the ‘National Festival of Popular Art’s’ (Festival National des Arts Populaires) in the centre of Marrakech. Being only a five minute walk from the Riad I stayed in,  I went down to the festival last night to discover more. Before […]

The El Badi Palace

A beautiful palace situated in the south of Marrakech’s historic medina, originally built between 1553-1578 by the Sadiaan king Ahmad al-Mansur to host guests and to act as a residence for him and his family as Marrakech was at the time the capital of Morocco the palace was extensively used. Today however the palace is […]

Jemma al fnaa square Marrakech Morocoo

The annual  festival of Moroccan Popular Arts will be in its 46th year in 2011.  The music and culture of every region of Morocco is represented with performances all over the Red City.  The El Badi Palace is a particular focus and its intimate courtyards will be filled with performers and spectators. Our superbly restored […]