The storks’ Kingdom
We can see only ruins, yes but what ruins! Majestic and stunning! The walls of ochre rammed earth stand there to defy the centuries. Today only storks dominate them, outstretching their wide wings for their gliding flights. The silence is disturbed only when they start to bill clatter. In the nests, perched high above, the young chicks wait for their parents’ return !
A builder Sultan
Facing the huge esplanade, carved with ponds and planted with orange trees, it is difficult to imagine the sumptuous buildings that stood here a long time ago. The erection of the Palace started in 1578, ordered by the Saadian Sultan Ahmed al-Mansour ad-Dahbi. He also built the Saadian Tombs, a necropolis, in order to honor his ancestors. Ahmed al-Mansour ad-Dahbi is the most prominent representative of his dynasty which ruled Morocco from 1549 to 1659. The successive Sultans considerably expanded their territory and enriched themselves through the trade of salt, sugar, amber, gum Arabic and slaves…
Ahmed al-Mansour ad-Dahbi
Marrakech soon becomes their capital city. At the end of the 16th century, their power is at its peak and the Badiî Palace will be as a sumptuous show of their domination. Unfortunately, it was demolished from 1696 on the decision of the second Sultan of the Alaouite dynasty (current reigning dynasty). Moulay Ismaël (1645-1727), eager to erase the traces of the prestige of the Saadians, will use a large part of the materials to build his imperial city of Meknes. On the other hand, the neighbouring Saadian Tombs will be preserved, perhaps just by superstition. Their entrance will be sealed, they will stay hidden and it is only at the beginning of the 20th century that they will be rediscovered.
The Saadian Tombs
The Badiî Palace, inspired by the medieval palatial complex of the Alhambra in Granada, serves as a setting for receptions and parties. The foreign delegations, the ambassadors are dazzled by such magnificence. The “crystal pavilion”, “audience pavilion”, “green pavilion” and “heliotropic” are arranged on the sides of the large central courtyard measuring 135 by 110 metres and embellished by a huge pool with a central fountain. There are no less than 360 rooms !
Plan drawn in 1622. Wrongly entitled “Palais Royal de Fès”
Marble, mosaics, onyx, stuccos, gold, faience, carved or painted wood, alabaster columns, sculptures, compete in beauty. Arabesques and interlacing motifs ornament every corner.
Decline
The Builder Sultan Ahmed al-Mansour ad- Dahbi died of plague in 1603. His sons were torn apart for his succession. They will be proclaimed Sultans, one in Marrakech, the other one in Fez. It means the inexorable decline of this dynasty. Disunity, disorder, assassinations characterize the following decades, “dark times”, until the extinction of the Saadians in 1659.
The arrival on the throne of the Alawite dynasty will bring some stability and the reunification of the country together with a more centralized power. The Badiî Palace soon arouses the envy of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl. This monarch, second in the dynasty, is a colorful, whimsical, sometimes cruel character. His reign will last 55 years. If the King of France, Louis XIV, refused to let him marry one of his daughters, the Princess de Conti, Moulay Ismaïl’s ambition to build «his» Versailles did not leave him. He empties the Badiî Palace and the stones, the marble are used to build his imperial city in Meknes, which he chooses as the new capital.
Moulay Ismaïl
History in the making
But the Palace had not said its last word. The remains can speak and can even be chatty. The ruins, which we see today, in perpetual restoration still tell the splendor of the past and the glorious hours. In the central courtyard, along the basins or in the basement, you can’t help but let your imagination wander… dream, project and mentally reconstruct the gigantic building.
When, in a small room, you discover a film and a 3D simulation of the original monument, you are amazed ! Reality far exceeded our fertile imagination! These architects had dared everything to glorify the power of their sponsor King.
virtuel Palais el Badiî ©Antonio Almagro LAAC, Escuela de Estudios Árabes, CSIC. Granada
You think of the big parties in the rooms of the pavilions, you hear the sounds of the instruments that resounded within these walls, you guess the intrigues that were tied in the corridors, the passing time, history…
Then a sound interrupts your ramblings. Oh, yes, the storks ! You had almost forgotten them ! It is obvious that hey have taken up residence here, almost permanently, and continue to clap their beaks in a imperturbable way. Their babies continue to get impatient. Like 400 years ago!
