El Badi Palace (
Arabic:
قصر البديع - meaning
The incomparable palace) is a ruined palace located in
Marrakesh,
Morocco. Commissioned by the
Arab Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, sometime shortly after his accession in 1578, its construction was funded by a substantial ransom paid by the
Portuguese after the
Battle of the Three Kings. The palace is nowadays a well known tourist attraction.
The palace took twenty five years to build, with construction finally completed around 1593 and was a lavish display of the best craftmanship of the Saadian period. Constructed using some of the most expensive materials of the time, including
gold and
onyx, the
colonnades are said to be constructed from
marble exchanged with Italian merchants for their equivalent weight in sugar.
The original building is thought to have consisted of 360 richly decorated rooms, a courtyard (135×110 m) and a central pool (90×20 m).
Source: Wikipedia
There are several large
pavilions on the site, which are believed to have been used as
summer houses. The largest on the site is known in Arabic as
Koubba el Khamsiniya, which translates into 'The Fifty Pavilion', named either after its surface area of some 50 cubits or the fact that it once contained 50 columns. The site also includes several stables and dungeons. After the fall of the Saadians and the rise of the
Alaouite dynasty, the palace entered a period of rapid decline. Sultan
Ismail Ibn Sharif stripped the building of its contents, building materials and decorations, to be used in the construction of his new palace in his new capital at
Meknes.
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