Castles in Marakesh!

Wow we visited 2 castles in Marrakesh, the bahia Palace was the first one. I know most of the castles are empty of their treasures but they are quite grandiose buildings on their own. The Bahia Palace is a 19th century building, counting 150 rooms a few courtyards and 8 acres of gardens, including a harem. We walked along the pools were we met an Italian lady from Montreal. She was commenting on Donna's bag.

She actually took a picture of it, wanting to make one for herself. My friend's bag is covered by fabric flags from every country she visited. It is decorated with beautiful tiles and arabian sculptures. The gardens are built lower than the paths in order to retain the most water possible. Originally built for the grand vizir of the sultan Si Moussa but it was during the reign of Bou Ahmed. It also housed the resident general during the french Protectorate era.

It also )as the illustrations show) Housed a Hamman( Turkish bath)

It was very beautiful. There was no lines to get in. It also houses a large riad, surrounded by citrus trees. The palace was the residence of Bou Ahmed and is 4 wives and several concubines.

We also visited the El Badi Palace built in 1578 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, the ruler of the Saadian Dynasty.

Marrakesh was a very busy city. We were near a square filled with fruit juice vendors and snake charmers. Yes you could hear the music from the flutes only to notice the black snakes later. I actually stepped two feet from one only to realise after!!! The little alleys near the souks and in the souks themselves were always used by motorbikes, they drive pretty fast around the people and talk about the fumes!

It is another world for sure. We loved it after a night there. But we were mainly in the Medina, the old quarters. The last day we took a walk out of those walls and we were surprised by a beautiful park and a modern city.