El Badi Palace is a great historical castle in Marrakech and one of its top attractions. It was built at the end of the sixteenth century by Sultan Ahmed al-Mansour to memorialize the triumph over the Portuguese in the Battle of the Three Kings.
It is a ruined palace currently with only a few remains. So what it looked like in its age, is a major question for many historians. Regarding the massive size of the patio and its lavishness, it is said to have been a palace with over 300 rooms decorated in gold, turquoise, and crystal.
Construction of the palace
El Badi Palace took 25 years to complete. This entire great palace contains more than 350 luxury rooms, a large pool, a roomy courtyard, sundry gardens, summer pavilions, stables, and dungeons. Every single room at this palace was decorated lavishly. Only popular craftsmen were employed to fabricate elegant designs with gold, Italian marble, onyx, ivory, and cedarwood.
History of the Palace
Saadi Dynasty's sixth sultan, Ahmad el Mansour, was the fifth son of the dynasty's founder, Mohammed ash-sheik. El Mansour was obliged to escape Morocco with his brother Abd al-Malik after the murder of his father in 1557 to avoid any kind of hardship by their eldest brother, Abdallah al Ghalib. After 17 years of expatriation, El Mansour and al-Malik returned to Marrakech and insulate al Ghalib's son, who had succeeded him as Sultan. Al-Malik became the ruler of the throne up to 1578 when the War of the Three Kings has been started. This war saw a dispute between al Ghalib’s son, to return the throne, the Portuguese King Sebastian I, and Al-Malik. But the son and al-Malik died in the war and el Mansour became al-Malik's successor. After that, he collected a big wealth from Portuguese captives and planned to build a gigantic palace Marrakesh had never seen.
Nowadays the palace is still well worth visiting, it is not hard to feel and imagine the beauty of the courtyard with the pool. Although the ruins of the palace, It is possible to explore. Keep this historical site on your tour, maybe you can get back with your imagination to the end of the sixteenth century.
