"Moroccan riad A riad () is a type of traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard. The word riad originates from the Arabian term for garden, , ryad. The ancient Roman city of Volubilis provided a reference for the beginnings of riad architecture during the Idrisid Dynasty. When the Almoravids conquered Spain in the 11th century they sent Muslim, Christian and Jewish artisans from Spain to Morocco to work on monuments. The Riad is the Moroccan traditional house, normally with two or more stories around an Andalusian-style courtyard that contained a fountain. Riads were the stately"
"city homes of the wealthiest citizens such as merchants and courtiers. The riads were inward focused, which allowed for family privacy and protection from the weather in Morocco. This inward focus was expressed with a centrally placed interior garden or courtyard, and the lack of large windows on the exterior walls of clay or mud brick. This design principle found support in Islamic notions of privacy, and hijab for women. Entrance to these houses encourages reflection because all of the rooms open into the central atrium space. In the central garden of traditional riads there are often four orange or"
"Sahn A sahn, (, """"), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture. Most traditional mosques have a large central sahn, which is surrounded by a ""riwaq"" or arcade on all sides. In traditional Islamic design, residences and neighborhoods can have private sahn. In Islamic and Arab architecture, the ""sahn"" courtyard is a common element in religious buildings and residences throughout the Arab world and beyond, used in urban and rural settings. The cloister is its equivalent in European medieval architecture and its religious buildings. Originally, the ""sahn"" was used for dwellings, as a secure and private setting within a residence compound's"
"through a zigzagging passageway that hides the central courtyard. The passageway opens to a staircase leading to an upstairs reception area called a ""dormiria"", which often is the most lavish room in the home adorned with decorative tilework, painted furniture, and piles of embroidered pillows and Moroccan rugs. More affluent families also have greenhouses and a second ""dormiria"", accessible from a street-level staircase. Service quarters and stairways were always at the corners of the structures. Contemporary Art in Morocco is still in the making yet with a great potential for growth. Since the 1990-2000s Moroccan cities have welcomed institutions contributing"
"Menara gardens The Menara gardens () are botanical gardens located to the west of Marrakech, Morocco, near the Atlas Mountains. They were established in the 12th century (c. 1130) by the Almohad Caliphate ruler Abd al-Mu'min. The name ""menara"" derives from the pavilion with its small green pyramid-shaped roof (""menzeh""), meaning lighthouse (منارَة [manaara]). Although there is no actual lighthouse in the gardens, any building that sits at a high elevation is locally known as menara, such as the mosque Menaret manaara. The pavilion was built during the 16th century Saadi dynasty and renovated in 1869 by sultan Abderrahmane of"
"UNESCO World Heritage. Large Paradise gardens are also found at the Taj Mahal (Agra), and at Humayun's Tomb (New Delhi), in India; the Shalimar Gardens (Lahore, Pakistan) or at the Alhambra and Generalife in Granada, Spain. The traditional Islamic courtyard, a ""sehan"" (), is found in secular and religious structures. A Hypostyle, i.e., an open hall supported by columns combined with a reception hall set at right angle to the main hall, is considered to be derived from architectural traditions of Achaemenid period Persian assembly halls (""""apadana""""). This type of building originated from the Roman-style basilica with an adjacent courtyard"
"manuscript collection of Hassan II. There are extensive gardens and grounds surrounding the palace, the design of which was influenced by French formality, traditional Arabic motifs and local horticulture. Dar al-Makhzen (Rabat) Dâr-al-Makhzen is the primary and official residence of the king of Morocco. It is situated in the Touarga commune of Rabat, the national capital. Its official name is the El Mechouar Essaid Palace, which means the venue of happyness palace. Since the reign of sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, the Alaouite sultans and kings have maintained a palace in Rabat. The current building was built in 1864, to replace"
"Beit Achiqbash Beit Achiqbash (AR: بيت أجقباش في الجديدة; Achikbache House) is an old Aleppine courtyard mansion built in 1757 CE by Qarah Ali, a wealthy Christian merchant. It is one of a number of historic buildings found in the Al-Jdayde Christian quarter of Aleppo. A Turk named Ashiqbash later bought the house. The house is famous for its courtyard, which is extravagantly decorated in a Mamluk-Rococo style. The building was turned into a museum in 1973 and restored in the 1980s. It is well known for the fine carved ornaments on its courtyard elevations. Its style is said to"
"to walk around in a formal dress. Others include , Aarssat Elhamed, Aarssat Moulay Abdessalam, Aarssat Elbilk, Ghabat Achabab, and Bab Errab Garden. Wealth in the city is manifested in palaces and many other mansions and lavish houses. The main palaces are Badi Palace, the Royal Palace and Bahia Palace. Mansions, known as ""riads"", are common in Marrakech, defined as ""traditional courtyarded homes"" which are ""based on the Roman villa, with a large interior garden surrounded by high walls to obscure it from the view of passers-by, the principle of the construction was to allow privacy and cooler temperatures inside."""
"Agdal Gardens The Agdal Gardens (or Aguedal Gardens) are botanical gardens of around in surface area, located to the south of ""Dar El Makhzen"", the Royal Palace, and the medina in Marrakech, Morocco. Their name derives from the Berber language for ""walled meadow"". Extending for some , the gardens include groves of orange, lemon, fig, apricot and pomegranate trees in rectangular plots, linked by olive-lined walkways. Together with the medina of Marrakech and the Menara Gardens, the Agdal Gardens were listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1985. The gardens were established in the 12th century by Abd"
"used to train troops to swim. Sultan Mohammed IV died in the pool when his steam launch capsized there in 1873. His successor, Sultan Moulay Hassan, housed his harem in another pavilion in the gardens, the ""Dar al Baida"". Agdal Gardens The Agdal Gardens (or Aguedal Gardens) are botanical gardens of around in surface area, located to the south of ""Dar El Makhzen"", the Royal Palace, and the medina in Marrakech, Morocco. Their name derives from the Berber language for ""walled meadow"". Extending for some , the gardens include groves of orange, lemon, fig, apricot and pomegranate trees in rectangular"
"atrium. As the centrepiece of the house, the atrium was the most lavishly-furnished room. Also, it contained the little chapel to the ancestral spirits (""lararium""), the household safe (""arca"") and sometimes a bust of the master of the house. The term was also used for a variety of spaces in public and religious buildings, mostly forms of arcaded courtyards, larger versions of the domestic spaces. Byzantine churches were often entered through such a space (as are many mosques, though the term atrium is not usually used to describe Islamic architecture). The 19th century brought the industrial revolution with great advances"
"in Morocco. The ornamentation of the Ben Youssef madrasa derives closely from that of earlier Andalusian architecture, which adorns open pavilions with pools, gardens, fountains, and intricately decorated walls of stucco and tile. Embellished by elaborately carved stucco, painted ceramic tiles, and wooden mashrabiyas supported by lentils, the main courtyard of the madrasa communicates a multi-sensory experience for visitors and students. The entrance to this central courtyard is marked by a richly carved wooden door that is framed by a two large, intricately carved layers of stucco. Although the student cells that surround the courtyard have little to no interior"
"marble or cement. It is built in the heart of the courtyard, living room or guest room. Woodwork can be found in both urbanized and more traditional areas of Morocco. The woodwork serves as the main finishing. This intricate woodwork can be found on various surfaces of buildings especially the interiors, such as wall, ceiling window, gallery and balcony. The wood itself does not need to be finished or painted after the long process of delicate carving. The plaster used for sculpting is called ""gabs"" or ""jybs"" in Moroccan, with the gypsum extracted abundantly from quarries in Safi, Asni, Meknes"
"Bahia Palace The Bahia Palace (, ) is a palace and a set of gardens located in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was built in the late 19th century, intended to be the greatest palace of its time. The name means ""brilliance"". As in other buildings of the period in other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. There is a 2-acre (8,000 m²) garden with rooms opening onto courtyards. Set up at the end of the 19th century by Si Moussa, grand vizier of the sultan, for his personal use, this palace would bear"
"most common types of domestic structures in Morocco, is a home found in a ""medina"", or walled urban area of a city. Most Moroccan homes traditionally adhere to the ""Dar al-Islam"", a series of tenets on Islamic domestic life. ""Dar"" exteriors are typically devoid of ornamentation and windows, except occasional small openings in secondary quarters, such as stairways and service areas. These piercings provide light and ventilation. ""Dars"" are typically composed of thick, high walls that protect inhabitants from thievery, animals, and other such hazards; however, they have a much more symbolic value from an Arabic perspective. In this culture"
"on the outside of the city, but there is very little direct evidence for this. Residential design was a direct development from Ubaid houses. Although Sumerian cylinder seals depict reed houses, the courtyard house was the predominant typology, which has been used in Mesopotamia to the present day. This house called ""é"" (Cuneiform: , ; Sumerian: e; ) faced inward toward an open courtyard which provided a cooling effect by creating convection currents. This courtyard called ""tarbaṣu"" (Akkadian) was the primary organizing feature of the house, all the rooms opened into it. The external walls were featureless with only a"
"washing before prayer), decorated with mosaic tiles (zellij) in geometric patterns as well as tiles painted with arabesques and Arabic calligraphy. The interior of the mosque is dominated by a relatively large courtyard or ""sahn"", surrounded by galleries on three sides and by the main prayer hall on its southeastern side, all marked by large, slightly pointed horseshoe arches which are typical of medieval Moroccan mosques. The courtyard has a typical central fountain, but is also shaded by several fig trees, a much less typical feature. The main prayer hall is short and only two rows deep. The wall around"
"ornaments. Nearly all men, and most women, wear balgha (بلغه). These are soft leather slippers with no heel, often dyed yellow. Women also wear high-heeled sandals, often with silver or gold tinsel. Moroccan style is a new trend in decoration, which takes its roots from Moorish architecture. It has been made popular by the vogue of riad renovation in Marrakech. Dar is the name given to one of the most common types of domestic structures in Morocco; it is a home found in a medina, or walled urban area of a city. Most Moroccan homes traditionally adhere to the Dar"
"facing the semi-private courtyard of the house. The qa'a can be described as a combination of a courtyard and iwan. The qa'a consists of a depressed central area (""durqa'a"") where guests would first enter the qa'a via an opening; and the raised sitting area (""tazar"") where the guests would take off their footwear and be seated on the ""diwan"", a couch that is placed on the floor against the wall. The ""tazar"" is placed in a kind of iwan, a rectangular hall walled on three sides. Normally there are two iwans facing each other on the main axis of the"
"called an ""impluvium"". These homes frequently incorporated a second open-air area, the garden, which would be surrounded by Greek-style colonnades, forming a peristyle. This created a colonnaded walkway around the perimeter of the courtyard, which influenced monastic structures centuries later. Courtyard houses in the Middle East reflect the nomadic influences of the region. Instead of officially designating rooms for cooking, sleeping, etc., these activities were relocated throughout the year as appropriate to accommodate the changes in temperature and the position of the sun. Often the flat rooftops of these structures were used for sleeping in warm weather. In some Islamic"
"opening them to the public. However the gardens were later developed into modern housing. The central courtyard still retains some of the original features of the building, with minimal modifications. In the courtyard there are some plantations such as Cestrum nocturnum and Star Jasmine giving the palace a romantic appearance day and night. At the courtyard a small but decorative fountain features at a wall. Most rooms on the groundfloor touching the courtyard have direct portal access to the courtyard. From the large backgardens there is now a side backyard. The townhouse, at 31 Triq il-Kbira, is listed as a"
"clothing traditionally necessary in public. In urban settings, the sahn is usually surrounded by a colonnaded ""riwaq"", and has a ""howz"", or pool of water, in the middle. The residence's ""iwan"", a private 'family room' veranda of three walls, usually overlooks the sahn and gives direct or stairway access to it. Upper floor rooms may also view it through ""mashrabiya"", wooden lattice covered windows. The Moorish sahn patios of al-Andalus, in present-day Spain, include World Heritage Sites such as the Court of the Lions and Court of the Myrtles at the Alhambra palace. Traditional Islamic neighborhoods can have a dedicated"
"area. One type of liwan house is the three-arched house or ""Central Hall House"", as coined by Friedrich Ragette in 1974. It is also known as the ""traditional house"" or ""Late-Ottoman Arab House"" in Haifa or the ""Beiruti House"" in Mersin. The 19th century Levantine model of the three-arched house with many regional variations is found in the coastal regions of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel and Turkey. A representative example of the liwan house commonly found in towns throughout the West Bank and Gaza is the Al Imam house in Hebron. Liwan Liwan (, from Persian """") is a word"
"as modern villas. The interior doors of villas are usually oversized and decorative. In contrast, very small doors are used in dars. Doors are often adorned with delicate metal work, carving or color. In contrast with doors, windows in Moroccan architecture are often unremarkable. They are normally arched glass panes with fewer adornments compared to doors. Mashrabiya is an Islamic dowel work, made by carving large wood partitions in elaborate geometric patterns. Its purpose is to conceal the women from the visitor’s prying eyes according to Islamic tradition. The fountain is a conspicuous feature in every house, often made of"
"Majorelle Garden The Majorelle Garden (, hadiqat mmajuril, urti majuril) is a two and half acre botanical garden and artist's landscape garden in Marrakech, Morocco. It was created by the French Orientalist artist, Jacques Majorelle over almost forty years, starting in 1923, and features a Cubist villa designed by the French architect, Paul Sinoir in the 1930s. The property was the residence of the artist and his wife from 1923 until their divorce in the 1950s. In the 1980s, the property was purchased by the fashion designers, Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé who worked to restore it. Today, the garden"
"be greatly influenced by Baroque decorative traditions. It is the home of the Popular Traditions Museum with its collection of fine decorations of Aleppine art and artefacts of past lives. The building, like much of Aleppo's old city, has suffered catastrophic damage and looting during the fighting by combatant forces in Syria's civil war. A survey of Beit Achiqbash was completed in November 2017 by the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums and UNESCO to facilitate the emergency consolidation of its structure. Beit Achiqbash Beit Achiqbash (AR: بيت أجقباش في الجديدة; Achikbache House) is an old Aleppine courtyard mansion built in"
"Aït Benhaddou Aït Benhaddou (; ) is an ighrem (fortified village in English) (ksar in Arabic), along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in present-day Morocco. Most citizens attracted by the tourist trade live in more modern dwellings in a village on the other side of the river, although there are four families still living in the ancient village. Inside the walls of the ksar are half a dozen (Kasbahs) or merchants houses and other individual dwellings, and is a great example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture. Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since"
"Moroccan style Moroccan style is a new trend in decoration which takes its roots from Moorish architecture and Moroccan architecture, it has been made popular by the vogue of Riads renovation in Marrakech. Its becoming popular in some circles in UK and the USA. Riad Laksiba notably formed part of a reality TV program following a family buying and restoring an ancient Riad in the Medina of Marrakech. It was aired on House Hunters International to an estimated global audience of 97 millions on September 21, 2010. Due to the popularity of this trend the TV show is regularly repeated."
"from five continents including cacti, palms and bamboo. The Agdal Gardens, located south of the medina and also built in the 12th century, are royal orchards surrounded by ""pise"" walls. Measuring in size, the gardens feature citrus, apricot, pomegranate, olive and cypress trees. Sultan Moulay Hassan's harem resided at the Dar al Baida pavilion, which was situated within these gardens. This site is also known for its historic swimming pool, where a Sultan is said to have drowned. The Koutoubia Gardens are situated behind the Koutoubia Mosque. They feature orange and palm trees, and are frequented by storks. The Mamounia"
"the exterior represents a place of work, while the interior represents a place of refuge. Thus, Moroccan interiors are often very lavish in decoration and craft. Consistent with most Islamic architecture, ""dars"" are based around small open-air patios, surrounded by very tall thick walls, to block direct light and minimize heat. Intermediary triple-arched porticos lead to usually two to four symmetrically located rooms. These rooms have to be long and narrow, creating very vertical spaces, because the regional resources and construction technology typically only allow for joists that are usually less than thirteen feet. Upon entering a ""dar"", guests move"
"Mashrabiya A mashrabiya (), also either ""shanshūl"" () or ""rūshān"" (), is an architectural element which is characteristic of Arabic residences. It is a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the second story of a building or higher, often lined with stained glass. The mashrabiya is an element of traditional Arabic architecture used since the Middle Ages up to the mid-20th century. It is most commonly used on the street side of the building; however, it may also be used internally on the sahn (courtyard) side. The style may be informally known as a"
"Dar al-Makhzen (Rabat) Dâr-al-Makhzen is the primary and official residence of the king of Morocco. It is situated in the Touarga commune of Rabat, the national capital. Its official name is the El Mechouar Essaid Palace, which means the venue of happyness palace. Since the reign of sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, the Alaouite sultans and kings have maintained a palace in Rabat. The current building was built in 1864, to replace the older palace, by Mohammed IV. Morocco had been formerly under the control of the French since 1912, and they wanted the sultan to be largely stationed in one"