El Badi Palace is the magnificent ruin of what was once the greatest palace in Morocco — built by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur in 1578 to celebrate his victory over the Portuguese at the Battle of the Three Kings, using materials so expensive (Italian marble, Irish oak, Indian onyx, Chinese gold) that the palace's name, 'The Incomparable,' was not considered an exaggeration. What remains today is a vast sunken courtyard of crumbling walls, orange trees, and stork nests, which is somehow more impressive in its ruined state than many intact palaces.
The palace was stripped of its decoration by the Alaouite sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century, who spent 12 years dismantling El Badi and transporting its marble, cedarwood, and gold leaf to his own palace in Meknes. What remains is the structural shell — massive pisé (rammed earth) walls 6 metres thick, a sunken garden with a central pool 90 metres long, and the underground chambers and passages that once served the palace's domestic infrastructure.
The rooftop terraces of El Badi provide some of the best views in the medina — looking north across the rooftops to the Koutoubia minaret, east to the Atlas Mountains, and down into the palace courtyard where storks nest on the ruined walls every spring. The underground khettara (water channels) that supplied the palace's fountains are partially accessible, and the minbar (pulpit) from the Koutoubia Mosque — a 12th-century masterwork of carved cedar and ivory — is displayed in a chamber inside the ruins.
Verified Facts
El Badi Palace was built in 1578 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur
The palace was stripped by Moulay Ismail over 12 years
The central pool is approximately 90 metres long
The Koutoubia Mosque's original minbar is displayed inside the ruins
Get walking directions
Ksibt Nhass, Marrakesh, 40040, Morocco
