A Mosque, Two Palaces and Two Museums

We started our walking tour, again led by Jasmin, at the Koutoubia mosque. It is a large 12th century mosque, still in use today.

Next we visited the El Badii Palace which was quite large, but very much in ruins. The sunken garden containing orange groves, however, still flourishes. It was built in the16th century and although it was a palace, part of the underground rooms that housed the servants, also served as a prison.

The second palace of the day, Bahia Palace, was smaller (only 160 rooms and courtyards and 8 acres of gardens) and newer (19th century). It was also much better preserved. Everywhere we wandered, we admired the intricately detailed mosaics, carvings, ceilings, courtyards, fountains, garden... there was no end of allure.

Our first museum was the Museum of Tiskiwin. A small museum of Berber history and artifacts. It was quite interesting.
Dar Si Said, the final museum of the day, was a museum of Moroccan carpets. Videos and tools explained and demonstrated the carpet making process from shearing the sheep to weaving the final product. The patterns, colours, and weaving styles vary from region to region, making the origin of a carpet easier to identify. It was pretty cool.