El-Badi Palace
Ksibet Nhas, Marrakesh, Morocco
Description:
El Badi Palace is one of the main attractions of Marrakesh. It was built in 1578 with Portuguese money. In the same year, the troops of King Ahmed al-Mansour of Morocco defeated the Portuguese army, after which they were obliged to pay tribute. With this huge money for its time, marble was brought from Italy, multicolored onyx from India, and its best granite from Ireland. Unfortunately, a century later, Sultan Ismail Mawli ordered the dismantling of El-Badi, and from the materials obtained to build a new palace, already in the city of Meknes.
Despite the devastation, today El Bali Palace is an impressive sight. It is really huge, the yard alone stretches for 135 meters. The palace itself includes 360 rooms, many of which are located in a network of underground tunnels.