Hello, and welcome back as I explore the historic Moroccan city of Marrakech. In my previous post, I explored the El Badi Palace, which was built in the 16th Century by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, a powerful ruler of the Saadian Dynasty. Although now just a hollowed-out ruin, his palace was once richly decorated and a great symbol of Saadian power after the consequential Battle of the Three Kings. This event saw three kings die in a single battle, and solidified Saadian Morocco as an independent state. In a way, the palace symbolized the rise of Saadian power, and my next destination is what remains of its legacy.
Not far from the palace are the Saadian Tombs. Unlike the palace, which was demolished and stripped of all its valuables when the Alouite Sultan Moulay Ismail took power, the tombs were sealed instead. Sultan Moulay wanted to erase the legacy of his predecessors, but perhaps out of respect for the religious customs, he spared the royal burial sites from destruction, instead choosing to close them off to be forgotten by the world.
For over 200 years, the tombs remained hidden and untouched until found by chance by French aerial photographs in 1917. Some careful excavation had followed, and the tombs were found to have been protected from weathering and looters for all that time.
When you get to the tombs, there is a 70MAD ($7.50USD) admission price, and an opening into some beautiful gardens. The area is quite compact, and people will queue up in the garden to wait to enter the internal tombs. I didn’t have to wait too long to enter the tombs, and the garden was beautifully designed, with some tombs placed out in the grass. I read that some close advisors and friends of the Saadians were also buried here, and I assume they were the ones buried outside.
When it is my turn to go inside, it is as if I have stepped into another world. It is much cooler than just a few steps outside, and despite the people passing nearby, the air had an eerie stillness.
As my eyes gaze up from the beautiful mosaic tile floors, the design gets more and more intricate the higher up I look.
Just above the mosaic tiles are these complex and ornate stucco carvings in what appears to be plaster.
On the ceiling, the designs become more geometric and appear to be carved into wood. I think that the patterns they use are really impressive, and the gold leaf finish at the top gives a royal feel to the design.
It is said that the tombs were expanded and refurbished by the Saadian Sultan, and I wonder how much of the designs were remnants from an even earlier kingdom.
I imagine the artisans who took part in the construction of a place such as this. How surreal it must have been to work every day on something so beautiful, which was only meant to be seen by a select few in the royal family. It is strangely satisfying when normal people such as myself can witness the great works of my fellow man, to enjoy places which were previously forbidden, save for a privileged few.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my visit to the Saadian Tombs in historic Marrakech, Morocco.
If you would like to read more about my adventures in Morocco, please consider checking out some of my previous posts, including:
Rooftop Turtles & A Ruined El Badi Palace, which can be found here.
A Dangerous Journey Through the High Atlas Mountains, which can be found here.
All photos were taken by me. Have a great day!