Dar Batha

Coordinates: 34°03′37″N 4°58′58″E / 34.060278°N 4.982778°E / 34.060278; 4.982778

Dar Batha museum

Dar Batha (Arabic: دار البطحاء‎), or Qasr al-Batha (Arabic: قصر البطحاء‎), is a former royal palace in the city of Fez, Morocco. The palace was commissioned by the Alaouite Sultan Hassan I and his successor Abdelaziz in the 19th century. It was converted into a museum in 1916 with around 6,000 collections. The palace is located outside of the western wall of Fes el Bali, the old medina quarter of the city, and connected to Fes Jdid, the new medina quarter. It is close to Bab Boujeloud.

Description

Sultan Hassan I ordered the construction of the palace as a place for distinguished visitors and guests to stay. During 1912-1916 it housed the accommodation for the departments belonged to the French Protectorate before the function was moved to Rabat, the new capital of the state. Since then it was converted into a museum; first as a museum of national art, and then as a museum of ethnography and the cultural activities.[1] It houses valuable artifacts taken from the decaying or ruined historic buildings in the medina of Fez such as madrasas.[2]

The main entrance of the building leads to the large square in the middle, surrounded by the two large buildings and the garden. The garden is created in Andalusian style and makes up around 58% of the entire area of the palace. The garden was created for the recreational use of the visitors, especially during the summer. Today, concerts and religious festivals are held in the garden.[2] The garden is rectangular-shaped and surrounded by the courtyard. It is divided into four parts, with a fountain in the middle.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 قصر البطجاء. Museum with no Frontiers. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Batha Museum. Lonely Planet. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
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