Morocco Travel Guide

MUSEUM

HISTORIC    SITE

Dar Si Said

Offline map Google  map (    0524   38  95  64; admission   Dh30;    9am-4.30pm Wed-Mon)    A

monument to Moroccan mâalems (master artisans), Dar Si Said showcases Marrakesh’s
graceful riad architecture and regional craftsmanship – though artisans from Fez are credited
for the spectacular painted wedding-chamber dome upstairs. Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed had the
power, but his brother Si Said apparently had the mâalems (master artisans) to make his home
a model of quiet elegance. It’s signposted from Riad Zitoun el-Jedid.

It now houses the Museum of Moroccan Arts Offline map Google map , starting with the oldest
object in Marrakesh: an AD 1002–1007 chest that belonged to a chamberlain of Spain’s
Umayyad Caliphate. Arrows direct visitors past antique yet fashion-forward Marrakshi man-
bags; 20th-century High Atlas carpets in striking shades of purple; heavy silver headdresses
worn by Berber Jewish women; and doors carved with talismans, warding off the evil eye.

Upstairs, flower-painted musicians’ balconies flank the domed wedding-reception chamber. At
the far end of the room, a small bedroom features uninvitingly narrow wooden beds and
special-occasion caftans, including one enviable red, silk-velvet number with gold braid.

The rear staircase leads upstairs to a musical instruments display, or downstairs to the exit
via the most delightful artefact of all: a Ferris wheel for babies, with pint-sized palanquins on a
hand-cranked axis.

AHMAD NMEIS: KOUTOUBIA MOSQUE MUEZZIN

Job requirements

The basic   job of  a   muezzin is  not difficult.  The essential   thing   is  to  give    the adhan   (call   to  prayer) on  time,   five    times   a   day.    The

first   time    I   gave    the adhan   was before  there   were    megaphones, and it  took    a   lot of  strength.   The Koutoubia   muezzin was

getting older,  and one day when    he  was too tired   to  climb   the minaret stairs  and give    the adhan,  he  asked   me  to  do  it  for him.    I

became  a   regular volunteer,  and when    the muezzin retired the Koutoubia   asked   me  to  replace him.

Live    Poetry

Today   we  have    sound   systems to  amplify the call,   but most    mosques in  Morocco don’t   use recordings. The muezzin should  fill

the words   with    their   full    meaning,    every   time.   At  first   my  job performance was fine    –   I   was on  time,   I   said    the words   correctly,  I

gave    the adhan   facing  the four    cardinal    directions  –   but I   had to  learn   to  convey  the spirit  of  the adhan   .   Each    word    should  be

pronounced  in  such    a   way that    it  captures    its poetry.

The Message

The adhan   begins: Allahuakbar ,   God is  great.  The words   are simple, but each    one is  meaningful. All of  Islam   flows   from    that

one phrase. If  we  can keep    that    in  mind,   we  are naturally   more    mindful of  our actions towards one other.  For people  who are

not Muslim  and don’t   understand  Arabic, my  hope    is  that    they    sense   the intention   of  the words,  and it  fills   them    with    beauty,

with    comfort,    with    understanding.

Badi Palace

Offline map Google  map (   admission   palace/palace   plus    Koutoubia   minbar  Dh10/20;     9am-

4.30pm) As 16th-century Sultan Ahmed el-Mansour was paving the Badi Palace, near Pl des
Ferblantiers, with gold, turquoise and crystal, his court jester wisecracked, ‘It’ll make a beautiful
ruin’. That jester was no fool: 75 years later the place was looted. Today it’s hard to guess the
glories of el-Badi (the Incomparable) from the stark courtyard.