El Badi Palace
Saadian sultan's ruined audience palace (1578–1593)
Commissioned by Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur and built between 1578 and 1593 with ransom paid by Portugal after the Battle of the Three Kings, El Badi was once one of the most opulent palaces in the Islamic world. Stripped of its marble, gold and onyx by Sultan Moulay Ismail from 1707 onwards, the surviving 135 × 110 m sunken courtyard remains in monumental ruin.
Location
MarrakechFAQs
El Badi — 'the incomparable' or 'the marvellous' — is one of the 99 Names of God in Islam. Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur chose the name to signal both his personal piety and his ambition to build a palace without equal.