You don't really go to the Musée de Marrakech for the artwork, although they do have some nice exhibits. Rather, you go there for the architecture of the building itself.

From the atmosphere, the smell, and the yellow facade that wraps the structure, the Marrakech museum is something incredibly special. The Musée de Marrakech exhibits a collection of Moroccan art forms within the decadent salons of the Mnebhi Palace. The central internal courtyard, with its cedar archways, stained-glass windows, intricate painted door panels and colourful geometric mosaic tilework, is the highlight.

One of my favorite things were the chandeliers that hung above with their beaming light. Next, to the palace you immediately find the mosque of Ben Youssef, one of the most beautiful mosques in Africa, but the entrance is prohibited by anyone who is not Muslim.

After that, we got caught up by the charm of the Palace El Badi and the ancient ruins of this Moroccan structure that translates to “the incomparable”, as when it was built it was exactly that! A fascinating piece in Marrakech’s history, El Badi Palace is a popular tourist attraction for visitors to the Red City. In contrast to the well-preserved Bahia Palace, El Badi is a shell of its former self. Although the former grand palace stands largely in ruins today, stripped of all its former beauty, it is still easy to take a journey back in time and imagine the splendour that once was. Built by the sultan Ahmad al Masur al Dhahabi the palace is an immense size. In the centre, there are swimming pools and gardens along with domes and countless rooms. The enormous royal residence took approximately 25 years to construct. The palace is believed to have contained more than 350 opulent rooms, in addition to a large pool, sweeping courtyard, and several gardens. Other palace features included summer pavilions, dungeons, and stables. No expense was spared when it came to sourcing the finest materials, with gold, Italian marble, onyx, ivory, and cedar wood among the construction materials. With the El Badi once showcasing some of the greatest decorative elements from the Saadi era. Each room was lavishly adorned with beautiful, and expensive, touches of luxury.

Below the palace are the dungeons that held prisoners and housed the slaves. They have a museum where you can find the instruments of torture and the tools they used to chain the slaves. It was quite chilling.

These two days were so intense and we felt grateful to be given the opportunity to dive into the Islamic culture and admire these architectural beauties.