The El Badi Palace, located in the southern part of Marrakech is one of the city's attractions. It was built in 1578 by king Ahmad al-Mansur. A little earlier the army of Ahmad al-Mansur defeated the troops of Portugal and forced them to pay a large tribute. It is this money and continued the construction of the Palace with a proud name "Incomparable".

The Palace was built almost 25 years. For its construction were invited the best artists of Andalusia and Catalonia, we used the finest materials of the time: Irish granite, Italian marble, multicolor onyx, delivered to India. The ceiling and walls of the building were decorated with beautiful gilding.

However to delight with its beauty the Palace could not for more than a century. After the power came Alawites, they moved the capital to Meknes and Marrakesh left in the provincial state of neglect for many centuries. Later Sultan Moulay Ismail ordered to destroy the Palace. It took down as many as 10 years, which once again testifies to the size and luxury of the Palace. Marble and gold, taken in Meknes, were used as decorations for new residence Alawites.

Today you can see only the walls of the patio and take a walk through the magnificent orange garden. Even in ruins of the Palace looks very beautiful. The most amazing part of the architecture is the courtyard, which showcases the wealth of its owners. Palace yard was the largest in Marrakech, since its dimensions are about 15 thousand sq m. the Yard was so huge that all the buildings surrounding it, seem very narrow.

The El Badi Palace had 360 rooms on different floors, including a large network of underground tunnels. Also in the Palace, between two tall pavilions, was made a huge swimming pool with a size of about 2 thousand sq. m. Each of the pavilions is surrounded by two small pools. At the present time in places where previously there were pools, grow beautiful orange trees.