Dar el-Beida, Fez

The Dar el-Beida (Arabic: الدار البيضاء, lit. 'White House') is a royal residence in Fez, Morocco. It was originally part of a larger complex that included the nearby Dar Batha to the northeast. In 1915, the two were separated when Dar Batha was converted into a museum. Today, Dar el-Beida remains an active royal residence and is not open to the public.

History

Dar Batha and Dar el-Beida were constructed to serve as a summer palace and as a residence for distinguished visitors and guests.[1][2] The complex was commissioned and begun in the late 19th century by Sultan Hassan I. Dar Batha was completed under Sultan Abdelaziz,[1][2] while Dar el-Beida was completed under his rival and successor Abdelhafid.[1]

In 1912 the two palaces were used to house the services of the Resident-general of the new French Protectorate. In 1915, Dar Batha was converted into a museum of local arts, to which the collection previously housed at the Dar Adiyel was transferred.[3] The Dar el-Beida continues to be used by the government as a reception palace.[4]

Architecture

The Dar el-Beida is no longer connected to Dar Batha today. Its grounds, entered via a monumental and ornate gate to the southwest, are filled with large gardens dotted with pavilions, and a main palace in the northeast area with more interior gardens and ornate courtyards.[4] One of the canals derived from the Oued Fes (Fes River) passes through the gardens and the palace.[5]

  • Overview of the Dar el-Beida's palace grounds in 1918
  • View of the canal (branching off the Oued Fes) passing through the palace gardens (in 1916)
  • A noria (waterwheel) along the canal in the palace gardens (1916)
  • The interior courtyard garden of the main palace (1916)
  • The canal passing through the palace's interior garden (1916)
  • An interior courtyard of the palace, with central fountain (1916)
  • Rooms inside the palace in 1916, when it was the headquarters of the French resident-general
  • Detail of the main gate in 2024

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dar al-Beida (Fes).

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Le Tourneau, Roger (1949). Fès avant le protectorat: étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman. Casablanca: Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition. pp. 90, 106.
  2. ^ a b Mezzine, Mohamed. "Batha Palace". Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers.
  3. ^ Métalsi, Mohamed (2003). Fès: La ville essentielle. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. pp. 146, 148, 154. ISBN 978-2867701528.
  4. ^ a b Parker, Richard (1981). A practical guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco. Charlottesville, VA: The Baraka Press.
  5. ^ Madani, Tariq (1999). "Le réseau hydraulique de la ville de Fès". Archéologie islamique. 8–9: 119–142.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.