Anyone who says you can’t take it with you hasn’t seen the Saadian Tombs, near the Kasbah Mosque. Saadian Sultan Ahmed al-Mansour ed-Dahbi spared no expense on his tomb, importing Italian Carrara marble and gilding honeycomb muqarnas (stalactite plasterwork) with pure gold to make the Chamber of the 12 Pillars a suitably glorious mausoleum.
Hidden Passages
Al-Mansour died in splendour in 1603, but a
few decades later, Alawite Sultan Moulay Ismail walled up the Saadian
Tombs to keep his predecessors out of sight and mind. Accessible only
through a small passage in the Kasbah Mosque, the tombs were neglected
by all except the storks until aerial photography exposed them in 1917.
You can wander around the compound solo, or engage a guide at the
entryway to explain what you’re seeing (customary tip Dh15to Dh20).
Courtyard Tombs
Al-Mansour
played favourites even in death, keeping alpha-male princes handy in
the Chamber of the Three Niches, and relegating to garden plots some 170
chancellors and wives – though some trusted Jewish advisors earned
pride of place, literally closer to the king’s heart than his wives or
sons. All tombs are overshadowed by his mother’s mausoleum in the
courtyard, carved with poetic, weathered blessings and vigilantly
guarded by stray cats.
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