Saadian Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour Ed Dahbi was just as extravagant in death as he was in life. After the "golden king" built Badia Palace in the 16th century, he transformed an existing necropolis into this lavish tomb complex, sparing no expense and importing Italian Carrara marble and gilding honeycomb muqarnas (decorative plasterwork) with pure gold. Al Mansour died in splendour in 1603, but a few decades later, Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail walled up the Saadian Tombs to keep his predecessors out of sight and mind. The mausoleum lay forgotten until aerial photography
Comments ()