Marrakech Splendeurs Saadiennes, 1550-1650

At the beginning of the 16th century, Marrakesh became the capital city of the Saadians, distrustful about Fes, intellectual city where religious authorities weren't always favourable towards them. On the initiative of two sovereigns, Mohammed ash-Sheikh and Ahmad al-Mansur, exceptional monuments were built in the "red city". Religious complexes gathering mosques, fountains, Koranic schools and baths, graves, palaces and houses still remain today and testify of the refinement of the Saadian court. Although some of them are extremely famous, as the Ben Youssef Madrasa, a lot of these monuments built between 1550 and 1650 remain unknown to the Western public because not open to non-Muslims.

For the first time, thanks to the support of the Maroccan Minister of Islamic Affaires, this exceptional heritage is studied. With 350 photographs of the insides and outsides of these religious or civil buildings, the book highlights the original character of the Saadian art. Thanks to period texts and testimonies, it explains how these buildings and decors were designed and conceived.