<p>El Bahia Palace ("Palace of the Beautiful") is an architectural masterpiece of Moroccan and Islamic style built in the 1860s in Marrakech. Commissioned by Si Moussa, grand vizier of Sultan Hassan I, and later expanded by his son Ahmed ben Moussa, the palace was designed to be the greatest palace of its time. Spanning nearly 20 acres, the complex includes courtyards, gardens, and over 150 rooms decorated with intricate zellige tilework, carved cedar ceilings, stucco ornaments, and colorful zouak painted wood. The palace features a series of connected riads (traditional houses with interior gardens) arranged around rectangular courtyards and includes a harem section once occupied by Si Moussa's concubines. The stunning gardens blend Islamic and Moorish influences, featuring fountains, orange trees, banana plants, and cypress. As Morocco's most visited historical monument, El Bahia Palace showcases the height of 19th-century Moroccan architectural achievement and the luxurious lifestyle of the ruling elite during that period.</p>
