Just before handing the Moroccans their independence keys in 1956, the French made the inventory of the properties inside Marrakech ramparts. This inventory was made with a view to set down the Property Book of the town, i.e. about 26.500 houses, among which 2300 RIYADS, were numbered in a timeless Medina which looked like to what it was one or two centuries ago.

The "Maréchal" Lyautey was appointed "Resident General" one month after the signature of the Fès Convention which instituted the French protectorate on 30^th March 1912; Lyautey put in place right away an urbanism project for Morocco.. The conception of this project was devoted to Henri Prost who drawn for each Moroccan metropolis a modern district responding to the needs of the ever growing European community. This is how the GUELIZ district was conceived in Marrakech. Lyautey took good care to save the medinas and their architecture; allowing the Moroccans to keep their habits inside the timeless frame which had seen their great grand-parents born and die. The "Beaux Arts" service, created for this occasion, had the double task of restoring the country historic monuments and keeping untouched the Moroccan medinas.

The traditional Arab house is supposed to house under the same roof the two or even the four generations constituting a family. It is normally built up around an inside courtyard which constitutes a light well. In the patrician houses of large families, the small inside courtyard becomes a real patio with at the middle a fountain. The common element of the riyads is the square or rectangular garden (tree riyad) around which the 3 or 4 aisles of the house are settled and in the middle of which is a basin (alabaster bowl ??) or a fountain. When the Riyad is of Hispano Moorish style, the patio garden is crossed by 2 paved paths of "Zelliges" which cross around the fountain. These two paths are delimiting 4 flower beds composed of a variety of plants such as rose trees, bougainvillea, laurels, hibiscus, "bigaradiers" or wild rose. Some trees : lemon, orange, cypress, fig or banana trees give the patio a resting shadow during the hot season. These four bed plants are the symbol for the Muslims of the Garden of Eden.

Neither the Berbers, (pastoral people), nor the Arabs from the conquest in the XII and XIII centuries, (fighting people), had any artistic or architectural traditions. The Arab architecture will therefore be the result of a subtle and successful compromise between the Byzantine one which will inspire the construction of the Médine Mosque (VII th century) and the Cordovan one in the XIIIth century, itself benefiting from the Spanish Wisigoths. During the Xth century, Youssef Ben Tachfine, the founder of Marrakech, but also the Master of the Moslem Spain will introduce the citrus fruits to the Spanish and will bring back in his luggage, not only a beautiful Andalusian wife, but also the most skilful architects, sculptors and small craftsmen found in Andalusia and will favour their settlement in his two favourite cities, Fès and Marrakech.

Beyond the gardens which are the Riyads'real characteristic, they all have the following common elements :

- Outside, a blind frontage wall of some 6 / 8 metres high, totally neutral, aesthetically discouraging, sometimes bearing 2 or 3 windows (often obtruded) at a certain high and a heavy wooden or iron door.

- Rooms are exclusively turned to the inside.

- This inside therefore remains totally mysterious to the passers by who, if the door is opened will only see a corridor or a chicane entrance which is an intermediary space between the heat, the dust, the noise and outside agitation of the Medina and the house itself.

- It is only after having passed this chicane that the Riyad opens itself to the visitor and gives him quietness, freshness and silence sensations only troubled by the goggling fountain and the sumptuousness hidden to the undesired.

The courtyard, bathed in sunlight, is always surrounded on its 3 or 4 sides by a covered gallery with columns on which the ground floor living rooms and the first floor bedrooms open. The riyads with only ground floors are very rare, even more rare are the 3 storey riyads.

The arcade galleries are the real support of decoration treasures but, beyond their functional utility to give access to the rooms, they are a double screen to the sun rays, as well for the lucky visitors who sit there chatting or drinking tea but also to keep the inside walls in the shadow. This is the reason why that, when the dog days are at their peak, the ground floor rooms are always benefiting from a relative coolness.

On the top of the riyad there is always a terrace inviting to chatting at the end of the days when the sunrays have stopped burning and at a time when the women who used it during the day to hang the washing or gossip have deserted it. These terraces are often surrounded by high walls to ensure discretion and avoid unauthorised looks to the female population of the place. No visitor utilising these terraces, they were somewhat abandoned and they were in a poor state.

It is no more the case in the riyads bought by the Europeans and during the last 30 years and this tendency have even increased by 3 to 4 in the last years. At the end of 1999 there were bout 450 riyads owned by non Moroccans and there is about one sale a week. The patrician families who own these riyads sell them for 2 main reasons : their desire to leave the Medina and its narrow streets and go to modern districts where they can park their cars and the opportunity to settle their inheritance during their life and thus divide the sale price between their children. The Europeans, in love with Marrakech and having means which bear no comparisons with the Moroccans, even the wealthy ones, have progressively trusted nearly all the beautiful riyads with, as a result, a high inflation on the average prices which have more or less tripled during the last 5 years. An average 10 rooms riyad, demanding lots of improvements, is now sold at a price scarcely under 1500/1800KDhs whereas the sellers would have dreamed of a price of 800.000 to 1.000.000 Dhs 3 years ago !

Today, no one should dream, the beauty and the quality of the riyads on the market are decreasing, the most beautiful ones having been sold in the recent years. The riyad value is mostly depending on its architectural qualities, walls solidity, aestheticism, garden size, architectural symmetric balance qualities, beauty of the decoration : sculpted wooden ceilings, stucco quality, age of the "zeliges", presence or not of a panoramic terrace, its location : the riyads at the outskirts of the Medina, where you can park your car, are thus more agreeable/convenient compared to the one located in its hardly reachable centre, presence or not of a jacuzzi, a swimming pool, air conditioning ….. all this being coupled with the heartbreak of the visitor ! All this being considered, you should not forget that buying a riyad in Marrakech is more or less a feat of strength as there are many difficulties before you can proceed with the purchase (disagreement between the co-owners with regard to the price, their wish to receive part of the sale price before the sale is signed and you can get the keys etc….) and when signing you still encounter last minute requirements from the seller, you find that the urbanism certificate is missing etc…After the purchase you then encounter difficulties with regard to renovation and get annoyed by a multitude of intermediaries pretending to be responsible/awarded by the District Town Hall and also with the obtaining of the necessary go through from the Administration with regard to the building fabric (which you will have to renew on a monthly basis!).
The Europeans who have been through this trial, have scarcely made any savings on the works which, however, cost about 4 to 5 times less than in Europe. They have renovated, modernised and redecorated their riyads with a view to turn them into fairy tales palaces.
However, with a view to amortise their investment, the owners have chosen to run their riyads in turning them into guests houses or restaurants.

Some European' owners who only utilise their houses a few weeks per year have asked us to show their riyads on this website. We have selected 3 of them among the most beautiful ones. They are available at very reasonable prices for a good quality of service :

- rental on a weekly basis -from Saturday to Saturday ;
- possibility to have a daily rental (minimum 2 days);
- breakfasts included ;
- house keeper/messenger included - housekeeper/cook included ;
- household linen included.

The administrator / manager, always present on the site, will be able to help you with the organisation of visits, car rental at a competitive price, baby sitting etc… Its aim is to help you in all possible ways to make your stay a success.

JG or MM