Dar Si Said facts for kids

Rooms and decorated doorways inside the palace

The Dar Si Said (Arabic: دار السي سعيد) is a beautiful old palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. It was built a long time ago, in the late 1800s. Today, it is a museum where you can learn about Moroccan art and history.

History of the Palace

This palace was built between 1894 and 1900. It was made for a man named Si Sa'id ibn Musa. He was an important minister, like a government official, who worked for his brother, Ba Ahmad ibn Musa. Ba Ahmad was the Grand Vizier, which means he was the most powerful minister and basically ran Morocco at that time, under Sultan Abdelaziz.

After 1914, when France took control of Morocco for a while (this was called the French Protectorate), the palace was used by the local leaders of Marrakesh.

Later, around 1930 or 1932, the palace was turned into a museum. It showed off "indigenous arts," which means traditional Moroccan art, especially things made from wood.

After Morocco became independent in 1957, the palace was split. Part of it stayed a museum, and another part became an agency that helps local craftspeople.

The building has been fixed up many times over the years. It is still a museum today. In 2018, after some big renovations, it reopened with a new name: the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets.

Sadly, the museum was badly damaged by a big earthquake in September 2023. It had to close for repairs. Experts thought it would take at least six months to fix everything.

What the Palace Looks Like

The Dar Si Said palace has decorations that are similar to another famous palace nearby, the Bahia Palace. However, the Dar Si Said is built on more than one level, and its design is quite different.

Some of the special parts of the palace include a large reception hall on the top floor. There's also a big riad garden. A riad garden is a traditional Moroccan garden with plants and fountains, usually in the middle of a building. This one has a beautiful wooden pavilion in the center, decorated with painted designs.

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  The riad garden

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  Painted decoration inside the wooden pavilion of the garden

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  A courtyard with fountain in the palace

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  One of the grand halls in the palace

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  Cupola over the grand hall

What You Can See in the Museum

Rooms of the palace with exhibit on Moroccan carpets

The museum has many different kinds of objects in its collection. A lot of these items come from the southern parts of Morocco.

For a long time, the museum mostly showed Moroccan art made from wood. For example, it had an old marble basin from a place called Medina Azahara in Al-Andalus (which is now Spain). This basin was made between 1002 and 1007. It was later used in another famous building in Marrakesh, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, before being returned there recently.

Since the museum reopened in 2018, its main focus has changed. Now, the exhibits mostly show beautiful Moroccan weaving and carpets.

See also

In Spanish: Museo Dar Si Said para niños

• Marrakech Museum
• Bahia Palace
• Nejjarine Museum (in Fes)