Rajeev's World: Where The Saadians Rest...

A 1.5 kilometre walk from the Palais Bahia brought us to the Saadian Tombs, the final resting place for Sultan Ahmed el Mansour and nearly two hundred members of the Saadian dynasty...

We make our way into the Saadian Tombs...

And my guide leads the way...

The Saadians claimed descent from the prophet Muhammad through Fatima Zahra, Muhammad's daughter. The Saadians came from Tagmadert in the Draa River valley. The genealogy of the Saadian that ruled over large parts of the Maghreb in the 16th and 17th centuries, even covering the legendary city of Timbuktu. The Saadians were a brave dynasty - they defeated the Portuguese and the Ottomans in the 16th century. They controlled most of Morocco by the mid-1500s, but their power started declining towards the early 1600s. A civil war broke out after the death of the second Saadian sultan, Ahmad el Mansour, and that marked the end of the dynasty. By 1659, the Saadians completely disappeared from the Moroccan political and military scenes.

The Saadian Tombs were constructed by the second sultan, Sultan Ahmed el Mansour, as a burial ground for himself and his descendants. Sultan Ahmed el Mansour was laid to rest here in 1603.

By the year 1672, Moulay Ismail had taken over power in Morocco and went about constructing his own legacy. He had the palace of Saadians in Marrakech, the Badi Palace destroyed. Fortunately Moulay could not get himself to demolish the Saadian Tombs. Instead he decided to seal all the entrances to the Saadian Tombs. The only entrance that was not closed was located within the Kasbah Mosque. And with time, the tombs slowly started to slip from memory until they were completely forgotten.

In 1917, quite unexpectedly, the first French resident general of Morocco, General Hubert Lyautey rediscovered the tombs and, on realizing their significant historical importance, immediately started the much needed restoration work.

A narrow passageway leads us in...

The mist of morning has all but disappeared...

Most of the Saadian dynasty and royal descendants are buried within the mausoleums, with faithful and loyal servants and soldiers were given burial sites within the gardens. While the tombs are lavish and breathtaking with the cemetery garden is livened up with fragrances of rosemary and roses...

This is the most significant chamber - the Hall of Twelve Columns. The Sultan Ahmed el Mansour and his entire family rests here. This chamber is adorned with vaulted roof, columns of Italian marble, beautifully decorated cedar doors and carved wooden screens...