Marrakech Museum 4

The Museum of Marrakech is a museum in the old center of Marrakesh, Morocco.The museum is housed in the Dar Menebhi Palace, constructed at the end of the 19th century by Mehdi Menebhi. The palace was carefully renovated by the Omar Benjelloun Foundation and converted into a museum in 1997. The house itself represents an example of classical Andalusian architecture, with fountains in the central courtyard, traditional seating areas, a hammam and intricate tilework and carvings. The museum's large atrium (originally a courtyard, now covered in glass and fabric) contains a very large centrally hung chandelier-esque ceiling piece consisting of metal plates decorated with fine geometric and epigraphic cuttings. Several features of the original courtyard, including the floor-set basins and mosaics have been retained. The museum holds exhibits of both modern and traditional Moroccan art together with fine examples of historical books, coins and pottery of Berber, Moroccan Jewish and Islamic cultures.