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Marrakesh is the fourth largest city in the of the Kingdom of Morocco.Saadian Tombs are located north of the Almohad qasaba of Marrakech. This admirable funerary complex was discovered in 1917 by the Department of Fine Arts and Historical Monuments.The Saadian tombs date back from the time of the great sultan Ahmad al-Mansur Saadi (1578-1603). Al-Mansour died in splendour in 1603, but a few decades later Alawite Sultan Moulay Ismail walled up the Saadian Tombs to keep his predecessors out of sight and mind. Accessible only through a small passage in the Kasbah Mosque, the tombs were neglected by all except the storks until aerial photography exposed them in 1917

Bab Agnaou, one of the nineteen gates of Marrakesh, was built in the 12th century. Bab Agnaou gives entrance to the royal kasbah in the southern part of the medina of Marrakech where the Kasbah Mosque is located, near the El Badi Palace. Hidden behind the Kasbah Mosque there is another well-known attraction of Marrakech – the Saadian Tombs, the mausoleums comprising the interments of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty (1549 to 1659)

With the first phase deadline set for 2019, Morocco has launched an ambitious “Energy Efficiency in Mosques” program aiming to provide solar power for all the mosques in the kingdom.By switching to energy-saving LED lighting, solar water heating, and rooftop solar PV electricity generation, significant savings are anticipated for the Moroccan Ministry of Religious Affairs, the agency responsible for paying the mosques’ energy bills. In total, there are around 15,000 mosques in the kingdom

Especially in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, Morocco is making far better progress than any other nation on the African continent. With a total of 2 gigawatts (GW) in capacity, Morocco’s Noor concentrating solar plant (CSP) is the largest in all of Africa and the Middle East

Oratory with three naves, in which graves were added in the eighteenth century

La necropolis is made of two architectural ensembles. The first consists of three rooms. It opens with an oratory with three naves.The so-called middle room with twelve columns is one of the most beautiful pieces of this set

The mihrab room

The mihrab room

The room with twelve columns

A dome rests on four groups of three

Carrara marble columns that

support a carved wooden ceiling, decorated with

large curved arcs

The most luxurious part of this room houses the builder of the remains of this burial complex, Ahmad al-Mansur, his son Zidane, and those of his immediate successors

The room with twelve columns

Outside the building is a garden and the graves of soldiers and servants, chancellors and wives – though some trusted Jewish advisors earned pride of place

The second of the mausoleums holds the tomb of the founder of the Saadian dynasty, Mohammed ech Sheikh, found in the inner chamber.The sultan’s mother is also buried here, in a lavish tomb carved with poetic blessings

The core of this necropolis was built by Sultan al-Ghalib Abdullah in 1557 to house the grave of his father, Shaykh Muhammad, the founder of the dynasty (he was murdered in the Atlas mountains by Turkish mercenaries and his head was put on public display in Istanbul)

The tombs' long neglect has ensured their preservation and they have since been fully restored to their original glory

Sound: Loreena McKennitt - Marrakesh Night Market 2017

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Internet Sanda NegruțiuCopyright: All the images belong to their author

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuhttps://plus.google.com/+SandaMichaela