2023-05-28 06:30:00
Magic, the word riad has become a sesame for who dreams of a stay of 1001 nights in the medinas of Morocco. But do you know how to distinguish between riad and dar, another name that is increasingly used? We explain to you!
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In Morocco, any riad is a dar but the reverse is not true! To understand the subtleties of these appellations for those who did not grow up in the heart of the medinas, you need to dive into the millenary history of the Arab-Andalusian house, long before the vogue for its transformation into charming accommodation.
Conceal any outward signs of wealth
Dar simply means house in Arabic. In the medinas, it is not just any type of dar: traditionally, the house is built according to a square or rectangular plan around a patio open to the sky (wast ed-dar). A precious well of light for the household: the exterior walls being blind, the openings of the rooms – windows or doors – overlook this interior courtyard. This design has other advantages: shielding the family, especially the women, from view and concealing any outward sign of wealth. Without forgetting what remains a constant, protecting the occupants from the inconveniences of the outside, noise, heat, dust, crush. At Morocco, anyone who has pushed open the door of an old residence in a medina knows what a strange feeling of peace seizes visitors as soon as they cross the threshold. ” The mosaic and stucco walls sing the glory of the victorious God; a subtle incense, distilled by the heat in the shade, evaporates from the cedar ceilings and woodwork; and the rolling of the water in the fountain, continuous like time itself, seems the sound of the hours carried away through eternity writes Jean Gallotti in The Arab garden and house in Morocco which remains one of the reference works more than a century after its publication.
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” READ ALSO – Marrakech: our ten favorite riads for less than 100 euros per night
The precise model of the riad
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But then what about the riad? Conversely, the word riad (from laugh, meaning beautiful park) refers exclusively to the notion of garden but ended up designating by extension the residence with an indoor enclosed garden. A real riad must therefore have a patio of sufficient size to be planted, according to a precise model: two paths crossing each other at right angles, draw four flowerbeds of equal size around a fountain or a basin. Even today in the patios of the riads one does not always find these “four squares of domesticated nature” according to the expression of the architect Quentin Wilbaux (Marrakech, the secret of garden houses, ed. RCA). And the signs sometimes confuse the tracks with names unrelated to the typology of the places, even at Marrakech where this hybrid garden house model flourished, Fes being rather the city of the diour (plural of dar) with richly decorated patios.
” READ ALSO – Marrakech, our ten favorite riads for an exceptional weekend
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