Dar Si Said

It was built between 1894 and 1900 by Si Sa'id ibn Musa, a vizier and minister of defence under his brother Ba Ahmad ibn Musa, who was the Grand Vizier and effective ruler of Morocco during the same period under Sultan Abdelaziz (ruled 1894–1908).{{Cite book|last=Wilbaux|first=Quentin|title=La médina de Marrakech: Formation des espaces urbains d'une ancienne capitale du Maroc|publisher=L'Harmattan|year=2001|isbn=2747523888|location=Paris|pages=289}}{{Cite book|last=Deverdun|first=Gaston|title=Marrakech: Des origines à 1912|publisher=Éditions Techniques Nord-Africaines|year=1959|location=Rabat|pages=546}}{{Cite web|date=2014-05-23|title=Le Musée Dar Si Saïd {{!}} Visiter-Marrakech.com|url=https://visiter-marrakech.com/incontournables/le-musee-dar-si-said.php|access-date=2021-01-24|language=fr-FR}} After 1914, under the French Protectorate administration, the palace served as the seat of the regional leaders of Marrakesh. It was converted into a museum of "indigenous arts" (meaning Moroccan art) and woodcraft in 1930 or 1932.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Musée Dar si Saïd de Marrakech|url=http://www.fnm.ma/musee-dar-si-said-de-marrakech/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219060945/http://www.fnm.ma:80/musee-dar-si-said-de-marrakech/ |archive-date=2017-12-19 |access-date=2021-01-24|website=Fondation nationale des musées|language=fr-FR}}{{Cite web|date=2014-05-23|title=Le Musée Dar Si Saïd {{!}} Visiter-Marrakech.com|url=https://visiter-marrakech.com/incontournables/le-musee-dar-si-said.php|access-date=2021-01-24|language=fr-FR}}{{Cite web|last=Marrakech|first=Travelguide|date=2018-01-12|title=The Museum Dar Si Said|url=https://travelguide-marrakech.com/museum-dar-si-said/|access-date=2020-06-04|website=Travelguide Marrakech|language=en-US}} In 1957, after Moroccan independence, the palace was split into a museum section and a section occupied by the Service de l’Artisanat (Agency of Artisanship).

The building has been restored several times since and remains a museum today. Following renovations carried out by the recently-created{{Cite web |date=2011-12-21 |title=Fondation nationale des Musées Mehdi Qotbi veut se mettre vite au travail |url=https://www.leconomiste.com/article/889779-fondation-nationale-des-museesbrmehdi-qotbi-veut-se-mettre-vite-au-travail |access-date=2021-01-24 |website=L'Economiste |language=fr}} Fondation Nationale des Musées, the museum reopened in 2018 as the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets.{{Cite web|title=Ouverture du Musée National du Tissage et du Tapis Dar Si Saïd de Marrakech|url=http://www.fnm.ma/ouverture-du-musee-national-du-tissage-et-du-tapis-dar-si-said-de-marrakech/|access-date=2021-01-24|language=fr-FR}}{{Cite web |date=28 June 2018 |title=Après rénovation, le Musée Dar Si Said de Marrakech rouvre ses portes |url=https://medias24.com/2018/06/28/apres-renovation-le-musee-dar-si-said-de-marrakech-rouvre-ses-portes/ |access-date=1 September 2024 |website=Médias24}}

The museum was significantly damaged by the September 2023 earthquake and was subsequently closed for repairs.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Séisme d'Al Haouz : La FNM à pied d’œuvre pour la réouverture des musées touchés à Marrakech |url=https://www.maroc.ma/fr/actualites/seisme-dal-haouz-la-fnm-pied-doeuvre-pour-la-reouverture-des-musees-touches-marrakech |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=Maroc.ma |language=fr}} As of October 2023, it was estimated that repairs would take at least six months.{{Cite web |last=Delorme |first=Anne-Claire |date=2023-10-07 |title=Tourisme : un mois après le séisme, Marrakech veut croire en sa bonne étoile |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/voyages/tourisme-un-mois-apres-le-seisme-marrakech-veut-croire-en-sa-bonne-etoile-20231007 |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=Le Figaro |language=fr}}

The palace's architecture is similar in ornament to the Bahia Palace built further south by his father and his brother, but unlike the latter it is built over more than one level and has a very different layout. Its architectural highlights include a grand reception hall on the upper floor and a large riad garden with a central pavilion of painted wood.{{Cite web|title=Dar Si Said {{!}} Marrakesh, Morocco Attractions|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/marrakesh/attractions/dar-si-said/a/poi-sig/422041/1316370|access-date=2020-06-04|website=Lonely Planet|language=en}}

File:Museo Dar Si Said, Marrakech 07.JPG|The riad garden

File:Dar si Said DSCF1681 (wiki).jpg|Painted decoration inside the wooden pavilion of the garden

File:Οικία-μουσείο Dar Si Said 1490.jpg|A courtyard with fountain in the palace

File:Dar si said DSCF1822.jpg|One of the grand halls in the palace

File:Dar si said DSCF1706.jpg|Cupola over the grand hall

File:Dar Si Said 1465.jpg]]

The museum collections includes a wide variety of objects, many of them from the southern regions of Morocco.{{Cite web|title=Dar Si Said (Marrakech, Morocco)|url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/pm_partner.php?id=Mus01_D;ma&type=museum&theme=%5C%5C%5C|access-date=2020-06-05|website=Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum}} Until recently the museum's exhibits focused on Moroccan wooden art and objects. Its collection included an Andalusi marble basin crafted at Madinat al-Zahra between 1002 and 1007, which was later reused in the Ben Youssef Madrasa,{{Cite book |last=Salmon |first=Xavier |title=Marrakech: Splendeurs saadiennes: 1550-1650 |publisher=LienArt |year=2016 |isbn=9782359061826 |location=Paris |pages=134}} where it was recently returned. Following the museum's reopening in 2018, its current exhibits now focus on weaving and Moroccan carpets.

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

{{commonscat|Dar Si Said Museum}}

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Category:Palaces in Marrakesh

Category:Museums in Morocco