Dar Batha Museum

Dar Batha Museum occupies a late-19th-century Hispano-Moorish palace on Place de l'Istiqlal in the Batha district, on the border between Fès el-Bali and Fès el-Jdid in Morocco. The palace was built under Sultan Hassan I and Moulay Abdelaziz and converted into a museum of Moroccan arts in 1915. Its collections concentrate on the craft traditions of Fès: the city's distinctive blue-and-white pottery, embroidery, carved and painted wood, calligraphic manuscripts, astrolabes and other scientific instruments, coins and zellige panels. Rooms open off arcaded galleries around an interior court, and the carved cedar ceilings, stucco and tile are part of the display in their own right. The most popular space is the Andalusian garden courtyard, planted with orange trees, palms and roses and cooled by fountains, which is one of the calmest places in Fès; many visitors rest on a bench there after the medina. A visit typically takes about an hour. The museum is open daily from 9:00 to 17:00 except Tuesdays, and admission is about 20 MAD, with young children admitted free. Morning is the best time, when light enters the galleries and tour groups are lighter. The museum is a short walk or a petit taxi ride of around 10 MAD from Bab Bou Jeloud, and the entrance faces Place de l'Istiqlal. Labelling can be thin in places, so visitors who want context may consider a local guide or reading about the Fassi crafts beforehand. The museum fits neatly before a walk into the medina or after a visit to the nearby Bou Jeloud gardens.