Dar Batha Museum

Dar Batha Museum, on Place de l'Istiqlal beside Bab Bou Jeloud in Fes, Morocco, occupies a palace built in the late 19th century by the Alaouite sultan Hassan I and completed under his son Moulay Abdelaziz, in a Hispano-Moresque style. It was converted into a museum of Moroccan arts in 1915 and displays a collection of regional craftsmanship. The building is arranged around a courtyard and a shaded Andalusian garden planted with orange trees and fountains, and visitors tour galleries of carved stucco, painted cedar ceilings and zellige. The museum's holdings include Fassi blue-and-white ceramics, for which the city is renowned, along with embroidery, Berber and Arab carpets, jewellery, brass and ironwork, and finely illuminated Qur'an manuscripts. Wooden objects, including carved doors, architectural panels and a monumental cedar piece from the Qarawiyyin and Bou Inania, illustrate local carpentry. There are also scientific instruments such as astrolabes, and coins and weapons. The display is largely thematic by craft, with labels in Arabic and French. The palace has been restored in phases, and parts of the interior may be closed for conservation, so visitors should confirm what is on view. Admission is around MAD 60. A visit takes about an hour, and the garden is a calm place to rest after the medina. The museum is near the Boujloud Gardens and a short walk from the Bou Inania Madrasa, making it easy to combine with a medina tour. It gives a good overview of the arts that developed in Fes under successive dynasties and gives context to the objects seen in the souks.