Al Batha Museum

At the origin, Al Batha Museum is an audience palace and a summer residence, constructed at the end of the XIX century by the Sultan Moulay Hassan the 1st.
The building has been completed and decorated by his successor Moulay Abdel Aziz.
In 1915, the palace was transformed to a museum of the popular arts and traditions under the willing of the Cherifien government and the French protectorate.
The building is a classified monument of the national heritage since 1924 by a royal Dahir.

Currently, the Museum holds a permanent exhibition entitled "Arts and Traditions of the way of living in Fez and its surroundings". It highlights varied themes of the urban and rural daily life.

The museum conserves also the oldest Islamic art pieces of the kingdom, such as a Idrisid softwood beam and the minbar of the the mosque of the Andalus neighbourhood.

The collections

The collection of the Al Batha Museum is composed of more than 6500 articles. The first ground dates back to 1915, and ever since, it has been enriched by some acquisitions and donations. The collection is of an archaeological and ethnographic type.

The Museum suggests a thematic itinerary that allows to the visitor to discover the art of the way of living, the professions and the traditions of the city of Fez and its surroundings across the historical eras.

The visit starts with the courtyards of the West wing, composed of many halls. The first four are dedicated to the daily scientific and urban of Fez. As for the other halls, they are reserved for the traditional professions, such as the making of metals, and also for the rural aspects of the anterior Rif and the Middle­ Atlas, via some articles that are linked to clothes traditions, to the lifestyles and the textile manual industry.
The courtyards of the West wing are composed of articles made of ceramic, whereas the last hall is reserved to the feminine handcrafted pottery.

The richest part of the museum undoubtedly remains the so­ called archaeological Islamic section that traces, with the means of different materials (wood, zellige, bronze, marble, plater), the evolution of the architectural art in Fez of the IX century until nowadays.

The itinerary of the visitor is being made dynamic by the crossing of the garden, which allows going from a section to another, making the promenade a lovely journey in a particular atmosphere that recalls the palatial vibes.