Mahkama du Pacha

The Mahkama was built between 1948 and 1952 to house the pasha's court and official receptions, in the Habous quarter - a district designed under the protectorate in the 1920s as a planned new medina, with arcaded streets and traditional forms laid out on a modern plan. The building has around sixty-four rooms and halls arranged round courtyards, and its point is craft: every surface is carved cedar ceiling, chiselled plaster, zellige mosaic and wrought iron, executed by several hundred Moroccan artisans in the traditional techniques at a moment when those trades were under pressure, so it functions as a demonstration of what the crafts could still do at full scale. It is a working administrative building - a prefecture - which is why opening to visitors is irregular and depends on whether official business allows it. Ask at the door rather than assuming.

What you actually see

• Sixty-four halls - courtyards and rooms built for a court and official receptions.
• Full traditional craft - carved cedar, chiselled plaster, zellige and ironwork throughout.
• A 1950s building - modern in date, entirely traditional in technique.
• The Habous quarter - a planned new medina of the 1920s around it.

When to go

October to April. An hour, if it is open.

Honest expectations

It is a working administrative building and opening is irregular - it may simply be shut. There is no ticket system; ask at the door. Photography inside is sometimes restricted. The Habous quarter around it is the consolation if it is closed.

Nearby

The Habous quarter's arcades and bookshops surround it; the royal palace is close.