The Jamai Palace, also known as the Dar Jama'i or the Palais Jamaï (), is a historic late 19th-century mansion near Bab Guissa in Fes el-Bali in Fes,

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. It was converted to a luxury hotel in 1919, which closed in 2014.

History

The oldest pavilion of the building was begun in 1879 as the residence of , who, along with his brother, was one of the Grand Viziers of the 'Alawi sultan Moulay Hassan (ruled 1873–1894). The same family also built and owned the '' Dar Jamai'' in

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

(now a museum), built around the same time. Upon the ascension of Sultan Abdelaziz and his Grand Vizier

Ba Ahmed Aḥmad bin Mūsa bin Aḥmad al-Sharqī al-Bukhārī (), known as Bā Aḥmad () or Bā Ḥmād (), was ( Grand Wazir) of Morocco and de facto ruler of the kingdom between 1894 and 1900. He became the country's true regent, after enthroning the ...

(whose family were rivals to the Jamai family) in 1894, the Jamai family lost favour with the court, some of its members were arrested, and its property was seized by the state. In 1927 the palace was expanded by architect Edmond Gourdain (1885–1968), and in 1929 it was purchased by the

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, and commonly named "Transat"), typically known overseas as the French Line, was a French shipping company. Established in 1855 by the brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the name ''Compagnie ...

who transformed it into a hotel for their North African tours. When the company ran into troubles, the hotel was purchased by the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Maroc (ONCF). In the early 1970s, a major new wing, five stories tall, was added. In 1998 the

Accor Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor ope ...

group assumed management of the hotel, which was renovated and reopened it as part of the

Sofitel Sofitel Hotels & Resorts is a French hotel chain of luxury hotels based in Paris, France, and owned by Accor since 1980. Founded in 1964 in France, Sofitel quickly developed worldwide to reach more than 200 properties. In 2008, Sofitel became a b ...

chain. The hotel closed in 2014. File:Fez, Dar Ould Jamaï, Hôtel Transatlantique IMG27399.jpg, The palace as seen in the 1920s (probably after it was converted to a hotel) File:Fez, Dar Ould Jamaï, Hôtel Transatlantique IMG27398.jpg, View of the main building of the palace File:Fez, Dar Ould Jamaï, Hôtel Transatlantique, Cour du Harem IMG27405.jpg, A courtyard in the old palace File:Fez, Dar Ould Jamaï, Hôtel Transatlantique IMG27400.jpg, A salon in the old palace File:Fez, Dar Ould Jamaï, Hôtel Transatlantique, Une Chambre IMG27401.jpg, A room in the palace File:Fez, Dar Ould Jamaï, Hôtel Transatlantique, Fontaine du Harem IMG27403.jpg, A wall fountain in the palace

Description

The original palace was built in a

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

- Moroccan style and was surrounded by gardens, on a hill overlooking much of the city near Bab Guissa, the northern gate of Fes el-Bali. Like other palaces and mansions in this style, it included carved stucco and ''

zellij Zellij (), also spelled zillij or zellige, is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various patterns on the basis of tessellations, ...

'' (mosaic

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

work) decoration. Subsequent expansions of the hotel have modified the palace grounds and added a modern five-story wing, but have continued to pay tribute to the original Moorish style. In addition to the old pavilion from Jamai's time and the new wing of the hotel, the grounds also include extensive gardens in an Andalusian or Moroccan style (based on the '' riad'' model), which partly surround the palace. The gardens include traditional fountains decorated with ''zellij'' tilework, including a particularly ornate wall fountain.

References

External links

Dar Ould Jamai Palace
at ''Archnet'' (includes early 20th-century pictures of the palace/hotel) {{Fes Palaces in Fez, Morocco Hotels in Morocco 19th-century establishments in Morocco 19th-century architecture in Morocco