The Mnebhi Palace or Menebhi Palace (), also known by its French name ''Palais Mnebhi'', is a historic early 20th-century palace in

Fes el-Bali Fes el Bali () is the oldest part of Fez, Morocco. It is one of the three main districts of Fez, along with Fes Jdid and the French-created ''Ville Nouvelle (New City'). Together with Fes Jdid, it forms the medina (historic quarter) of Fez, signif ...

, the old

medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

Fes Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the nort ...

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 is notable for both its lavish architecture as well as for being the place where the 1912

Treaty of Fes The Treaty of Fes (, ), officially the Treaty Concluded Between France and Morocco on 30 March 1912, for the Organization of the French Protectorate in the Sharifian Empire ( French: ), was signed by Sultan Abd al-Hafid of Morocco under duress a ...

was officially signed. It is located on Tala'a Seghira street, one of the main souq streets of the city.

History

The palace was built by Mehdi Mnebhi (who also built another palace which hosts the

Marrakech Museum The Museum of Marrakech is a historic palace and museum located in the old center of Marrakesh, Morocco. In addition to its notable architecture, the museum's collection showcases various historic art objects and contemporary art from Morocco. ...

today) at the beginning of the 20th century. Mnebhi was the

defense minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Abdelaziz between 1900 and 1908, replacing Ba Ahmad as the sultan's favourite. In 1912, the palace hosted the signing of the

which established

French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

over Morocco. It then served as the first residence of the French

resident-general A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...

Lyautey Lyautey is the name of: *Hubert Lyautey, military governor and then Resident-General of then-French Morocco from 1907 through 1925 *Port Lyautey, Morocco, named after Hubert Lyautey; now renamed Kenitra *Place Lyautey, a prominent public square in C ...

, before this function moved to the Dar al-Baida and

Dar Batha Dar Batḥa (, pronounced ''Bat-ḥaa''), or Qasr al-Batḥa (), is a former royal palace and present-day museum in the city of Fez, Morocco. The palace was commissioned by the Alaouite Sultan Hassan I in the late 19th century and finished under ...

palaces to the west. It later served as the first headquarters of the Istiqlal (Independence) party in Morocco. Today it is used as a restaurant venue for tour groups.

Architecture

The palace is among the most lavishly decorated in Fes. It features a vast reception hall with a high wooden dome-like ceiling upheld by four columns, as well as a large wall fountain decorated with intricate ''

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 tiles. On the western and eastern sides of the hall are two other ornately decorated rooms. File:Palais mnebhi IMG 2607.jpg, The street entrance of the palace File:Palais mnebhi IMG 2610.jpg, Ceiling of the main hall File:Palais mnebhi IMG 2618.jpg, Wall fountain in the main hall File:Fes Medina Palais Mnebhi 2 (9037588362).jpg, Doorway to one of the side rooms off the main hall

References

{{Morocco-struct-stub Palaces in Fez, Morocco