With the arrival of spring, the Oudayas Museum, located in the legendary Kasbah, attracts an increasing number of Moroccan and foreign visitors. An attraction that is explained by the beauty of its Andalusian garden, a true haven of peace, and by the richness of its exhibition devoted to traditional jewelry and ornaments of Morocco.
Former residence of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl, the palace was transformed into a museum in 1915. It now houses a remarkable ethnographic set of Moroccan artisanal objects: jewelry, ornaments, clothes, weapons and scientific instruments such as astrolabes.
Recently restored thanks to a partnership with the National Museum Foundation (FNM), chaired by Mehdi Qotbi, the museum reopened in 2023 under a new era. Its curator, Fatima-Zahra Khlifi, underlines that this reopening has marked a new start for the enhancement of traditional Moroccan craftsmanship.
During our visit this weekend, the crowd was impressive. Many visitors, both national and international, have praised the beauty of the places and the exceptional quality of exposed crafts. The museum, nestled at the top of a cliff dominating the Bouregreg river, occupies a historic site dating from the Almoravid dynasty (10th-12th centuries) and constitutes a remarkable example of Arab-Andalusian architecture.
Read also: The Musée de la Parure aux Oudayas, enriched with a royal deposit, opens its doors on December 2
Exhibition highlights objects shaped from noble metals such as gold and silver, but also more modest materials such as copper, semi-precious stones. Visitors can thus admire masculine ceremonial accessories (daggers, Koran case, powder horns) as well as female ceremonial jewelry.
Organized around eight major regions of the kingdom (Fez, Meknès, Tetouan, Essaouira, Marrakech, Anti-Atlas, Sahara and Rabat), this exhibition highlights the cultural and stylistic diversity of Moroccan heritage.
The OuDayas Museum is one of the most beautiful historic and cultural sites in Rabat. An essential visit in this spring season.
Par Mohamed Chakir Alaoui et Yassin Mannan
05/04/2025 at 5:57 p.m.
