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

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, which was subsequently converted to a luxury hotel. It is near

Bab Guissa Bab Guissa or Bab Gisa ( or ) is the main northwestern gate of Fes el Bali, the old walled city of Fes, Morocco. History A gate by this name had existed in this part of the city walls since at least the 11th century. That gate was named after a ...

in Fes el-Bali.

History

The oldest pavilion of the building was begun in 1879 as the residence of Si Mohammed ben Arbi el Jamai, who, along with his brother, was one of the

Grand Viziers Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first h ...

of the

Alaouite The Alawi dynasty ( ar, سلالة العلويين الفيلاليين, translit=sulālat al-ʿalawiyyīn al-fīlāliyyīn) – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning d ...

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) 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 ...

Moulay Hassan (ruled 1873–1894). The same family also built and owned the '' Dar Jamai'' in

Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) 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 c ...

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

Ba Ahmed Ahmed bin Mūsa (), known as Ba Ahmed (), was ( Grand Wazir) of Morocco and de facto ruler of the kingdom between the 1894 and 1900. He became the country's true regent, after enthroning the son of Hassan I, Abd al-Aziz, as sultan, who was a chil ...

(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 Péreire brothers, brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the ...

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 property was bought by 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 op ...

group which renovated it and reopened it as part of the

Sofitel Sofitel Hotels & Resorts are 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 ...

chain. The hotel closed again in 2014 and is being renovated again. 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, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

- 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'' ( ar, الزليج, translit=zillīj; 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 pa ...

'' (mosaic

tilework Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

) 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