In a country with sunshine aplenty, I found the indoor lighting to be purposefully subdued. Intricate lanterns with detailed metal work hung from ceilings or were fastened to the walls. My first photograph is from the Riad Kalaa in Rabat. We had a two-story room and this lantern hung in the stairwell to the first floor. Note the beautiful wood beams on the ceiling.
The more rounded lanterns hung beneath the arches of the walkway along the courtyard. The arch is a bit unusual. The tooth-like design is made of local sandstone.
Also in the Riad Kalaa courtyard, long brass lanterns hung from curved arms attached to sandstone columns. The door in the picture is an excellent example of the two door system you find everywhere in Morocco. You can see the smaller door, that when open by itself has a keyhole shape, is now attached to the larger door.
The ultimate sky light was this open decorative metal arch constructed over the riad courtyard.
Across the roof terrace you can see my husband relaxing along a wall with two long, glass covered lanterns. I believe those are papyrus growing in the tall pot. I included two closer looks so can see how the lanterns are hung, note the opaque glass, and see the detailing in the brass.
The next lantern, in a night setting, hung in the courtyard at another beautiful riad we stayed at in Marrakesh.
The following photos are from mosques, schools, and famous riads in Morocco.
This intricate ceiling has beautiful skylights to let in natural sunlight.
Street lights from the medina in Fez (Americans spell Fez with a “z” while in Morocco we saw it spelled with an “s”) or the streets near the market in Marrakesh.
The last photo is a candle and rose on our dinner table as we ate in the courtyard of our quiet and beautiful riad. Photo taken with my cell phone. Stay tuned for future blogs on more aspects of Morocco and other countries.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures I put together and are planning your own trip to Morocco.
I am amazed at the fine detail in the buildings as well as the decor.
One of my future posts will be on the buildings of Morocco. I loved the shadows, the designs, and age evident in plaster or mud/brick buildings.
BEAUTIFUL! Felt like I was taking the trip w/ you. SO much history & architecture – none of which America has. HAPPY HOLIDAYS Cousin.
America has it, just not quite so old. The one real disappointment I had, was none of the many royal palaces were open to the public. Beautiful front gates, though, and hopefully I’ll post some photos of those when I do the Doors Of Morocco.
I find it very interesting that you noted that the amount of interior lighting seems to be inversely proportional to the amount of sunlight outside. I had not thought of that, but it makes sense.
The detail of craftmanship is beautiful, but I would hate to have to do the cleaning of it all.
Yeah, I kept thinking about brass being the main material of the lamps and that had occurred to me, too. Especially after having a brass coffee table from the orient in our family that always required polishing.
I love the pictures! There were so many of the hanging lanterns that I thought were gorgeous. What a great trip!