Dar el Bacha: Museum of Confluences (Musée des Confluences)

Overview

Dar el Bacha — the 'house of the pasha' — was the sumptuous residence of Thami El Glaoui, the powerful and controversial pasha who ruled Marrakech in the first half of the 20th century. Restored and reopened as the Musée des Confluences, it now celebrates the meeting of cultures and faiths, its galleries wrapped around one of the most beautiful courtyards in the city. A visit pairs dazzling craftsmanship with a coffee in the famous Bacha house.

The palace was built in the early 20th century for El Glaoui, the 'Lord of the Atlas', whose vast power under the French protectorate made Dar el Bacha a centre of intrigue and lavish hospitality — Winston Churchill and other luminaries were entertained here. After decades of closure it was restored and opened to the public in 2017 as the Musée des Confluences, a museum dedicated to the theme of confluence: the coexistence and exchange between the religions and cultures — Muslim, Jewish, Christian — that have shaped Morocco.

The architecture is the headline. At its heart is a magnificent riad courtyard: a symmetrical garden of orange trees and fountains framed by walls of intricate zellij mosaic, carved stucco and painted cedar, with a central marble basin. The surrounding rooms, once the pasha's salons, now host rotating exhibitions of art, photography and craft on cross-cultural themes, and the decoration of the building itself is arguably the finest exhibit.

In one corner sits the Bacha Coffee house, a beautifully appointed café-boutique serving coffees from around the world in a setting of gleaming tiles and period style — a destination in its own right and a fitting nod to the pasha's tradition of hospitality. The museum lies in the Mouassine quarter near Bab Doukkala, an easy walk from Le Jardin Secret and the Mouassine Fountain, and rewards an unhurried hour for the courtyard, the exhibitions and a coffee.