RIAD LIFE
A page about simple hedonism.
Because riad life is a good life, a life of the senses, of light and l'art-de-vivre.
THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW
For many Muslims (and non-Muslims) light is the symbol of divine unity.
In Islamic architecture, the interplay of sun and shadow is essential.
Light functions decoratively by creating contrasts, adding texture, and extending patterns, forms and designs onto different planes.
Ever changing, it becomes a metaphor of Life.
ROOMS AS RAILWAY CARRIAGES
In traditional riads many of the rooms are long and narrow. Why?
In Marrakech the ceiling beams were trunks from palm trees and the maximum span was 2.2 metres before they started sagging. The rooms were lined with cushions and dotted with brass tables.
This allowed flexibility: the room could be used for entertaining, talking, reading, eating or sleeping.
Today, with new building materials, many riad owners abandoned this custom and widened the rooms to make the furniture layout more Western.
Less relaxing and dreamy, they lost also the art of Moroccan living.