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Dar Bennis
is a small 18th
century traditional Moroccan house in the heart of the Fes medina, on a
small street just off Talaa Sghira, the main business street of the medieval quarter
of Fez.
The house has been carefully restored over the past four years,
using only traditional craftsmanship and materials.
Although a modest house by Fez standards, it features hand-painted
and natural cedar ceilings, windows and doors, carved plasterwork, stained
glass windows, decorative ironwork, handmade zellij mosaic floors, and a
rooftop terrace with an amazing panoramic view of the Fez medina and
surrounding mountains. The house is simply decorated, to accent the
beauty of the architecture, with antique and handmade furniture and
textiles. One of the main
advantages of Dar Bennis as a holiday rental property, compared to a bed
and breakfast, maison d'hotes (guest house), or larger riad, is having the
complete house to yourself. It is also older than
most riads and traditional hotels available in Fez, which date to the
early 20th century and are located on the outskirts of the medina.
Because Dar Bennis is deeper in the medina, the guest gets a real sense of
what it's like living in the medina, with its joys and
challenges.
The house is built on four levels around a small central court. Dar
Bennis is technically a dar and not a riad, since a real
riad (or riyad) must have a garden with fruit trees. But these days
many people call all Moroccan courtyard houses riads.
On the ground
floor is a large fully-equipped kitchen with hand-hewn ceiling and Italian
marble countertops. Up a few stairs is a modern bathroom with floor-to-ceiling handmade
zellij. A little further up
the stairs and you come to the beautiful central court, which is covered in the rainy season. Around
the courtyard are two salons on the first floor and two more on the
second. In the two large
rooms are double beds, and a single bed in one of the small rooms.
The house is cozy enough for one or two people, but large enough
for up to four. Dar Bennis is an ideal vacation rental for a
holiday, or for a longer stay for an artist, writer, or scholar interested
in Morocco, Islamic art and architecture, or the medina of Fez. What
the critics say about Dar Bennis:
"This 18th-century Medina house…has been
painstakingly restored. With its pocket-sized courtyard and snug salons,
it would provide perfect family accommodation."
Conde Nast
Traveller, The Fes Guide
"Dreaming of your own 18th century house
deep in the fascinating medina of ancient Fez? Delicious Dar Bennis,
a doll’s house compared to grander old houses, is ideal for two or
four. David has restored it with loving knowledge, natural materials
and fine craftsmen using antique zellige to replace the irretrievable lost
pieces. You enter the domestic space of a modest Moroccan family of
200 years ago, though beneath their beams the big kitchen and neat
bathroom are thoroughly modern. The first-floor patio is as
authentic as can be, a cool quiet space to relax in. Bedrooms open
off it on two floors: space and simple comfortable furnishings —
antiques, old fabrics, new mattresses; the terrace view will keep you
intrigued for hours. Hafid, the perfect anchor, will bring you
breakfast, bright smiles, and advice on all things Fassi, in excellent
English; Layla will cook for you — you’ll like that — and David may
let you into the secrets of living and building here, a journey into a
passion for these intricate arts, aeons away from mass-produced
modernities. Part of your rent goes to a community restoration
project." Ann
Cooke-Yarborough, in Alastair Sawday’s Special Places to Stay, Morocco
"We know this was the house of Mr. Bennis. The original door knocker says so. It's a typically unpretentious middle-class Fassi home which has been returned to its former modest luxury with tender loving care. Renting this house plugs you straight into street-level life in the medina.
Don't come here expecting bell-boys and 24hr service. Come on, this is the medina - you have to find your feet. It's not that hard really. Hafid, the manager, is never far away. In the evening Layla arrives to help out with cooking and to teach you a thing or two about haggling in the market and transforming foreign ingredients into edible food. The house is pretty roomy, with two double bedrooms, a sitting room, a central courtyard and a private roof terrace. It's a great experience. David Amster, director of the American Language Centre, who owns the house, personally oversaw the restoration with an eagle eye, replacing antique tile with antique tile, making only a few concessions to modern amenities in the swish bathroom, big eat-in kitchen and Internet
connection." Paula Hardy, Lonely
Planet: Fes Accommodation Reviews
"Dar Bennis has a truly wonderful terrace, I have
to say… I like the fact that the restoration is very purist. You
haven't put in tadelakt bathrooms everywhere. It's all quite
minimalist and there is nice, calm furniture, and lots of space. I
really think it’s good. The big strong point of your conversion is
the professionalism of it. I see so many places with damp, crap
windows opening the wrong way, and doors that traditionally don't shut
that it really was a pleasure to be somewhere with such high quality
finish." Justin McGuinness, author of the
Footprint guide to Morocco
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©2010 David Amster
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