Les Bhous

Travellers to Morocco discover the bhou an expression of quintessential Moorish style. A lounge that is both indoors and outdoors, with plumped up seats and cushions, a place to sit and watch the life of the courtyard drifting by. The elegance and calm of the interiors is echoed by these salons that face the inner court, the "outside inside" a riad.

A bhou is a kind of outdoor seating area found in riad houses. It is in the courtyard, enclosed, but set back into the walls. We have four such seating areas, each with large couches, tables, and vases filled with flowers. Two are downstairs; two are upstairs, and are spread between the two houses. Guests often take tea or breakfast in one of the bhous. Three of the bhous have ornately painted and carved wood ceilings, the other is set into a large recessed arch.