Riads and dars often have beautiful hand-carved tiles, called zellij, all over the walls.
Inside the medina, there are hundreds of riads and dars. These are houses that people live in, but they are very different from houses in America! These houses are usually three or four floors with an indoor courtyard! The roof of the courtyard opens up to the sky with a light-colored canvas covering or windows that open. This way, a lot of sunlight filters down from the roof and into the entire house. There are sitting rooms and bedrooms off of the courtyard, often on two or three floors. The top floor usually houses the kitchen and the rooftop terrace. One of the best things about living in a riad or dar is that during the summer, it stays cool on the lower floors and in the winter, it is easy to heat the entire home!
One of the biggest challenges of living in the medina is the age of the buildings. Because the buildings were constructed in the 1600s, they are now starting to fall apart! It's not so easy to fix your house when you share walls with four other neighbors! Additionally, the riads and dars are so narrow that it is quite difficult to get large furniture in and out of the building. The medinas can also often be crowded because there are also shops and souks (or Moroccan markets) in the medina!
