Moroccan riad been bought by foreigners. This foreign interest has brought new challenges but the investment has helped with the restoration of the UNESCO site and has helped revive many of the handcrafts and artisan trades that were gradually being lost before this trend. Many of the restored riads in the districts of Mouassine and Lakssour offer the finest examples of restoration as historically these areas contained many of the grand palaces from Marrakech's Saadian period. Moroccan riad A riad () is a type of traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard. The word riad originates from the
Balinese traditional house "satriya" caste. A "bale lembu-gajah" ("cow-elephant pavilion") is traditionally reserved for Hindu or Buddhist priest. Other type of bale found in the compound of the member ofthe "triwangsa" is the "bale bengong" ("contemplating pavilion"), a pleasure pavilion used for resting or chatting, usually placed in the middle of a garden ("taman"). Other type of house compound is the "griya", a palace-like compound entitled to a Brahman who becomes a priest ("pedanda"). The "griya" compound consists of multiple pavilion-surrounded courtyards ("natah") instead of a single courtyard like in the "pekarangan". These multiple courtyards create its own subdivision within the extensive house