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
Courtyard Courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Such spaces in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court. Both of the words "court" and "yard" derive from the same root, meaning an enclosed space. See yard and garden for the relation of this set of words. Courtyards—private open spaces surrounded by walls or buildings—have been in use in residential architecture for almost as long as people have lived in constructed dwellings. The courtyard