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
Company in a courtyard behind a house and white pilasters, a gentleman and a lady, in a red jacket and yellow skirt, are seated at a small table. The lady, sitting almost with her back to the spectator, is squeezing a lemon into a glass of wine. The gentleman, with his pipe in his right hand, looks on with interest. Behind the couple an older woman comes forward with a glass of beer. At the corner of the house to the right a servant-girl, standing on a tub, is scouring a brass pot. To the right is a wooden fence with an open garden-door, above which rise