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 with an Arbour in the collection of Joséphine de Beauharnais and it was documented in an inventory of pictures at Château de Malmaison in 1814. Courtyard with an Arbour Courtyard with an Arbour (1658–1660) is an oil on canvas painting by the Dutch painter Pieter de Hooch; it is an example of Dutch Golden Age painting and is now in a private collection. It was sold in 1992 for almost seven million dollars. This painting by Hooch was first documented by John Smith in 1833, who wrote; "47. A View in the Back Court of a House, looking towards a building, which has