A riad is a type of garden courtyard historically associated with house and palace architecture in the Maghreb and al-Andalus. Its classic form is a rectangular garden divided into four quadrants by two paved paths intersecting at a central fountain, with the planted areas sunk below the level of the paths. Its origin is generally attributed to traditional Persian gardens, whose influence spread through the region during the Islamic period. In present day Morocco the term is also commonly used for a hotel or guesthouse style of accommodation set within a restored traditional mansion built around such a courtyard.
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