The Riad Ayadina stands on the foundations of the former Ayadi Palace, which dates fom the 19th century. Not so long ago the Caïd Ayadi (1880-1964) lived there with his courtesans, his harem of twenty wives, and his many children.
The part of the palace where the Riad Ayadina is located was previously used by the Caïd’s favourites. The basement was used as a prison.
The fabulous story of the Caïd could have come straight of the Arabian Nights. His father was a warlord renowned throughout the region. His symbolic authority had a huge influence on Caïd Ayadi, who learnt to fight in his early teens.
El Ayadi was a man of great charisma: a proud look, lean build, smiling face, aquiline nose, fleshy lips, prominent eyebrows and unkempt beard. But if the physical appearance in some ways suggests a wild man, he was in fact the epitome of finesse, gentleness and compassion. As a wise man, diplomat and bon vivant, the young Ayadi embodied the glory of all his ancestors.
El Ayadi was a great orator, who made a name for himself in politics and preached the Makhzen, one of the pillars of colonial ideology. He took care to respect rites and traditions, and to ensure the health and well-being of the members of his “tribe”. His housekeeping, his way of dressing, eating and generally behaving… everything about him was perceived as being an example to follow. The tradition of the caïd may be extinct today, with the demise of colonialism, but El Ayadi remains a symbol of the painful transition from the one culture to the other. All that this pious man wanted was for his name to have a legitimate place in the historical annals.
