I have always loved anything "mashrabiya". Either a window, a headboard, a door, or a room divider, it somehow looks romantic or poetic to me. Maybe because it reminds me a lot of anything lace, or due to my Maghrebi origins.
Mashrabiya comes mainly from Middle-Eastern and North African (Maghrebi) architecture. In addition to its nobel nature, since it was generally used to be part of castles and palaces, its other social specificity is that of maintaining privacy. In other words, the person (mainly women, especially during previous centuries) watching outside from a mashrabiya window, could not be seen by people walking by.
A lot of riads in Marrakech use mashrabiya, as it always adds a Moroccan and mystic touch to what is already a cozy place.
