Although it has been modified and replanted over the centuries, two major elements have been preserved from the original design: the Acequia ("canal") Court and the stairway that went to the upper level of the estate.[32] The earliest known example of a riyad garden in the western Maghreb was the palace built by the Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf in Marrakesh, present-day Morocco, in the early 12th century – although it is only known from archeological excavations.