Walter Burton Harris (29 August 1866 – 4 April 1933) was a journalist, writer, traveller and socialite who achieved fame for his writings on Morocco, where he worked for many years as special correspondent for The Times.

His linguistic skills and physical appearance enabled him to pose successfully as a native Moroccan, travelling to parts of the country regarded as off-limits to foreigners.

[1] He was independently wealthy, living off a personal allowance and a stipend from The Times, and was an ambitious social climber who associated with royalty and high-ranking politicians.

During his travels he disguised himself as an inhabitant of the Rif, looking (as The Times put it) like "the complete fanatical-looking type, with shaven head but for a foot-long lock hanging from the crown, red guncase for turban, short brown jelab, bare reddish-tanned neck and legs, carrying a long native musket, and glancing furtively as he went, just as such men from home do.

Harris was captured and briefly imprisoned by Raisuni, regaining his freedom via a prisoner exchange, but came to establish a friendship with the chieftain and later wrote admiringly about him.

[2] He served as a special correspondent in the Yemen in 1892 and in Athens in 1915, where he caused a dispute between King Constantine I of Greece and Eleftherios Venizelos after writing articles critical of the latter for The Times.

Britain had long been Morocco's dominant trading partner and Harris initially opposed France's ambitions to play a bigger role in the country.

[9] France was duly grateful for Harris's efforts on its behalf and awarded him the Légion d'honneur and the title of "Commander of the Oiussam Alaouite of Morocco".

[10] It was eventually renovated and opened on 16 March 2021 as a museum, with exhibits donated by Moroccan art collector El Khalil Belguench that include works by Jules Jacques Veyrassat, Jacques Majorelle, Edy Legrand [fr], Claudio Bravo, Muhammad Ben Ali Ribati, Mohamed Ben Allal [fr], Ahmed Yacoubi, and Mohamed Hamri.