Maria Wittendorff You r Guide To MARRAKESH muusmann FORLAG CONTENTS 57 Musée Tiskiwin 97 Dar Bellarj 7 Foreword 138 Restaurants & Cafés – Museum Bert Flint 98 Dar Moulay Ali 59 Heritage Museum 99 Comptoir des Mines 140 The Moroccan Kitchen 62 Maison de la Photographie 100 Festivals 8 A Long Story Short 64 Musée de Mouassine 102 David Bloch Gallery 143 Gueliz 65 Musée Boucharouite 102 Galerie 127 143 Grand Café de la Poste 67 Musée de la Femme 103 Musée Mathaf Farid Belkahia 144 La Trattoria 12 Historic Sights 68 Musée des Parfums 104 Maison Denise Masson 145 +61 14 El Koutoubia 70 Aman – Musée Mohammed VI 105 La Qoubba Galerie d’Art 146 Gaïa 16 The Almoravid Dome 71 Observatoire Astronomie 106 Street Art 146 Amandine 17 The City Wall & Gates – Atlas Golf 147 Le Loft 19 Jamaa el-Fna 147 Le 68 Bar à Vin 22 Gnawa 148 Barometre 108 Riads & Hotels 24 The Saadian Tombs 149 L’Annexe 72 Gardens & Parks 26 Architecture 110 Riad Z 150 Le Petit Cornichon 32 El Badi 74 Jardin Majorelle 111 Zwin Zwin Boutique Hotel & Spa 150 L’Ibzar 35 Medersa Ben Youssef 77 Jardin Secret 112 Riad Palais des Princesses 151 Amal 37 El Bahia 79 The Islamic Garden 113 Riad El Walaa 152 Café Les Négociants 39 Dar El Bacha 80 Jardin Menara 113 Dar Annika 153 Al Fassia – Musée des Confluences 82 Jardin Agdal 114 Riad Houma 153 Patron de la Mer 41 The Tanneries 83 Anima Garden 114 Palais Riad Lamrani 154 Moncho’s House Café 42 Mellah 84 Cyber Park 115 Riad Spa Azzouz 154 Le Warner 44 The Lazama Synagogue 85 Jardin des Arts 116 La Maison Arabe 155 Kui-Zin Gueliz 44 The Jewish Cemetery 86 Parc El Harti 118 Riad Ifoulki 155 16 Café 45 The Seven Saints 86 Parc Lalla Hasna 119 Dar Lalla F’dila 47 Saint Martyrs Church 87 La Palmeraie 122 Riad Star 156 Jamaa el-Fna 87 Musée de la Palmeraie 122 La Ferme Medina 156 Café de France 88 Jarjeer Mule and Donkey Refuge 123 Riad Nashira & Spa 156 L’Adresse 124 Riad Les Jardins des Lilas 157 Café Guerrab 48 Museums 124 Villa Verde 158 Le Salama 50 Musée de Marrakech 125 Hotel Les Jardins de la Medina 158 Zwin Zwin Café 90 Art & Culture 51 Musée Berbère 126 La Mamounia 159 Café Kif-Kif 52 Musée Yves Saint-Laurent 92 The Orientalist Museum 128 Beldi Country Club 53 The Berber Peoples 93 MACMA 132 Hammam 56 Dar Si Said 94 MACAAL 136 Hammam de la Rose 96 Riad Yima 136 Heritage Spa 2 3 160 Riad Zitoun & Douar Graoua 183 Riad Laarous 206 Religion 160 Pepe Nero 183 La Ferme Medina 206 Flag 161 La Famille 184 Moul Tanjia 207 Form of Government 162 Naranj 185 Dar Simons 207 Languages 162 Blackchich 207 Currency 163 Un Déjeuner 186 Sidi Ben Slimane & 208 Price Level & Tips 164 La Pergola Diour Saboune 208 The Weather 164 Henna Art Café 186 Limoni 208 Clothes 165 Dar Essalam 187 Dar Zellij 208 Transport 166 Koulchi Zine 210 Sightseeing Busses 210 Bicycles 167 Kasbah 188 Shopping & 211 Motorbike Trips 167 Café Clock Handicrafts 211 Horse Carts 168 La Table de la Kasbah 211 Public Holidays 168 Kasbah Café & Restaurant 190 The Souk 212 Sport 169 Grill at Hajj 191 Leather Goods 212 Children and Marrakesh 192 La Clinique du Ballon 213 Night Life 170 Place des Épices 193 Ensemble Artisanal 213 Mountains & Desert 170 Café des Épices 194 Retailing Streets and Markets 170 Nomad 196 Ceramics 171 Shtatto 197 Lamps 214 Photo Credits 197 Mustapha Blaoui 173 Kaat Benahid 198 Carpets and Rugs 173 Le Foundouk 199 16 Soufiane Zarib 216 Index 174 Kafé Merstan 200 Textiles 174 Bigua 201 Shopping Centres 175 Trou au Mur and Designer Shops 224 Map 201 33 Rue Majorelle 176 Sidi Abdelaziz 202 Max & Jan 176 Terrasse des Épices 202 Souk Cherifia 176 Le Jardin 203 Chabi Chic 177 Kui-Zin 204 Beauty Care 178 Soul Food 205 Flea Market 178 Café Atay 205 Carrefour 180 Mouassine & Bab Doukkala 180 La Table du Palais 206 Facts & Info 181 Café Arabe 181 Dar Cherifa 206 The Country 182 Dar Moha 206 City & Citizens 4 5 Foreword Marrakesh! Marrakesh! Enchanting, extraordinary, evocative, and enthralling! Founded for enormous conquests, for many years the capital of an empire, a political, economic, and cultural centre, and today it is the sum of everything that ever ran through its narrow, red streets, over legendary squares and along a city wall which has seen it all happen and still embraces this fairy tale city. It is no wonder that artists, bohemians, adventurers, and pleasure lovers have been attracted for centuries to this city, and today millions of tourists pour in from all corners of the globe to experience the 1001 nights’ fairy tale which is still being told here in well-kept and exceedingly evocative surroundings. From the start, it has been a great joy and a privilege to be allowed the opportunity to write about Marrakesh, exploring the city, visiting sights, spending hours on research, collecting notes, interviewing people, snapping thousands of pictures, and subsequently devoting days and weeks in front of the computer to compile all these impressions into a narrative. Everything you find in this book, I have tried and tested myself – I have eaten at every one of the restaurants, I have visited all the sights, I have experienced all four seasons in the city, and I have walked and walked through all corners of the medina in order to encounter new adventures. When I say that I am writing about Marrakesh, I usually get one of three reactions. Either people say, ‘Ah! I’ve always dreamt of visiting that place!’ or, ‘Great! I am just planning a trip there’ or, ‘Funny, I’ve just come back from there, and I am definitely going back!’ Mar- rakesh has been on everybody’s lips in recent years, and the reasons are legion. This is a city waiting to be discovered, experienced, and/or revisited. If you are reading this now, my guess is that you are going to find yourself in one of the above categories; no matter which of the three – or maybe even a fourth – you will be very welcome – here, in this book as well as in the red city! My hope is that you will make use of the book for inspiration before your trip, as your guide during your stay, and when you are going to decide on what to do and where to go for good food. And then, of course, there are lots of background stories along the way, the types that will hopefully help to give you a much more intense and interesting experience of this unique destination. I wish you and your fellow travellers an unforgettable journey to Marrakesh! Maria Wittendorff 6 A LONG STORY SHORT Before exploring the city, it is a good idea to have a look at its history. When you get a The Almoravids feeling of its past – the things that are hidden in its walls, its alleys, and its great buildings Abdullah Ibn Yasin had studied the Quran – your experience will be so much more in- intensely and wanted to spread the message tensified and fulfilling. and make ‘real’ Muslims of the whole region. The history of Marrakesh goes back His mission began in the place known today nearly 1,000 years. In those days there was as Mauretania. He gathered a group of tribes not yet a nation state in the country towards under his command and called them the Al- the west, but more precisely any number of moravids – ‘those who are united in serving independent Berber clans – the indigenous God’. They belonged to the Sanhaja tribe, a people of Morocco – who were influenced by camel-riding people, and in the year 1044, a succession of Arab dynasties following the 1,000 men from the tribe rode towards the Arab invasion around the year 700. The Ber- town of Sijilmasa towards the north – one of ber peoples were Muslims, but they main- the largest trade centres in Africa. They con- tained their original Berber traditions while quered the town and gained control over the Islam was not always observed strictly. One gold trade from the south, thereby obtaining did Ibn Tashfin complete the mission, he they were attacked by Christians from the man’s idealism would change not only that funds for more camels and weapons. also managed to transform the tiny kingdom north, and the Caliph, then, turned to the but also the history of the entire country. The army moved on and crossed the At- into an enormous and powerful empire. Dur- Almoravids for help. The Almoravids came las Mountains, which constituted the border ing his reign, the town reached new heights to their aid and dispelled the Christians, but between the desert and the lush and fertile – he constructed pipelines carrying water Ibn Tashfin was not keen on his new fellow land on the other side. The army took the for the inhabitants and built an enormous believers. He was contemptuous of the Anda- town of Aghmat in 1058, but as the town had wall around the town for their protection. All lusians’ lack of morals and their extravagant mountains on three sides which made it dif- the streets and squares of the town were by living, and he decided that their subjects de- ficult to defend – they needed a new head- and large built at this time. served better.