32 Jewish News 15 February 2018 www.jewishnews.co.uk

Lifestyle / Travel All shuk up!

Deborah Cicurel loses herself in the charm of Marrakech and retraces the history of the city’s once vibrant Jewish community

ou would be hard pushed to fi nd lush greenery, including bougainvillea, date a destination more unexpect- trees and cacti, add to the sense of tranquillity. edly bewitching than Marrakech. The whole family will love it. The kids’ club YWhether it’s haggling at hectic souks, has an indoor treehouse, a children’s pool dodging snake charmers at the Jemaa el-Fnaa and activities including camel-riding and Square or spotting the Atlas Mountains from Moroccan cookery classes. the comfort of your bedroom, Marrakech is the After a few days recovering from the rat place to go for it all: history, culture, sunshine, race, and enjoying being pampered and eating and an exciting journey into the unknown. too much vegetable tagine, we were ready to Only three hours by air from the UK and jump into the city’s more frenzied but no less with no time dif erence, we began our trip enjoyable side. We drove into the medina, the outside of the bustling medina, at the luxurious old walled part of the city. 134-room Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech. Our suitcases were whisked away by a Just a 20-minute drive from the city’s young man in a football shirt, and we followed frenetic heart, it feels worlds away from the him on foot through the winding streets: past The 10-room Riad Farnatchi, above left and inset top, and at the 16th century El Badi Palace medina’s mayhem. Sitting in the shadow of the Marrakech’s oldest mosque, the Ben Youssef Atlas Mountains, it of ers a deep sense of calm Mosque and its neighbouring madrasa, once twinkly lights and cosy alcoves, a roof terrace Majorelle, the sumptuous gardens and villa and aeons of open space in which to relax. the largest theological college in North Africa. where you can dine alone joined only by the that once belonged to him and his partner, Even the drive down the grand, manicured We eventually arrived at our next stop: the sound of the pool downstairs and the glow of Pierre Bergé. path to the hotel entrance helps you to forget boutique, 10-bedroom Riad Farnatchi and traditional Moroccan lamps beside you. Then there are the cultural landmarks to any worries and focus instead on enjoying the instantly fell in love. Located within a collec- Each of the 10 rooms is dif erent in style explore: the ruins of El Badi Palace, the gran- best of Moroccan hospitality. tion of 400-year-old buildings, the hotel is and layout. Ours had a mezzanine just for the deur of Bahia Palace, and the Jewish Quarter. There’s an enormous Clarins spa, a gym, a lovingly-restored haven of tranquility. bed, a balcony and terrace, and an expansive We wandered through narrow streets with an 18-hole golf course, a giant swimming pool, Composed of several former private homes living room with glorious splashes of colour. names like Talmud Torah until we found the and six restaurants and bars. Olive trees line now joined together, the hotel of ers winding The hotel has a stylish restaurant, Le Jewish cemetery and the Lazama synagogue, the property’s paths, and are used to make staircases and narrow corridors, with plenty Trou au Mur and a spa, where I enjoyed a the city’s only operational shul, which dates to the resort’s olive oil. Pools sited across the of hidden delights: a games room with elegant sumptuous ‘massage tonique’. Back out in the the 16th century. Although the community is grounds, from which palm trees tower, and red velvet furnishings, a tree-fi lled courtyard, streets of Marrakech, our greatest pleasure now just 2,500 Jews, rather than the 350,000- was losing ourselves in the chaos. Haggling strong community that once lived in the city for a china teapot only to later fi nd it was full — the large synagogue is intact and impres- of holes; having to pay a woman for a henna sive. We strolled through the ground fl oor tattoo, despite begging her to stop drawing on rooms, taking in a sense of the once-vibrant my hand; sitting on a rooftop with glasses of Jewish life in Morocco. mint tea and gazing down at the crowds below. Although weekend breaks go quickly, the Of course, the city has much more to captivating ef ect of Marrakech endures. of er. The newly-opened Musée Yves Saint Despite it being weeks since we returned to Laurent looks at the life and works of the the UK, we are still under its spell. In fact, our fashion designer, while next door is Le Jardin next trip has already been booked.

DEBORAH’S TRAVEL TIPS

Deborah stayed at Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech (fairmont.com/ Marrakech) where a deluxe room costs from £225 per night on a room- only basis. She also stayed at Riad Farnatchi (riadfarnatchi.com), where The Fairmont Royal Palm is just a 20-minute drive away from the heart of Marrakech rooms start from £240 per night inclusive of breakfast.