2 SPAIN MEDITERRANEAN SEA Saïdia Rabat ATLANTIC OCEAN Zagora ALGERIA CANARY ISLANDS MAURITANIA 3 Marrakech 5 Editorial 6 A thousand-year-old pearl charged with history 8 Not to be missed out on 10 A first look around the city and its surroundings 12 Arts and crafts - the city’s designer souks 16 Marrakech, The Fiery 18 A fairytale world 20 Marrakech in a new light 22 The hinterland: lakes, mountains and waterfalls 24 Just a step away 26 Information and useful addresses 4 5 Editorial The Pearl of the South The moment the traveller sets foot in Marrakech, he is awestruck by the contrast in colours – the ochre of its adobe city walls, and its bougainvillea- covered exteriors, from behind which great bouquets of palm trees and lush greenery burst forth. A magnificent array of architecture set against the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains, beneath a brilliant blue sky that reveals the city’s true nature – a luxuriant, sun-soaked oasis, heady with the scent of the jasmine and orange blossom that adorn its gardens. Within its adobe walls, in the sun-streaked shade, the medina’s teeming streets are alive with activity. A hubbub of voices calling back and forth, vibrant colours, the air filled with the fragrance of cedar wood and countless spices. Sounds, colours and smells unite gloriously to compose an astonishing sensorial symphony. Marrakech, city of legend, cultural capital, inspirer of artists, fashions and Bab Agnaou leads to Marrakech’s events; Marrakech with its art galleries, festivals, and exhibitions; Marrakech main palaces with its famous names, its luxurious palaces and its glittering nightlife. Marrakech, tourist capital for over a hundred years, cunningly blends the treasures of its age-old heritage with the vibrant energy of living cultures. Yes, Marrakech is an unforgettable experience. New discoveries await you every time you return – and many have returned never to leave. 6 A city with a thousand years of history behind it Marrakech has seen 5 dynasties Following this great period in the come and go, each one leaving city’s history, the Merinids conquered their indelible mark on its destiny. the Moroccan south in 1269, It was founded in 1062 by the turning their backs on Marrakech Almoravids, whose greatest legacy and making Fez their capital. was to bring water to the city, harnessing spring waters through When the Saadians from the an ingenious system of wells and Souss region came to power in piping networks. We owe them 1554, the city regained its former the city’s Palmeraie, its gardens status as capital of Morocco. A and orchards, and the many new era began, reaching its peak other amenities that led to its during the reign of Ahmed El- development and influence. Under Mansour, known as El Dehbi, “the their rule, Marrakech became the Golden”, because of the fabulous capital of Morocco. wealth he amassed in Sudanese gold. He had the vast and luxurious Marrakech, a thousand years of history The Almohads took over the reins El Badi Palace built, a replica of in the 12th century, improving the Alhambra, adorned the city irrigation systems, enlarging the with mosques, fountains, and city walls, creating the town’s first medersas (Koranic universities), hospital – presided over by the great and commissioned a magnificent scholar and scientist Averroes – and, necropolis in which the leading among other monuments, leaving members of his dynasty were to be us with the magnificent Koutoubia. buried – the Saadian Tombs. The Bahia Palace 7 The Saadian Tombs are a magnificent royal necropolis in which the Dynasty’s major monarchs are buried In the 19th century, under the aristocracy... The painter Jacques Alaouite dynasty, Moulay Slimane Majorelle laid out his famous rebuilt the Ben Youssef Mosque and garden there in 1931. Winston created the Menara Gardens, and Churchill first stayed in the city Moulay Hassan and his son Moulay in 1935, on a painting holiday, Abdelaziz edified the sumptuous and went on to become a regular Dar Si Said – the Bahia Palace. visitor, referring to his “beloved Following construction of the new Marrakech” in his memoirs. And town, Guéliz, in 1913, and of the so many other famous names have Mamounia in 1923, Marrakech also fallen under the city’s spell and began to attract artists, writers contributed to its international and members of the world’s high renown. 8 Not to be missed out on Most of the city’s “unmissable” sights restaurant stalls offering an endless are to be found within the old city walls variety of food and drink. Jemaa el – the Koutoubia, the great square of Fna really comes to life at night, with Jemaa el Fna and the Menara are all locals and visitors alike flocking to symbolic of Marrakech. the terraces of the cafes that surround it. There are storytellers to listen to, The Almohads started on the building fortunetellers to consult, acrobats to of the Koutoubia in 1150, and it marvel at, and, of course, the famous took them 40 years to complete. Gnaoua dancers, leaping hither and With its simplicity of design, highly thither to the hypnotic rhythm of their sophisticated decoration and perfectly “krakachs” (metal castanets). balanced proportions, it is regarded as one of the Maghreb’s most beautiful If it’s a bit of peace and quiet you’re monuments. It served as a model after, then the Menara Gardens are for two sister mosques, the Giralda just what you’re looking for. The The Koutoubia, Marrakech’s “spiritual in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Almohads built a graceful summer lighthouse”... Rabat. Its 77-metre minaret can be pavilion there in the 14th century, its seen from 25 kilometres away and, lit reflection shimmering on the waters up in the evenings, it becomes the city’s of an artificial lake surrounded by an “spiritual lighthouse”. immense garden planted with olive trees. As night falls, the place becomes Jemaa el Fna is the living heart of the a wonderland, aglow with every shade city, and is on UNESCO’s Oral and of gold. The lake serves as a reservoir Immaterial Heritage list. It owes its for irrigating the olive grove, and is fame to its size, its bustle of activity and supplied by a 700-year-old hydraulic its unique atmosphere. Open only to system that harnesses water from the pedestrians, it is a whirligig of people to mountains and brings it in through 30 meet and sights to see, scattered with kilometres of pipes. 9 The Menara, for peace, tranquillity and quiet meditation The Ben Youssef Medersa was built columns of Italian marble and topped by the Saadians and is an undisputed by a finely worked cedar wood cupola. jewel of Moroccan architecture, a great Not far away stand the imposing ruins Koranic university composed of marble, of the El Badi Palace, once regarded as stuccowork, mosaics and carved cedar the wonder of the Muslim world and a wood, and which attracted students source of meditation on bygone glories. from throughout the Muslim world. Only its high walls remain, popular as Facing it, the Almoravid Koubba (or a nesting place for the region’s storks. Koubba Ba’Adiyn), built in 1064, is all The Ben Youssef Medersa that is left of the Almoravids and their Just round the corner from the Bahia architecture. The nearby M’Nebhi Palace and its gardens, the Dar Si Said Palace has been superbly restored and Museum houses rich collections of now houses the Marrakech Museum popular arts and crafts from Marrakech and its exhibitions of contemporary art and the surrounding Berber regions. and Moroccan cultural heritage. Also close by is the Dar Tiskiwin Museum, home of the Bert Flint Located near Bab Agnaou, the collection and a perfect complement to Saadian Tombs are a royal necropolis Dar Si Said. (14th to 16th century) adorned with The Dar Si-Said Museum 10 A first look around the city and its surroundings Marrakech is really two cities Marrakech lies open to the air, standing side by side – the old and boasts numerous gardens town within its historic walls and and green spaces in its old and the new town with its districts new towns alike. The Majorelle of Guéliz and l’Hivernage, and Garden, Àrsat Moulay Àbdessalam intersected by Avenue Mohammed Park, the gardens of the Bahia VI. The city covers a good deal of Palace, and the Menara and Agdal ground, and is ideal for exploring orchards – each, in its own unique on foot, by bicycle or by barouche, way, a haven of peace, relaxation, the traditional Marrakchi way of and pure delight! The Marrakech Theatre getting from one place to another. The Palais des Congrès contains 17 meeting rooms of various capacities, adjustable to suit a wide range of situations 11 Marrakech, an oasis at the feet of the snow-capped Atlas The Marrakech Palmeraie covers of gateways (“Bab” in Arabic). It some 14,000 hectares, comprises takes a good two hours’ barouche over 100,000 trees, and is very ride to get all the way round them – well worth a tour in the traditional provided you don’t make too many barouche. It is irrigated by means stops along the way, that is! Make of “khettaras”, an ingenious system the tour in the late afternoon, when of underground pipes supplied by the light is at its best. The gateways ground water. stand watch over all who enter and leave the city. Some, such as Bab The old town’s adobe walls are el Debbagh and Bab Agnaou still 19 km long and include a score preserve their original architecture.