Morocco, Marrakech, Red City of Spices and Souks
North Africa Meets French Chic, Jemaa el Fna and Riad Hotels
Oct 4, 2009
The very name Marrakech (also Marrakesh) carries with it a waft of the exotic – a pungent mix of spices and perfumes, scented woods, incense, mint tea, cooking fires and the very breath of the Sahara. Once the great camel caravan stop-over for trade between the Mediterranean lands and sub-Saharan Africa, this ancient Morocco town has always drawn in foreign visitors, from the artists and writers of the 1930s to 1960s hippies taking the Marrakech Express (Crosby, Stills and Nash song, 1969) .
Its many attractions start with a wonderful setting within sight of the forested, snow-capped High Atlas Mountains. Marrakech thus escapes the baking desert heat in summer, but has mild winters and enough water to support oasis-style palm groves, farming and pleasant gardens. Another claim to fame is the way the city is in fact two towns, each with its own distinctive character, one warmly Arab-Berber, and the other coolly French.
Medina or Old Town
This walled city is the heart of Marrakech. Its narrow alleys (souks) lined with market stalls, with areas specializing in various goods and trades – fruit and vegetables, leather working, ceramics, metal work, wool dying and carpets, to all kinds of modern imported goods. Also within, or just outside the walls are some fine examples of Islamic architecture such as the beautiful Koutubia Tower and mosque, with other mosques, royal palaces and tombs and Koranic schools (medersa).
The New Town or Ville Nouvelle
When Morocco was a French Protectorate (1912-1956) a second town was built to the north and west of the bustling, crowded Medina, where French style and culture reigned and still dominates in the elegant form of spacious public buildings, private villas, hotels, gardens, smart boutiques and restaurants specializing in haute cuisine influenced by traditional Arab and Berber flavours and spices.
Best Places to See in Marrakech
- Jemaa el Fna - Marrakech’s celebrated Medina town square. Its name is Arabic for ‘place of the dead’, because this was where public executions used to take place. Now it’s a vibrant public space where people stroll and horse-drawn carriages clop past amid a patchwork of food and juice stalls, jugglers, fortune-tellers, water-sellers, musicians and snake charmers. At its best in the evenings.
- Jardin Majorelle - iconic cactus garden in the New Town, designed by 1930s artist Jacques Majorelle and revamped by Yves Saint Laurent.
- The Palmerie - a huge sandy area of date palms to the north of the Medina, with camel rides and a desert-oasis feel to it.
- Bahia Palace and Ben Youssef Medersa - wonderful examples of classical Islamic buildings around a courtyard, with exquisite decorative plasterwork, tiles and woodcarving.
How Marrakesh / /Marrakech is Reinventing Itself for the 21st century
- It’s now a smart place for local businessmen and wealthy foreigners to buy a second home.
- With Marrakesh now a touring centre for central and southern Morocco, tourist facilities are being upgraded, including a new motorway to Essaouira on the coast and better roads into the spectacular scenery of the Atlas Mountains.
- Some of the better hotels are converted riads, the courtyard-style houses of rich merchants, with rich traditional furnishings, craftsmanship and fabrics and an infusion of French chic.
- Urban development is being strictly controlled, with the slogan ‘villes sans bidonvilles’ (towns without slums).
- No buildings higher than mosque towers are allowed, and must conform to various shades of desert red ochre; litter is banned and roads are being widened and lined with native trees.
There’s no doubt that Marrakech has ‘gone commercial’ since its heyday of hippiedom, but it can still a magical place. El Mamounia, the signature hotel of Marrakesh, has just received an $80 million luxury refit to once again attract the rich and famous.
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