Lonely Planet Morocco Read online

  6Drinking & Nightlife

  29DjelabarC3

  30KaowaD1

  7Shopping

  3133 Rue MajorelleD1

  32Darart LibrairieD1

  33Ensemble ArtisanalD4

  8Information

  34Clinique InternationaleD6

  1Sights

  Most monuments are inside the medina ramparts (a 19km circuit). The medina's main souqs, as well as the Ali ben Youssef Medersa and Musée de Marrakech are north of Djemaa el-Fna, while the Dar Si Said and Bahia Palace are south along Rue Riad Zitoun el-Jedid toward the mellah. The kasbah area, containing the gilded Saadian Tombs, Badi Palace and the royal palace (closed to visitors), is just to the south.

  It's an easy 20- to 25-minute stroll straight up Ave Mohammed V from Djemaa el-Fna to the central Guéliz district of the ville nouvelle (new town). The main sight in the new town is Jardin Majorelle, but Guéliz is also home to a clutch of art galleries, most significantly MACMA, which exhibits some of the big names in Orientalist art.

  The souqs are generally open 9am to 7pm, though many stalls are closed on Friday afternoon.

  Marrakesh Central Medina

  1Top Sights

  1Ali ben Youssef MedersaC1

  2Bahia PalaceD6

  3Dar Si SaidD5

  4Djemaa el-FnaB4

  5Maison de la PhotographieD1

  6Musée de MarrakechC1

  1Sights

  7Ali ben Youssef MosqueC1

  8Dar BellarjC1

  9Fondouq el-AmirB1

  10Fondouq KharbouchB1

  11Heritage MuseumC3

  12Koubba Ba'adiynC1

  13Koubba of Fatima ZohraA4

  14Le Jardin SecretB2

  15Maison TiskiwinD5

  16Mouassine FountainB2

  17Musée BoucharouiteC2

  18Musée de MouassineB2

  19Souq des TeinturiersB2

  2Activities, Courses & Tours

  20Hammam MouassineB2

  21Le Bain BleuB3

  22Marrakech RouesB5

  23Morocco Adventure & RaftingB5

  24Souk CuisineC3

  4Sleeping

  25Dar AttajmilA3

  26Dar HousniaD1

  27Equity Point HostelB2

  28Hôtel CecilB4

  29Hotel du TrésorB4

  30Hotel EssaouiraC4

  31Hôtel SherazadeC4

  32Jnane MogadorC4

  33Le GalliaB5

  34MarhbabikoumD5

  35Riad AzoulayD6

  36Riad ElkartiC3

  37Riad Le JB2

  38Riad L'OrangeraieB2

  39Riad TizwaA1

  40Riad UPD4

  41TchaikanaD2

  5Eating

  42Beats BurgerB1

  43Café des ÉpicesC2

  44Dar AnikaC6

  45Djemaa El-Fna Food StallsB4

  46El BahjaB4

  47Fox Art FoodC5

  48Hadj MustaphaC3

  49Kui-ZinB1

  50Le JardinB1

  51Le TobsilA3

  52Marrakech Henna Art CafeC4

  53Mechoui AlleyC3

  54NaimaC2

  55NaranjC4

  56NomadC3

  57Oscar ProgrèsB5

  58Pâtisserie des PrincesB4

  59PepeNeroD4

  60Roti d'OrC3

  61Souk KaféB1

  62Un Déjeuner à MarrakechC4

  6Drinking & Nightlife

  63Café ArabeB2

  64Dar CherifaB2

  65KosybarD6

  66Maison de la Photographie TerraceD1

  67Riad YimaC3

  7Shopping

  68Al KawtarB1

  69Al NourA3

  70AnamilC2

  ArganinoB1

  71Assouss Cooperative d'ArganeB2

  72Creations PneumatiquesC6

  73Dar Chrifa LamraniaC1

  74Fondouq NamasC2

  La Maison BahiraB1

  75Max & JanB1

  76NaturomC5

  77Souk CherifaB1

  78Souq AbleuhB3

  79Souq HaddadineC2

  Medina

  oDjemaa el-FnaSQUARE

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; off Pl de Foucald)

  Think of it as live-action channel-surfing: everywhere you look in the Djemaa el-Fna, Marrakesh’s main square, you’ll discover drama in progress. The hoopla and halqa (street theatre) has been non-stop here ever since this plaza was the site of public executions around AD 1050 – hence its name, which means ‘assembly of the dead’.

  By mid-morning the soundtrack of snake-charmer flutes has already begun, but the show doesn't kick off until sunset when restaurants fire up their grills, cueing musicians to tune up their instruments.

  Unesco declared the Djemaa el-Fna a 'Masterpiece of World Heritage' in 2001 for bringing urban legends and oral history to life nightly and although the storytellers who once performed here have since given way to acrobats, musical performers, and slapstick comedy acts, Djemaa's nightly carnival continues to dazzle. Berber musicians strike up the music and Gnaoua troupes sing while henna tattoo artists beckon to passers by and water-sellers in fringed hats clang brass cups together, hoping to drive people to drink. This is a show you don't want to miss and it's a bargain too. Applause and a few dirhams ensure an encore.

  The square's many eclectic exhibitions are not without a darker side though; you are very likely to see monkeys, kept in cages throughout the day, led around on chains for entertainment, and some of the practices of the plaza's snake charmers are ethically questionable, to say the least.

  While wandering around the Djemaa at any time of day stay alert to cars, motorbikes and horse-drawn-carriage traffic, which whiz around the perimeter of the plaza. Also be on guard against pickpockets and rogue gropers who are known to work the crowds particularly after sunset. To nab prime seats on makeshift stools (women and elders get preference) around musician circles, arrive early in the evening.

  oKoutoubia MosqueMOSQUE

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; cnr Rue el-Koutoubia & Ave Mohammed V; hclosed to non-Muslims)

  Five times a day, one voice rises above the Djemaa din as the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer from the Koutoubia Mosque minaret. Excavations confirm a Marrakshi legend: the original mosque, built by Almoravid architects, wasn’t properly aligned with Mecca, so the pious Almohads levelled it to build a realigned one. When the present mosque was finished by Sultan Yacoub el-Mansour in the 12th century, 100 booksellers were clustered around its base – hence the name, from kutubiyyin (booksellers).

  While the Koutoubia serves a spiritual purpose, its minaret is also a point of reference for international architecture. The 12th-century 70m-high tower is the prototype for Seville’s La Giralda and Rabat’s Le Tour Hassan, and it’s a monumental cheat sheet of Moorish ornament: scalloped keystone arches, jagged merlons (crenellations) and mathematically pleasing proportions. The minaret was sheathed in Marrakshi pink plaster, but experts opted to preserve its exposed stone in its 1990s restoration.

  Musée de MouassineMUSEUM

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 38 57 21; www.museedemouassine.com; 5 Derb el Hammam; Dh30; h9.30am-7pm)

  While house-hunting in the medina, Patrick Menac'h stumbled across a historic treasure of great cultural significance. Beneath the layers of white plaster of a modest riad's 1st-floor douiria (guest apartment) was a jewel of domestic Saadian architecture, c 1560. The riad's ground-floor rooms hold a small collection of Berber artefacts, but the painstakingly restored interior of the upstairs salons, with their intricate cornice friezes and painted woodwork, are the true star of this charming museum.

  The other major projects of this period, when the Saadians were busy transforming Marrakesh into their Imperial capital, are all grand in scale – the mosques at Mouassine, Bab Doukkala, Ben-Youssef and Sidi Bel-Abbes. But this bijou 1st-floor douiria was created by a chorfa (noble) family after the Saadians relocated the Mouassine Jews to the mellah and gave the city a new dynamic.

  The d
ouiria, in its restored form, is thus an important example of domestic architecture in this era and a commentary on the courtly art of hospitality. Imagine the mindset of travel-weary guests as they entered the main salon with its symphony of colour: flowers and birds in saffron, verdigris and apricot climb the walls in a vertical garden, while bedrooms are trimmed with sculpted Kufic script framed by azure blue and finished with a fine Pompeian red skirting. You may assume the vivid colours on show are the work of the 24-man restoration team, but the decor is, amazingly, original – their vibrancy preserved beneath layers of plaster for centuries. In the side salon you can view a fascinating short video of some of the restoration methods.

  The staff here are passionate about the douiria and its restoration process and are more than happy to guide you through the rooms offering insight and explanations.

  Souq des TeinturiersSOUQ

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Souq des Teinturiers; hirregular hours)

  The dyers' souq is one of Marrakesh's most colourful market sights. Here you'll find skeins of coloured wool draped from the rafters and a rainbow of colour pigment pots outside the stalls.

  oAli ben Youssef MedersaISLAMIC SITE

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 44 18 93; Pl ben Youssef; Dh20; h9am-7pm, to 6pm winter)

  ‘You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded’ reads the inscription over the entryway to the Ali ben Youssef Medersa, and after almost six centuries, the blessing still works its charms on visitors. Sight lines are lifted in the entry with carved Atlas cedar cupolas and mashrabiyya (wooden-lattice screen) balconies, while the courtyard is a mind-boggling profusion of Hispano-Moresque ornament: five-colour zellij walls, stucco archways, cedar windows, and a marble mihrab (niche in a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca).

  Founded in the 14th century under the Merenids, but fully kitted-out with its exuberantly ornate decoration in 1565 in the Saadian era, this Quranic learning centre was once the largest in North Africa, and remains among the most splendid.

  The medersa (theological college) is affiliated with nearby Ali ben Youssef Mosque ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Place ben Youssef; hclosed to non-Muslims), and once 900 students in the 132 dorms arranged around the courtyard studied religious and legal texts here. Despite upgrades with its 19th-century renovation, the Ali ben Youssef Medersa gradually lost students to its collegiate rival, the Medersa Bou Inania in Fez, but even today – long after the students finally left – this old seminary still exudes magnificent, studious calm.

  oMusée de MarrakechMUSEUM

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 44 18 93; www.museedemarrakech.ma; Pl ben Youssef; adult/child Dh50/free; h9am-7pm, to 6pm Oct-Mar)

  The Musée de Marrakech exhibits a collection of Moroccan art forms within the decadent salons of the Mnebhi Palace. The central internal courtyard, with its riot of cedar archways, stained-glass windows, intricate painted door panels and, of course, lashings of zellij tile work, is the highlight, though don't miss the display of exquisite Fez ceramics in the main room off the courtyard. Both the Palace Kitchen area and Palace hammam host much simpler interiors.

  The palace was once home to Mehdi Mnebhi, defence minister during Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz’s troubled reign (1894–1908). While Minister Mnebhi was away receiving a medal from Queen Victoria, England conspired with France and Spain to colonise North Africa, and autocrat Pasha Glaoui filched his palace. After independence, the building was seized by the state and became Marrakesh’s first girls’ school in 1965. It was only after a painstaking restoration in 1997, by the Omar Benjelloun Foundation, that the palace swung open the doors to the masses as the Marrakech Museum.

  Koubba Ba’adiynHISTORIC BUILDING

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Pl ben Youssef)

  The Almohads destroyed almost everything their Almoravid predecessors built in Marrakesh, but overlooked this small, graceful 12th-century koubba (shrine) – probably used for ablutions – across from Ali ben Youssef Mosque. This relic reveals what Hispano-Morish architecture owes to the Almoravids: keyhole arches, ribbed vaulting, interlaced arabesques and domed cupolas on crenellated bases. It's closed to visitors, but you can peek through the fence to get a glimpse of its architectural details.

  Dar BellarjGALLERY

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 44 45 55; www.darbellarj.org; 9-7 Toualate Zaouiate Lahdar; h9.30am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Sat)F

  Flights of fancy come with the territory at Dar Bellarj, a stork hospital (bellarj is Arabic for stork) turned into Marrakesh’s premier arts centre. Each year the nonprofit Dar Bellarj Foundation adopts a program theme, ranging from film to women’s textiles and storytelling. Calligraphy demonstrations, art openings, craft exhibits and arts workshops are regular draws, and admission is usually free (there’s a charge for some events).

  During Ramadan, the foundation also hosts a series of evening music concerts in the central courtyard.

  oMaison de la PhotographieMUSEUM

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 38 57 21; www.maisondelaphotographie.ma; 46 Souq el-Fassi; adult/child Dh40/free; h9.30am-7pm)

  When Parisian Patrick Menac’h and Marrakshi Hamid Mergani realised they were both collecting vintage Moroccan photography, they decided to open a photography museum to show their collections in context. Together they ‘repatriated’ 4500 photos, 2000 glass negatives and 80 documents dating from 1870 to 1950; select works on view here fill three floors, organised by region and theme, and include a rare, full-colour 1957 documentary shot in Morocco. Most works are editioned prints from original negatives, and are for sale.

  Afterwards, head up to the rooftop terrace ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 38 57 21; www.maison-delaphotographie.com; 46 Souq el-Fassi; h9.30am-7pm) for a coffee or pot of tea. If you’re heading to Ourika Valley, be sure to check out their second venture, the Ecomusée Berbere.

  Bab Debbagh TanneriesAREA

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rue de Bab Debbagh; hSat-Thu)

  The acrid smell assaulting your nose announces your arrival in Marrakesh's tannery area. You'll find tanneries scattered on either side of Rue de Bab Debbagh – generally with touts stationed at the gates, offering tours for a tip. The best time to come is in the morning when you'll usually be able to see tanners at work, transforming leather hides into a rainbow of hues. It’s hard, dirty work and dangerous too, now that natural dyes have been eschewed for chemical colours.

  In exchange for a tip, you'll usually also be offered to see a view of the tanneries from above, from one of the houses near the Bab Debbagh gate. The views are definitely worth it, but be aware that many of the 'houses' are actually leatherware shops and touts can be pushy. Don't feel pressured into having to buy something if you don't want to.

  Zawiya Sidi Bel-AbbesSHRINE

  ( GOOGLE MAP ; Rue Sidi Ghalom; hclosed to non-Muslims)

  This zawiya – shrine to a marabout (saint) is Marrakesh's most important and has been finely restored. The current building dates from the Saadian era and honours the renowned holy man Sidi Bel-Abbes – who died and was buried here in 1205. Non-Muslims can't enter the hallowed confines, but can walk through the arched arcade (note the intricate stucco-work on both gates) and into the courtyard to view its minaret, fountain and the elaborately decorated entrance way of the shrine itself.

  oDar Si SaidMUSEUM

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 38 95 64; Derb Si Said; adult/child Dh10/3; h9am-4.45pm Wed-Mon)

  A monument to Moroccan mâalems (master artisans), the residence of Bou Ahmed's brother Si Said is home to the Museum of Moroccan Arts. On display is a collection of granary doors, Tuareg leather bags, ceramics, embroidery, carpets, weaponry, and Berber jewellery within its salons. The highlight of a visit here is the spectacular painted and domed wedding-reception chamber flanked by flower-painted musicians' balconies; it's credited to artisans from Fez.

  Maison TiskiwinMUSEUM

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 38 91 92; www.tiskiwin.com; 8 Rue de la Bahia; adult/child Dh20/10; h9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-6pm)

  Travel to Timbuktu and back again via Dutch anth
ropologist Bert Flint’s art collection, displayed at Maison Tiskiwin. Each room represents a caravan stop along the Sahara-to-Marrakesh route, presenting indigenous crafts from Tuareg camel saddles to High Atlas carpets. The accompanying text is often more eccentric than explanatory (eg ‘By modifying his pristine nakedness Man seeks to reveal his image of himself’), but Tiskiwin’s well-travelled artefacts offer tantalising glimpses of Marrakesh’s trading-post past.

  oBahia PalacePALACE

  ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0524 38 95 64; Rue Riad Zitoun el-Jedid; adult/child Dh10/3; h9am-4.30pm)

  Imagine what you could build with Morocco’s top artisans at your service for 14 years, and here you have it.

  The salons of both the petit riad and grand riad host intricate marquetry and zouak (painted wood) ceilings while the vast grand courtyard, trimmed in jaunty blue and yellow, leads to the Room of Honour, with a spectacular cedar ceiling.

  The harem offers up yet more dazzling interiors with original woven-silk panels, stained glass windows and rose-bouquet painted ceilings.

  The floor-to-ceiling decoration here was begun by Grand Vizier Si Moussa in the 1860s and embellished from 1894 to 1900 by slave-turned-vizier Abu ‘Bou’ Ahmed. In 1908 the palace's beguiling charms attracted warlord Pasha Glaoui, who claimed it as a suitable venue to entertain French guests. They, in turn, were so impressed that they booted out their host in 1911, installing the protectorate’s resident-general in his place.

  Though today only a portion of the palace’s eight hectares and 150 rooms is open to the public, there's still plenty of ornamental frippery on show. While admiring the tranquil grand courtyard with its floor laid in white Carrara marble, remember this is where people waited in the sun for hours to beg for Bou Ahmed’s mercy. Bou Ahmed's four wives and 24 concubines all lived in the lavish interiors of the harem's small salons.