Restaurants, Hotels, Property in Morocco - Justgo Morocco

Marrakech, also known as the "Red City" or "Al Hamra," is a city in south-western Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The second largest city, after Casablanca, was founded in 1070 and in a less than fifty years it became the capital of a vast empire.

There are two parts to Marrakech, the old walled, or fortified city, and the newer part of the city on the outside of the walls. If you want the tradition and experience of old Marrakech then you want to be inside the walls where you will be indulged in a cacophony of sensual experiences like no other. On the outside it is a bit more tranquil and the people are more interested in going about their own business than harassing tourists into buying trinkets they don’t want and charging them just to take a photograph.

The official number of inhabitants for Marrakech is around one million people. However, this is more likely to be closer to two million. The Berbers make up the largest part of the population and there are quite a few international residents. French of course as they used to occupy Morocco and there are a few Spanish and other Europeans as well.

Marrakech sits at the foot of the High Atlas mountains and isn’t too far from the Sahara desert either. In fact it can be quite a strange feeling to know that you are only a short drive away from such a geographic phenomenon such as the greatest and largest hot desert in the world 4,619,260 km² (1,791,500 square miles).

Djemaa el Fna
The largest souk (market) is in Marrakesh and what an experience it is. It is called Djemaa el Fna and is part of the World Heritage of UNESCO. Djemaa el Fna rather unluckily translates into “Square of the dead” or maybe less sinisterly, the word “djemaa” also means mosque in Arabic, and so could also mean “Place of the vanished mosque”, in reference to a destroyed Almoravid mosque.

In the mornings there you can buy freshly squeezed and delicious orange juice from one of seemingly hundreds of vendors for next to peanuts. In the afternoon arrive all the story tellers (don’t expect a rip roaring yarn), snake charmers, water sellers, acrobats, jugglers and many other strange people who you can have fun trying to figure out what they are there for. In the evenings stalls and tables are set up to dine out in Moroccan style in the open air of the “Square of the Dead”. It is all in the open air and you sit around the wooden makeshift and portable restaurant, come kitchen, come dining area and watch the chef cook what has just been ordered. It really is a once in a lifetime experience and whilst eating you can enjoy the banter of the chefs and assistance as they serve the food and cook up a storm.

There are many cafes and restaurants surrounding the souk as well where you can take a coffee or Moroccan mint tea (a real treat if you haven’t tried it. Gunpowder green tea with fresh mint leaves and loads and loads of sugar). The views from these rooftop terraces are something out of a movie. The sun setting, the noise and energy from the souk, the lights from the city, the Atlas mountains in the distance all come together to really bring home the mystery and mystique of Morocco. There is no other place like it.

Surrounding the square are more undercover market stalls and shops. Once you find the entrance in it can seem like you will never find the way out, but it isn’t like Fez and you should find your way around quite easily. The shop owners are normally friendly and speak a multitude of languages, although normally just the words they need to use to sell you a rug or ornament, try and speak to them about Moroccan football or the stock exchange in New York and they are lost. However, it is impressive to say the least that they can speak so many languages. For this reason it isn’t surprising that Morocco is the latest destination for many of the largest call centre companies in the UK and Europe as they have a labour force ready and willing to work who already speak English, French, Spanish, and German etc to a very high standard.

The old walled city of Marrakech and especially around the famous square is perfect to get lost within. You can take a slow walk past the shops and cafes and doorways or homes to get a glimpse of life in Marrakech. You can see how the people work behind the scenes so to speak and how traditions have been passed on almost without change for hundreds of years.

Majorelle Gardens and the Museum of Islamic Art
The French designer Yves Saint Laurent now owns the gardens and has also built a house on the property. The French artists Jacques and Louis Majorelle built the gardens in the 1920´s and it really is quite beautiful. The Museum of Islamic Art is housed in a building that the Marjorelles used to use as a studio. It is not only the display that will fascinate you but also the house you will find stunning. Its bright blue and yellow colour scheme and ornate windows distinguish it from any other Marrakech house. This small museum includes some good examples of Moroccan tribal art, carpets, jewellery, and pottery dating back hundreds of years and an instant lesson on Islamic art.

Saadian Tombs
The tombs date back to the 16^th century but it was only in 1917 that they were discovered when a great wall was torn down. They were built by a Saadian Sultan, Sultan Moulay Ahmed al-Mansur who lived between 1574-1603, after the death of his mother.

There are basically two parts to the tombs which overlook a quiet, tranquil garden. Beautifully ornate. One room has precious stalactites hanging from the ceiling lending to the untouched and preserved nature of these mausoleums, but it is the second room that is the highlight of the site.. If you are into art and architecture then this is the place to see wonderful examples of Hispano-Moresque art, with a domed ceiling supported by twelve columns. There are the arches, friezes with verses from the Koran, geometric motifs, painted and gilded cedar wood, tiles and stuccoes.

Spooky and maybe eerie for some, these rooms show an unusual side of history and tradition from a time long since forgotten.

Palais Dar Si Said (Museum of Moroccan Arts)
Close to the El Bahia Palace and well worth a visit to learn a lot about Marrakech and the south of Morocco. The palace is sophisticated and beautiful in itself surrounding a wonderful garden. It was recently renovated in 1978 and still growing in its collections. The museum's displays are well laid out and include jewellery, costumes, ceramics, daggers, rifles from the “fantasia” rifle extravaganza and other artefacts. There is also the interesting gates to the Kasbah covered with geometric decorations, whose meaning has still to be interpreted by scholars.

El Bahia Palace
El Bahia Palace is almost undoubtedly one of the loveliest and richest to be found in Marrakech. It is known as "Palace of the Beautiful". It was built towards the end of the nineteenth century for Ba Ahmed and supposedly for his wife and concubines to live in, therefore it may be the grandest (probably the only) harem you will ever set foot in. There are 160 different rooms in the palace which are sprawled out in an illogical, open, rambling fashion. It is said that the size of the room related to the importance, or favour, of each concubine owned by Ba Ahmed.

There is a 2 acre (8,000 m²) garden perfumed with jasmine, oranges, and cypresses, with rooms opening onto courtyards. It stretches out for around 8 hectares (32,ooo m²) and is surrounded by splendid perfumed gardens.

It took seven years for the architect El Haj Mohammed el Mekki to complete and many houses within the vicinity were raised to the ground to make way for its growth due to Ba Ahmed never being satisfied. Row after row of apartments and rooms richly decorated, Andalusian in style, with a wealth of decorations and marble floors from Meknes.

Everything is excellently preserved, almost as if it had remained untouched by time and it is here within a palace half a city in size that Ba Ahmed died on May 17, 1900.