Wow. If you haven’t been here you know within 5 minutes that you should have come long ago. Founded almost a thousand years ago in 1070, it’s known as the “Red City”. Red because of the red walls that surrounded the old city.
You’ve seen Marrakech in movies and TV shows like The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Mummy, Mission Impossible, Game of Thrones, and Alexander just to name a few.
The medina (old city) of Marrakech is recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. From medieval times to the beginning of the 20th century,
Morocco was known as the “Kingdom of Marrakech” and to this day in Persian and Urdu, Morocco is still called “Marrakech”. I say this to note that Marrakech looms large in the imagination of many travellers and admirers. So to arrive here is a lifelong desire and dream come true.
Marrakech sits on a plain leading to the mythical Atlas Mountains. It became a center of design with the arrival of Yves St. Laurent in the 1960s. Along with St. Laurent, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other rich and famous people and hangers-on regularly stayed in Marrakech. Today about 900,000 people call Marrakech home.
We awoke this morning to breakfast on our terrace and with hundreds of songbirds chirping, sharing the news of the day with their friends and neighbors. It’s remarkable how quiet the courtyard of the riad is considering we are at the very center of Marrakech.
Today we will be with a guide that will take us to the souks (markets) that are at the top of our list for the medina.
His name was Said and is Marrakech born and bred. Known by dozens of vendors in the medina, as we walked by the would yell out their greetings “Ahlan habibi”, “hello friend”.
Said took us all over the medina, as we had requested, and even took us to see where the heat was made for a traditional hammam. Apparently the difference between a Turkish and Moroccan hammam is that in Turkey the heat comes from steam while in Morocco the heat is created from a wood fire.
We also had time to stop in at the Ben Yousef Madrasa. This was a university that opened to students in 1564 and at its’ height was the largest Islamic school in the Maghreb (North Africa composed of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya).
It is an excellent example of Moroccan architecture. Closed in 1960, it was reopened in 1982 as an architectural site that is visited by thousands each year.
Said took us on a tour to see the dormitories and the mosque. He also explained how artisans made made the different colored tiles you can see at Ben Yousef. All of the tiles were made by hand when the school was built in the early 1500s and retain their colors even today.
Once our time with Said was over we took a taxi to the Jardin Majorelle. Originally a labor of love and created by the French Orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle over almost forty years, starting in 1923. It fell into disrepair when he could no longer afford to keep it up.
The garden was purchased by Yves St. Laurent in the 1980s who, with his life partner Pierre Bergé restored them to their rightful glory.
They are a desert garden showing off some amazing plants found in deserts around the world.
Majorelle is known for the unique shade of blue of blue, called Majorelle Blue. The color is actually patented.
You must buy timed tickets in advance as it is nearly impossible to get in otherwise. Tickets are about $18 per person and can be bought online in advance. Lines were long!
Marrakech is surprising with a mix of old and new and loud and quiet. Tomorrow we’ll continue exploring.
