Morocco was the first to examine America’s independence, and U.S. tourists won’t be disappointed by a visit to an old friend. I personally traveled here from Original York to this rather obscure residence because I wanted to get some adventure as well as a taste of history.

The journey from New York to Casablanca is only six-and-a-half Thours, but be prepared to enter a different world. Those exotic places and people that have long fascinated Hollywood are real: The palaces and Casbahs and crowded bazaars, the belly dancers, snake charmers and charging Berber horsemen are absolutely delicate.

By geography, it’s technically African, located on the continent’s very western corner, across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. No other country on the continent offers such scenic contrasts: Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, mountains to the east and the Sahara desert in the south which accents its attractiveness.

But in ambiance, Morocco is Middle Eastern because of the extremely huge Arab population. It has a strong European distinct style as well — for most of the first half of this century, Morocco was a protectorate of France. During World War II, its European population doubled.

Here are some basic information about Morocco:

On the Atlantic-Mediterranean coastline June to September are the most pleasant times to visit Morocco, offering mostly rain-free days and moderately humid and warm conditions, with the mercury lingering around the high 20°Cs (improper 80°Fs) during the daytime. Further inland, rain is sparse the year round and it can get quite hot. More comfortable conditions on the central plateau will be found during March to June and September to December. Don’t underestimate the extremes of heat and wintry in the higher mountains, where some peaks can remain snow-capped from November to June.

Local Health Conditions

altitude sickness
Lack of oxygen at high altitudes (over 2500m) affects most people to some extent. The effect may be calm or severe and occurs because less oxygen reaches the muscles and the brain at high altitudes, requiring the heart and lungs to compensate by working harder. Symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) usually develop during the first 24 hours at altitude but may be delayed up to three weeks. Mild symptoms include headache, lethargy, dizziness, difficulty sleeping and loss of appetite. AMS may become more severe without warning and can be fatal. Severe symptoms include breathlessness, a dry, irritative cough (which may progress to the production of pink, frothy sputum), severe headache, lack of coordination and balance, confusion, irrational behaviour, vomiting, drowsiness and unconsciousness. There is no hard-and-fast rule as to what is too high: AMS has been fatal at 3000m, although 3500m to 4500m is the usual range.

Treat mild symptoms by resting at the same altitude until recovery, which usually takes a day or two. Paracetamol or aspirin can be taken for headaches. If symptoms persist or become worse, however, immediate descent is necessary; even 500m can help. Drug treatments should never be used to avoid descent or to enable further ascent.

Diamox (acetazolamide) reduces the headache of AMS and helps the body acclimatise to the lack of oxygen. It is only available on prescription and those who are allergic to the sulfonamide antibiotics may also be allergic to Diamox.

heat exhaustion
Heat exhaustion occurs following heavy sweating and excessive fluid loss with inadequate replacement of fluids and salt. This is particularly common in hot climates when taking unaccustomed exercise before full acclimatisation. Symptoms include headache, dizziness and tiredness. Dehydration is already happening by the time you feel thirsty – aim to drink sufficient water such that you produce pale, diluted urine. The treatment of heat exhaustion involves fluid replacement with water or fruit juice or both, and cooling by cold water and fans. The treatment of the salt loss component involves entertaining salty fluids such as soup or broth, and adding a little more table salt to foods than usual.

Heat stroke is much more serious. This occurs when the body’s heat-regulating mechanism breaks down. Excessive rise in body temperature leads to sweating ceasing, irrational and hyperactive behaviour and eventually loss of consciousness and death. Rapid cooling by spraying the body with water and fanning is an ideal treatment. Emergency fluid and electrolyte replacement by intravenous drip is usually also required.

bites and stings
Mosquitoes may not carry malaria but can cause irritation and infected bites. Using DEET-based insect repellents will prevent bites. Mosquitos also spread dengue fever.

Bees and wasps only cause real problems to those with a severe allergy (anaphylaxis). If you have a severe allergy to bee or wasp stings you should carry an adrenaline injection or similar. Sand flies are found around the Mediterranean beaches. They usually cause only a sinful, itchy bite but can carry a rare skin disorder called cutaneous leishmaniasis. Bites may be prevented by using DEET-based repellents.

Scorpions are frequently found in arid or dry climates. They can cause a painful bite which is rarely life threatening.

Bed bugs are often found in the hostels and cheaper hotels. They lead to very itchy lumpy bites. Spraying the mattress with an appropriate insect killer will do a good job of getting rid of them.

Scabies are also frequently found in cheap accommodation. These tiny mites live in the skin, particularly between the fingers. They cause an intensely itchy rash. Scabies is easily treated with lotion available from pharmacies; people who you come into contact with also need treating to avoid spreading scabies between asymptomatic carriers.

snake bite
Do not walk barefoot or stick your hand into holes or cracks. Half of those bitten by venomous snakes are not actually injected with poison (envenomed). If bitten by a snake, do not panic. Immobilise the bitten limb with a splint (eg a stick) and apply a bandage over the site, using firm pressure, similar to a bandage over a sprain. Do not apply a tourniquet, or cut or suck the bite. Get the victim to medical help as soon as possible so that antivenin can be given if necessary.

diphtheria
Diphtheria is spread through close respiratory contact. It causes a high temperature and severe sore throat. Sometimes a membrane forms across the throat requiring a tracheostomy to prevent suffocation. Vaccination is recommended for those likely to be in halt contact with the local population in infected areas. The vaccine is given as an injection alone, or with tetanus, and lasts 10 years.

Leishmaniasis
Spread through the bite of an infected sand fly, leishmaniasis can cause a slowly growing skin lump or ulcer. It may get into a serious life-threatening fever usually accompanied with anaemia and weight loss. Infected dogs are also carriers of the infection. Sand sail bites should be avoided whenever possible.

hepatitis
Several different viruses cause hepatitis; they differ in the way that they are transmitted. The symptoms in all forms of the illness include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, feelings of weakness and aches and wretchedness, followed by loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, light-coloured faeces, jaundiced (yellow) skin and yellowing of the whites of the eyes.

There are 6 known types of viral hepatitis:A, B, C, D, E and G. G is not risky. A and E are passed on by the fecal-oral route of transmission; there is a vaccine. Seek medical advice, but there is not much you can do apart from resting, drinking lots of fluids, eating lightly and avoiding fatty foods. A and E cause an acute illness, but you will recover fully from it.

B and D are passed on via blood, saliva, semen and vaginal fluids. They can be passed on by conclude contact, sexual contact, and blood-to-blood contact. The symptoms of hepatitis B may be more severe than type A and the disease can lead to long-term problems such as chronic liver wound, liver cancer or a long-term carrier state. There is a vaccine.

HIV/AIDS
HIV is spread via infected blood and blood products, sexual intercourse with an infected partner and from an infected mother to her newborn child. It can be spread through ‘blood to blood’ contacts such as contaminated instruments during medical, dental, acupuncture and other body piercing procedures and sharing used intravenous needles.

rabies
Spread through bites or licks on broken skin from an infected animal, rabies is fatal. Animal handlers should be vaccinated, as should those travelling to remote areas where a reliable source of post-bite vaccine is not available within 24 hours. Three injections are needed over a month. If you have not been vaccinated you will need a course of five injections starting within 24 hours or as soon as possible after the injury. Vaccination does not provide you with immunity, it merely buys you more time to seek appropriate medical wait on.

tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is spread through stop respiratory contact and occasionally through infected milk or milk products. BCG vaccine is recommended for those likely to be mixing closely with the local population. It is more principal for those visiting family or planning on a long stay, and those employed as teachers and health-care workers. TB can be asymptomatic, although symptoms can include cough, weight loss or fever months or even years after exposure. An x-ray is the best contrivance to confirm if you have TB. BCG gives a moderate degree of protection against TB. It causes a runt permanent scar at the site of injection, and is usually only given in specialised chest clinics. As it’s a live vaccine it should not be given to pregnant women or immunocompromised individuals. The BCG vaccine is not available in all countries.

typhoid
Also known as enteric fever, typhoid is transmitted via food and water, and symptomless carriers, especially when they’re working as food handlers, are an important source of infection. Typhoid is caused by a type of salmonella bacteria, Salmonella typhi. Paratyphoid is a similar but milder disease.

The symptoms are variable, but you almost always obtain a fever and headache to start with, which initially feels very similar to flu, with aches and pains, loss of appetite and general malaise. Typhoid may be confused with malaria. The fever gradually rises during a week. Characteristically your pulse is relatively slow for someone with a fever. Other symptoms you may have are constipation or diarrhoea and stomach inconvenience.

You may feel worse in the second week, with a constant fever and sometimes a red skin rash. Other symptoms you may have are severe headache, sore throat and jaundice. Serious complications occur in about one in 10 cases, including, most commonly, pain to the gut wall with subsequent leakage of the gut contents into the abdominal cavity.

Seek medical help for any fever (38C and higher) that does not improve after 48 hours. Typhoid is a serious disease and is not something you should consider self-treating.

Re-hydration therapy is important if diarrhoea has been a feature of the illness, but antibiotics are the mainstay of treatment.

typhus

Yellow fever vaccination is not required for Morocco. However, the mosquito that spreads yellow fever has been known to be present in some parts of the Middle East and Africa. It is important to consult your local travel health clinic as part of your pre-departure plans for the latest details. For this reason, any travellers from a yellow fever endemic area will need to expose proof of vaccination against yellow fever before entry. This normally means if arriving directly from an infected country or if the traveller been in an infected country during the last 10 days. We would recommend however that travellers carry a certificate if they have been in an infected country during the previous month to avoid any possible difficulties with immigration.

Travellers should carry a certificate as evidence of vaccination if they have recently been in an infected country, to avoid any possible difficulties with immigration. For a full list of these countries visit the World Health Organization website (www.who.int/wer/) or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (www.cdc.gov/travel/yb/outline.html). There is always the possibility that a traveller without a legally required, up-to-date certificate will be vaccinated and detained in isolation at the port of arrival for up to 10 days or possibly repatriated. The yellow fever vaccination must be given at a designated clinic and is valid for 10 years. It is a live vaccine and must not be given to immunocompromised or pregnant travellers.

Morocco has a rich repertoire of artistic traditions – exquisite marquetry, impressive leatherware, resplendent ceramics and ornate silver jewellery, as well as a multitude of carpet designs.

The Moroccan music scene has evolved to include a vast range of genres from the haunting strains of Arab-Andalucian savor songs to the syncopated rhythms of Berber and Gnawa music, with African overtures. Contemporary musicians exhaust a fusion of African, French, pop and rock sounds. Throw in a aid of couscous washed down with sweet mint tea and you’ll come somewhere halt to the cultural flavour of Morocco.

Historical overview
Unlike other North African nations, Morocco has been largely occupied by one group of people for as long as recorded history can recall. The Berbers, or Imazighen (free men), settled in the area thousands of years ago and at one time controlled all of the land between Morocco and Egypt. Divided into clans and tribes, they have always jealously guarded their independence. It’s this fierce spirit that has helped preserve one of Africa’s most fascinating cultures.

The early Berbers were unmoved by the colonising Phoenicians, and even the Romans did itsy-bitsy to upset the Berber way of life after the sack of Carthage in 146 BC. All the same, the Romans ushered in a long period of peace during which many cities were founded, and the Berbers of the coastal plains became city dwellers. Christianity turned up in the 3rd century AD, and again the Berbers asserted their traditional dislike of centralised authority by following Donatus (a Christian sect leader who claimed that the Donatists alone constituted the true church)

Islam burst onto the world stage in the 7th century when armies swept out of Arabia. Quickly conquering Egypt, the Arabs controlled all of North Africa by the start of the 8th century. By the next century much of North Africa had fragmented, with the move towards a united Morocco steadily growing. A fundamentalist Berber movement emerged from the chaos caused by the Arab invasion, overrunning Morocco and Muslim Andalucia. The Almoravids founded Marrakesh as their capital, but they were soon replaced by the Almohads.

Under these new rulers, a professional civil service was site up and the cities of Fès, Marrakesh, Tlemcen and Rabat reached the peak of their cultural development. But eventually weakened by Christian defeats in Spain, and paying the heed for heavily taxing tribes, the Almohad power began to wane. In their place came the Merenids, from the Moroccan hinterland, and the location again blossomed – until the fall of Spain to the Christians, in 1492, unleashed a revolt that dissolved the unique dynasty within 100 years.

After a number of short-lived dynasties rose and fell, the Alawite family secured a stranglehold in the 1630s that remains firm to this day. Although it was rarely a composed ride, this pragmatic dynasty managed to keep Morocco independent for more than three centuries.

Fresh History
Enter the European traders in the late 19th century, and a long era of colonial renovations. Suddenly France, Spain and Germany were all fervent on hijacking the country for its strategic position and rich trade resources. France won out and occupied virtually the entire country by 1912. Spain clung to a small coastal protectorate and Tangier was declared an international zone.

The first French resident-general, Marshal Lyautey, resisted the urge to kill the existing Moroccan towns and instead built French villes nouvelles (new towns) alongside them. Whether this was out of respect for the Arab culture or because the French had no desire to live in rundown medinas with no recent services is a topic up for debate. Whatever his reasons, Lyautey made Rabat on the Atlantic coast the new capital and developed the port of Casablanca. The sultan remained, but as little more than a figurehead. Lyautey’s successors were not so sensitive.

Their efforts to speed French settlement prompted the people of the Rif Mountains, led by the Berber scholar Abd el-Krim, to rise up against both colonial forces. It was only through the combined efforts of 25,000 Spanish-French troops that Abd el-Krim was eventually forced to surrender in 1926. By the 1930s, more than 200,000 French had made Morocco home. WWII saw Allied forces use Morocco as a contemptible from which to drive the Germans out of North Africa

With the war over, Sultan Mohammed V inspired an independence party that finally secured Moroccan freedom in 1956. Tangier was reclaimed in the process, but Spain refused to hand over the northern settlements of Ceuta and Melilla (to this day they remain Spain’s last tenuous claim on Africa).

Mohammed V promoted himself to king in 1957 and was succeeded four years later by his son, Hassan II. This popular leader cemented his place in Moroccan hearts and minds by staging the Green March into the Western Sahara, an area formerly held by Spain. With a force of 350,000 volunteers, Hassan’s followers overcame the indigenous Sahrawis to claim the mineral-rich space as their own.

By the 1960s it had become clear that the 100,000 or so inhabitants of the ‘territory’ wanted independence. Western Sahara’s Well-liked Front for the Liberation of Saguia al-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario) didn’t steal kindly to the invasion and embarked on a protracted war of independence against Morocco. Despite attempts at international mediation the issue remains unresolved. While the Moroccan masses applauded the southern invasion, it left nearby Algeria about as happy as the Western Saharans themselves. Morocco’s relations with this particular war-torn neighbour have been poor ever since.

Recent History
In 1999, Mohammed VI ascended to the Moroccan throne just prior to his 35th birthday. The young king accelarated the more liberal trends that began late in his father’s rule. In his first speech as king, he promised the amnesty of nearly 50,000 prisoners and apologised for past political repressions. More significantly, he sacked the powerful and much feared long-time head of the security forces, the infamous ‘Butcher Basri’. Still, Morocco remains a monarchy in which the limits of political tolerance reflect the king’s personal views.

The new king has made economic development a priority. He has continued his father’s policies of economic liberalisation and privatisation of state industries, forced into situation by stagnant growth rates going encourage to the 1980′s. The economy is still heavily dependent on agriculture, which has been hampered by droughts. Unemployment is high, running at rates of 20 percent in the cities and causing fear of social unrest.

Mohammed VI has shown himself to be most innovative in the field of social policy, and more specifically, in women’s rights. In 2002, the king married Salma Bennani, a computer engineer – an event that appeared to symbolise acceptance of an increasingly new role for women. In 2004, the government adopted landmark changes to the Moudawana, or Family Law, aimed at ‘lifting the inequity imposed on women, protecting children’s rights, and safeguarding men’s dignity’. The new legislation grants unprecedented rights and protections for women concerning marriage, divorce and custody of children.

Marrakech is probably Morocco’s most popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1035, which means historical sites are abound, it is an oasis town of palm trees and tangerine groves with the High Atlas mountains hovering majestically in the background. Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in Marrakech during World War II and fashion designer Ives St. Laurent was born there during the days of the French protectorate.

The city’s official color is red, the color of its fort, although novelists Edith Wharton and Paul Bowles once debated whether it is red or bisque pink. Actually, the color changes with the time of day. As is the case with Greece, photographers claim the sunlight is different here.

Two-thirds of the city’s 1 million inhabitants live in the medina, the worn Arab city, with its 13babs, or gates, opening onto the city’s souks, or sprawling markets. Morocco is famous for its hand-crafted rugs, jewelry and leather and shopping is part of the Marrakech experience. But visitors must do their homework or they could end up with junk. They also should be adept at bargaining, for some shopkeepers set the price based upon their assessment of how rich and stupid the tourists are.

The new city, or ville nouvelle, was designed by the French and boasts first-class hotels and restaurants, nightclubs, two 18-hole golf courses and the modern conference center where the international General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was signed in 1994. This is definitely worth going to.

Every summer, Marrakech hosts festival of conventional dances, including the National Festival of Popular Art, a 10-day extravaganza. At the most fresh festival, the main entertainment took place in the ruins of the 16th-century el-Badi Palace. About 700, a sizable number of artists, including acrobats, contortionists and a fire breather, performed. The musicians, dancers and singers were Berbers, Morocco’s recent inhabitants, who interpreted extinct songs passed down from generation to generation.

It is easy to get lost within the medina’s nine miles of walls. Th government licenses guides English and know the history of the city and its monuments, such as the Palace of the Bahia, built in the 1840s by the Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed. (The palace appears in Casablanca, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Lion of the Desert.) Also in the “must contemplate” category:

* Dar Si Said museum of Moroccan folk art, which houses one of the kingdom’s finest collections of carpets, pottery, arms, jewelry and ornaments.

* Koutoubia mosque, the city’s most famous landmark, a 231-foot-high tower built in the 12th century by the Almohads, who ruled North Africa and Muslim Spain. Similar towers were built at the same time in Seville, Spain, and Rabat, Morocco’s capital.

* The mellah, the Jewish quarter of the medina, established in the 16th century during the reign of the Saadian kings, when Marrakech was the capital. Most of the Jews have emigrated to Israel, but the synagogue and Jewish cemetery are well-maintained.

A typical Marrakech tour ends in Jemaa el-Fna square, the heart of the mature city. Here gather snake charmers, public scribes, storytellers, magicians, musicians and merchants. Especially in the evening, when the food vendors are plying their wares — kebabs, grilled eggplant, escargot, sheep’s heads, grilled red and green peppers — this is where people gather.

The mountains, the desert and the sea are all within easy reach of Marrakech. Essaouira, a town of 45,000 along the Atlantic soar with a gorgeous curving beach, is a two-hour drive. Essaouira was a port of call for the Phoenicians, followed by the Romans. The Portuguese controlled it from the late 15th century until 1541. It also was a stop for slave traders en route to America, who sometimes seized Moroccans and took them along: One indigenous basket design is said to be found in only in Essaoui — and North Carolina.

One guidebook notes that package tours rarely include Essaouira, but it is the most approved coastal town for independent travelers. The waters are blue-green and the winds strong; the town advertises itself as one of the best spots in Africa for windsurfing. The fishing port and the military fortifications are worth a visit.

Then, of course, there’s Casablanca, which is extremely close to Marrakech and is worth checking out as well as Morocco’s biggest city, with a population of 3.5 million, and essential port, with more traffic than Marseilles in France. Downtown Casablanca is quite modern, with wide boulevards, public parks and fountains built by the French. Like elsewhere in Morocco, the dress code is mixed: traditional jellabas and hooded burnooses along with designer outfits from the West.

Casablanca’s medina isn’t as interesting as the one in Marrakech. But its Hassan II Mosque is one of the wonders of the Muslim world. Commissioned by the king, it took 10,000 artisans eight years to build and cost $800 million. The 660-foot tower of the mosque is the tallest structure in Morocco and the tallest minaret in the world. Tours cost about $1.75 and are held four times a day.

Much of the nightlife is located in the beach suburb of Ain Diab, the trendy area where the well-to-do live. Visitors may want to spend their last night at an old current, Rick’s Cafe. It isn’t really named that, of course; it’s called the Casablanca Cafe, part of the Hyatt Hotel. But it does have the Humphrey Bogart movie poster and some exotic drinks to aid romantics to try out that famous, if inaccurate, line: “Play it again, Sam.”

Here are some quick facts about Marrakech that might be helpful.

ample Who’s Who: Marrakech is home to 1 million people of Berber, Arab and African descent.

* Fine Eats: Old City–Yacout’s (79 Sisi Ahmed Soussi, 38-29-29) house specialties are glazed shoulder of lamb and an orange and almond Napoleon pastry. New City–Le Tacarranda’s (near Avenue Mohammed V and Zerkouni) French cuisine features delectable sauteed veal and tarte citron. Ask for the local beer, Special Flag.

* Where to Shop: Conventional City–Golden Gate (La Porte d’Or) (115 Souk Semmarine, Medina, tel. 44-54-54, fax 42-60-20) for old and new jewelry. New City–Tinmel (38 rue Ibn Aicha, Imn, Zerrad Gueliz, tel. 43-22-71, fax 43-22-66) for the highest quality kilim rugs. Bargain and you’ll assign 30% to 60%

Imagine being surrounded by a sumptuous garden oasis teeming with jacaranda trees, buildings awash in soft shades of earthy pink, wide avenues with bustling open-air markets and the scent of buttery croissants wafting through the air. Men gather in corner cafes to sip heady mint tea, and the streets echo with the melodic call to prayer five times a day. With this imagery, it’s easy to understand why visitors flock to Marrakech as a celebrated North African respite.

From my experiences, I have compiled a travel guide for this place.

Budget-Friendly Places to Stay

The many pleasing rinds–traditional Moroccan houses with interior gardens–in town offer inexpensive options for accommodation. Included among these is Inane Mogador, which has a graceful lobby and rooftop solarium with breathtaking views of the medina, or city quarter, and the Atlas Mountains. A spa, also on the grounds, boasts a wide array of massages and hammam–a traditional Turkish-Moroccan bath that includes exfoliation with black soap and clay. Rates start at $50 per night; 011-212-0-24-42-63-24 or jnanemogador.com.

Luxurious

Surrounded by an oasis of lush foliage, the Club Med La Medina mixes and matches the best in U.S.–style comfort with the exotic charms of Morocco. Club Med Village brings in local culture and talent, including belly dancing classes, traditional musical concerts and storytelling. For recreation, a 15-minute shuttle fling takes you to Club Med’s nearby La Palmerale, a 59-acre retreat where you can play a round of golf while inhaling the sweet scent of surrounding citrus trees. Or for total relaxation, indulge in a hammam at the Cinq Mondes Club Med Spa. Rates for a standard room commence at $900 for a seven-day land-only package; 800-CLUB-MED or clubmed.com.

Superluxurious

If you want to escape the bustle of Marrakech, a windy 40-minute drive south to the Atlas Mountains will take you to the consummately “Moroccan chic” La Kasbah Tamadot. The 18-room boutique hotel features an upper terrace surrounded by Greek columns and traditional Moroccan decor, married with contemporary style. With its giant silver chandeliers, Berber carpets and gorgeously groomed grounds, the latest addition to Richard Branson’s luxury hotel collection is an ideal romantic add-on after a few days in Marrakech. Rates start at $367 per night; 011-212-0-24-36-82-00 or virgin.com/limitededition.

Eateries

Upscale

For hip dining, head to Comptoir, a restaurant-bar overflowing with pillows and swags of sheer fabric, serving up Asian-Moroccan fusion. The real fun starts when the lights dim and it’s time for a host of exotic belly dancers, each balancing a tray of flickering candies on her head, to dazzle the room with their overactive hips (ilovemarrakesh.com/lecomptoir.html).

Want a more intimate dining experience? Le Tobsil, which is set in an open courtyard, is not to be missed. This cozy restaurant, with its pink-washed walls aglow with candlelight, serves up French Moroccan originals such as lamb tagine and couscous with vegetables and raisins; 011-212-0-44-44-40-52.

Local

If you’re feeling more daring or you’re on a budget, a short jaunt to plaza Djemaa el-Fna (known as assembly of the dead for its days as an execution site) will divulge you to a smoke-filled food bazaar lined with booths offering just about anything: goat meat, sausages and even hard-boiled eggs, served with cumin and salt.

Things to do

Drop Some Dirham

Dwelling aside at least a day (and plenty of extra room in your suitcases) to explore the labyrinth of markets, known as souks. Interested merchants sell everything from inlaid cedar doors to Berber rugs, iron sconces, furniture and ceramics. I scooped up four Berber rugs at Le Palais Vizir (29 Derb Essanya Rue El Kssour). If you like to cook, head to the Spice Market in the Jewish Quarter to load up on the best spices, including shockingly cheap saffron (about $1 per gram). You’ll also find great deals on caftans, primitive robes, slippers and intelligent costume jewelry. Using a guide can aid in securing good prices. Check Heritage Tours (800-378-4555) for information and to arrange excursions.

Soak Up Local Color

Strolling through plaza Djemaa el-Fna, you’ll rub elbows with snake charmers coaxing cobras out of hiding, and groups of men gathered around storytellers. You can wash away some of the city grime and get a taste of local culture in the hammam Bain d’Or bath houses, near Medersa Ben Youssef, but be prepared for vigorous scrubbing and steamy temperatures (check for women’s hours). For an ideal escape collected within the city limits, grab a horse-drawn carriage to Yves Saint Laurent’s Majorelle Gardens, where paths wind through pockets of bamboo, cactus, flowers and planters in the signature Majorelle blue.

For more information on how to get around the city, visit Heritage Tours at heritagetoursonline.com or ilove-marrakesh.com.

My Personal Travel Schedule

Spring is the best time to visit this wonderfully exotic and hip- yet-ancient city. Visitor numbers thin after Easter, and you’ll enjoy optimum conditions, with balmy days and astonishingly determined skies.

Getting there
Fly non-stop to Marrakech from Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton on GB Airways (on behalf of British Airways), easyJet, Ryanair, and Royal Air Maroc and its no-frills subsidiary Atlas Blue. Fares of [pound]114 return are available for travel in May via www.opodo.co.uk.

Marrakech’s Menara Airport is handily located about 6km south- west of the city centre. Bus no 11 runs erratically to the old town’s hub, Djemaa el Fna. The ride costs Dh20 ([pound]1.25) and takes about 20 minutes.

A taxi is more superb. Marrakech has two sorts: a shared “substantial taxi”, usually a Mercedes, takes up to six passengers and is not allowed far within the walls of the old town, or medina; a “petit taxi”(yellowy-beige coloured and often a Peugeot 206) takes three passengers and can go further within the medina. From the airport the 15minute journey to the centre of the medina by grand taxi costs around Dh100 ([pound]6.25) and by petit taxi around Dh70 ([pound]4.40) – though drivers often quote much higher fares to new arrivals.

Dating back about a thousand years, and inevitably much rebuilt over the ages, the red walls of the medina obtain a 10km circumference around a map-defying labyrinth of medieval-like alleyways. In the south is the kasbah, or royal quarter, with the King’s palace (1) and two former royal residences, Palais El Badi (2) and Palais de la Bahia (3). West and slightly to the north of these is the city’s most striking landmark, the minaret of the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque (4); like all mosques in Marrakech, non-Islamic visitors are not allowed in. It towers over Plot Djemaa el Fna, the huge triangle that is the city’s great meeting point, just to the east. The religious heart of the medina is around Ali Ben Youssef Mosque (5) further north, with more dense alleyways beyond.

To the west, outside the medina walls are the newer areas of Gueliz and Hivernage, their leafy avenues built during the French Protectorate from 1912 to 1956. Somewhat perversely, Marrakech’s tourist office (6) is in this part of town, far from the most popular visitor sites: set on Place Abdel Moumen Ben Ali on Avenue Mohammed V (00 212 44 43 62 39; www. tourism-in-morocco.com), open 8.30am-noon and 2.30-5pm Monday-Friday.

For the more historic

Exquisite Riad Farnatchi (7) at 2 Derb Farnatchi, Qua’at Ben Ahid (00 212 24 38 49 10; www. riadfarnatchi.com) lies in the northern part of the medina and offers some of Marrakech’s best service and decor. The nine suites cost from Dh3,900 ([pound]237) including breakfast.

In the south of the medina, near the royal palace, Palais Calipau (8) at 14 Derb Ben Zina Kasbah (00 212 24 37 55 83; www.palais- calipaucom; doubles from [euro]220/[pound]157 including breakfast) opened in March last year. Comprising three worn riads (townhouses) that have been revamped, it offers 12 bedrooms, small pool, hammam and enormous roof terrace.

Leafy Gueliz, to the west of the medina, has plenty of hotels. For example, the Kenza (9) on Avenue Yacoub El Mansour (00 212 23 44 8330) is around [euro]61 ([pound]44) per night for a double, including breakfast.

Nature abound

Try the main souk, or market, area. The most colourful fraction of town is the web of bazaars stretching from the north side of Djemaa el Fna more or less to Ali Ben Youssef Mosque (5). Meander these narrow lanes lined with stalls selling pottery, woodcraft, spices and endless varieties of baboush, or slipper-like shoes, and you’ll feel as if you’ve walked back in time. The densely packed alleyways bustle with donkey carts, traders with barrows, pedestrians – and motorised bicycles. Attempting to follow a map is pointless, just go with the flow.

Quick lunches

Bougainvillea (10) on 33 Rue el Mouassine (00 212 24 44 11 11) is a brightly coloured courtyard cafe serving the likes of aubergine and mozzarella panini (Dh35/[pound]2.20) and avocado milkshake (Dh25/ [pound]1.55), which is a surprisingly tasty Moroccan speciality.

If you haven’t had the stamina to haggle while walking around the main souk plot, head to the Centre Artisanale (11) on Rue de la Kasbah. In this complex you can buy rugs, jewellery, pottery, slippers and more at fixed prices (although asking for a small discount may prove fruitful).

Culture-packed afternoons

For a view of sublime craftsmanship and Moroccan architecture with an Andalucian twist, make for Ben Youssef Medersa. Now a museum, this Koranic school is attached to the great Ali Ben Youssef Mosque (5). It was built in the 16th century, complete with stunning stucco ceilings and carved wooden screens. The Musee de Marrakech (12) alongside is also well worth a search for for the building itself, a tall 19th-century palace now housing exhibitions. Its cool cafe is a aloof haven for a refreshing pot of mint tea (Dh10/63p).

Both the Medersa and the museum are open 9am-7pm daily; a ticket to both costs Dh60 ([pound]3.75).

Kozybar (13) at 47 Station des Ferblantiers is one of the few places within the medina that has a licence to assist alcohol. Make for the roof terrace for a sunset drink and contemplate the sky turn pink over the storks’ nests and rooftops of the city. A Casablanca beer costs Dh60 ([pound]3.75).

Dinner with flair

Head beyond the medina walls to Hivernage and the brand-new La Villa restaurant (14), just off Avenue President JF Kennedy (00 212 24 42 19 69; closed on Sundays and Monday lunchtime). In a gracious art-deco-style building with funky touches, French chef Didier Beckaert serves starters such as langoustine soup (Dh70/ [pound]4.40) and mains including rich pave de boeuf a la Marocaine (Dh160/[pound]10) which you can wash down with a glass of the surprisingly good local wine.

Relaxing walk

To the north-west of the medina walls lies a staunch treat. Jardin Majorelle (15) was created as a private garden by the French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s. After a period of neglect it was bought by Yves Saint Laurent who restored it as an urban oasis in the 1980s. Today you can lumber through palms, tree ferns, bamboos and cacti; start 8am-5pm daily, admission Dh30 ([pound]1.90).

Write a postcard!

In the courtyard of the old spice market, Cafe des Epices (17) at 75 Rahba Lakdima (00 212 24 38 17 70) allows you to order a freshly squeezed orange juice (DH10/65p) and sip it on the roof terrace where you can recline on cream sofas in the dappled shade of wicker umbrellas as you compose your thoughts.

The creme of the cake

At dusk the Djemaa el Fnaa becomes like a medieval pageant, filled with snake-charmers, storytellers, dancers and medicine-men. Drums are beaten, pipes are played, and the west of the square sizzles with a host of barbecued-food stalls serving kebabs, sausages and aubergine salads to diners at long trestle tables. Examine to pay all of DH50 ([pound]3.15) for a generous plate of barbecued chicken, a salad or two and a mineral water.

Traveling Marrakech Morocco was definitely an experience that was not-to-be missed. Now with these handy advice, go travel and see the wonders of this ancient and exotic city for yourself! Have fun!


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