Jardín Ménara

Jardín Menara, Marrakech

Where do the locals of Marrakech spend their Sunday afternoons? A lot of them you can find in the relaxed atmosphere of the Jardín Ménara, a vast olive grove in the southwest of the city. Between these olive trees people gather for a picnic, play and make music. Food and drinks are sold on the ways leading through the garden and to the large water reservoir in its center. The garden was created in 1156 by the rulers of the Almohad caliphate and today belongs to the Marrakech UNESCO world heritage site.

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Oullywood

Kasbah, Aït-Ben-Haddou

One of the most beautiful places of Morocco is Äit-Ben-Haddou, a traditional city with houses made of clay at the Asif Ounila river. It is a maze of streets, towers and houses in the desert which slowly turned from a real city into a movie industry hotspot and tourist location. Today still some people still live there, but preserving the hold houses is costly and housing comfort is better elsewhere. Those who stay, live from tourism and therefore preserve this magnificent place.

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Atlas

Atlas mountains, Morocco

Being at northern Africa for the very first time also meant to correct some images about the continent in my head. Morocco I always connected with beaches and deserts, but never with mountains and skiing. While passing from Marrakech to Äit-Ben-Haddou I had the chance to see the reality while crossing the Atlas mountains. They’re 2300 kilometers long and reach from Morocco via Algeria to Tunesia – with the highest peak belonging to Morocco (the Toubkal, 4167 meters high – close to the highest peaks of the Alps).

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Tombeaux des Saardiens

Tombeaux Saadiens, Marrakech

The Saadi dynasty at Morocco lasted from 1554 to 1667. They took over rulership after the Wattasid dynasty ended after Andalucía was finally lost to Spain. The Saadis extended Marrakech, defeated the Portuguese and after leader Ahmad al-Mansur died they had to hand over power to the Alaouites. The necropolis of the Saadi kings can be found at Marrakech, close to the Moulay al-Yazid mosque (or ‘kasbah mosque‘ because of its shape), accessible through the beautiful Bab Agnou gate.

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Palais de l‘incomparable

Palais Badii, Marrakech

You’ll need some imagination to understand the former beauty of the Palais El-Badi, formerly a wonder of the Islamic world, now a ruin. Saadi ruler Ahmad al-Mansur ordered the creation in 1578 with finest decorations and especially with a vast water basin in the Andalusian style of Granada – like the Patio de los Leones but on much greater scale and with four buildings surrounding the water: the Koublat el Hadra, Koublat ed Dahab, Koublat el Hayzudran and the Koublat el Hamsinija.

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Les milles nuits et une nuit

Palais de la Bahia, Marrakech

The Palais de la Bahia is the most beautiful palace of Marrakech, created at the end of the 19th century by Saadi grand vizier Si Moussa. It is one of the most visited sites of the city and unfortunately always full of tourists that enjoy the decorations made of marble, ceramic mosaics and cedar wood. Seven years were needed to finish this combination of rooms, gardens and courtyards. Most wonderful is the Grand Cour, a vast courtyard with a surrounding gallery.

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Eau de vie

Medersa Ben Youssef, Marrakech

The Medersa Ben Youssef is one of the most beautiful buildings of Marrakech and worth the effort of finding it in the medina north of the Jemaa el fna. It is an Islamic college with a large pool of water at its center and amazing decorations at its walls and roofs made of marble and cedar wood. The college dates back to the 14th century and was created in the style of the Marinid dynasty which was preserved when it was rebuilt during the Saadi dynasty in 1564. The Medersa Ben Youssef has three levels that you should consider exploring: on the first floor the rooms of the students can be visited, rather small cells.

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Koutoubia

Minaret de la Koutoubia, Marrakech

Marrakech is called the ‘daughter of the desert‘ and it is located close to the Atlas mountain range which you can see everyday as the backdrop of the city. Marrakech itself is entirely flat which makes walking easy but navigation a bit more complicated if you don’t won’t to rely entirely on digital devices. Luckily there is one thing that stands out and serves like a lighthouse for visitors, visible from nearly everywhere in the city: the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque. It is 69 meters high and was built in the style of the Almoravid empire in the second half of the 11th century. Therefore you might recognize similarities to the minarets of Andalusia here.

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Daughter of the desert

Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech

Marrakech is called by different names: it is the ‘red city‘ (because of the color of the houses), the ‘pearl of the south‘, but also the ‘daughter of the desert‘ as it is located close to the Atlas mountains and the last stop before reaching the desert. In contrast to cities like Casablanca, Rabat, Agadir, Tangier and Essaouira it is not located at the coast or even close to it: Marrakech is at the inland and you’ll pass fantastic landscapes before reaching it. For many people the city is the dream location at Morocco and thereby it is also a very touristy city; for me it was the final stop of my tour by train through the country and therefore most things in the city weren’t surprising me anymore.

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Tannery

Tannery Chouara, Fès

The classic cover picture of guidebooks about Morocco is the Tannerie Chouara, hidden in the Medina of Fès. As it is a rather dirty and smelly craft, the tannery is located in the outer part of the old city close to the river. The skins of various animals are first bleached here in basins and later colored in the same way. If you arrive on the right day you can see many craftsmen working between multi-color water basins. The tannery is organized as a collective, many different people work in the same space and various shops surrounding it sell the products.

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