The January Travel Book
Lonely Planet Morocco 8th Edition
Marrakesh
Few would dispute that the central region is Morocco's most exciting, romantic and popular, with its biggest attraction at its heart: Marrakesh. Founded nearly 1000 years ago, it is one of the great cities of Maghreb, and home to its most venerated Islamic monument, the Koutoubia mosque. Its spectacular setting against the snow-capped High Atlas Mountains lingers long in the minds of most travelers, and the famous Djemaa el-Fna square provides perhaps the greatest open-air spectacle in the world.
Capital of the south and the epicenter of Moroccan tourism, Marrakesh is changing fast. Once the hub of camel caravans from the south, the oasis was the finest city many traders had ever seen. Marrakesh remains exotic but it is no longer the remote, dusty, down-at-heels city of the 1970s and ‘80s. Just as Moroccans craved modern housing, Europeans arrived dreaming of old houses in the heart of the medina (old town). This happy exchange has transformed the place, bringing money and lots of work to a city that lives off its looks and its wits.
a playground for Europeans who want the exoticism of staying in a riad
The looks are still there, as the first glimpse of its 19km-long time-worn ramparts confirm. And some things have remained – the Djemaa el-Fna and the area around it remains the beating heart of the city, the greatest souq in the south, whose ebbs and flows retain something of the transitory atmosphere that must have lingered around those first nomad campfires. But a new city is growing up around it, a playground for Europeans who want the exoticism of staying in a riad in the medina, but also want to hang around in the Parisian-styled cafes in Guéliz and the new ‘beach-style' swimming pools, or head up to the mountains for a day and party all night.
None of this has changed the essence of the place, yet: the heat, the dust, the Berbers, the mud-brick ramparts and all those other things that go into making Marrakesh so uniquely African and Moroccan are still there.
Marrakesh in…Two Days
Start the day on the terrace of Café-Restaurant Argana and make your way to the Ali ben Youssef Medersa and the Musée de Marrakesh. Head for Dar el-Bacha and plunge into the labyrinthine souqs. Have lunch in the shade at Café Arabe. Back in the Djemaa el'Fna take in the full spectacle, before indulging in an epic evening meal at Le Tobsil. The next day concentrate on the mellah and visit the city's most famous palace, the Palais el-Badi, the Saadian Tombs and the Museum of Moroccan Arts. Later in the afternoon head for the ville nouvelle and relax in the tranquility of the Jardin Moajorelle. Return to the medina, watch the sun set on the terrace of Kosybar and finish up with an utterly memorable meal in Djemaa el-Fna.
Lonely Planet Morocco 8th Edition is published by Lonely Planet (paperback; £15.99). It is also available through shop.lonelyplanet.com and all good booksellers.
