Our riad was a cosmopolitan place, home to holidaying Brits and Spaniards, Germans and Americans. So breakfast was taken to a background hum of languages and accents, all of which could also be heard on the vibrant streets of Marrakech. The city has become a popular holiday destination in North Africa, reasonably safe and with…
Category: Morocco
Marrakech: The lush Jardin Majorelle
Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent had a home in Marrakech for many years and, with his partner, helped restore a famous city garden. Our visit to the Jardin Majorelle turned out to be a highlight of our holiday. Located outside the old walls of the Medina, in the Ville Nouveau, we walked to the gardens one steamy morning…
Marrakech: A bizarre trip to Ouirgane
A trip to the village of Ouirgane, 60km or so south of Marrakech, was meant to be a reviving day in the hills and an opportunity to see a different side of Morocco. But it ended up being something of a trial. It started OK with us hiring a car in Marrakech’s European-looking new town….
Marrakech: A day of palaces and history
The call to prayer is one of the essential sounds of a stay in an Islamic country, and the first one of the day came at 5.30am or thereabouts. Some may find it annoying and curse the interruption of sleep, especially at the crack of dawn, but I’ve always found it romantic, reassuring and exotic. At…
Marrakech: Arriving at the Ksar Anika
Morocco looked hot from 35,000ft up. Blisteringly hot. I gazed down from the window of our British Airways A319 and saw reddish desert sands, dusty villages and little in the way of life. There was water – the sun’s blinding reflection proved it – but the artificial irrigation channels and anorexic streams didn’t look like much to…