After our North Morocco Adventure, hitting seven cities and towns in just 10 days, we really appreciated the time to see Marrakech in depth by staying in the old town and visiting lots of the historical attractions and museums. Not to mention some very tasty dinners!
Our lead photo for Marrakech is a picture of the stray cat who guarded our riad from her perch on top of a motorcycle. All the countries of northern Africa have a huge stray (or feral) cat population. The strays are tolerated, frequently fed (outside the home), and are a fixture in every alleyway of every town and city. And in a lot of the parks and restaurants too. Cats are special in the Islamic religion, so they are tolerated and even the strays get fed. The latest genetic research on domestic cats suggests that they actually originated in northern Africa west of Egypt. And lots of them are still there!
However, we came to Marrakech to see some historical sights, not cats. On our first day, we were pretty lazy since we needed a nap after our 5:00 a.m. start for hot air ballooning. But late in the afternoon, we did happen to walk by a museum that was on our list, so ducked in while there was no line-up. The Dar Bacha (formally, the Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences Marrakech) is a palace built in the early 1900s that is also known as the “Palace of the Pasha” since it was home to the Pasha of Marrakech. The museum building is just as impressive as the collection of art and cultural artifacts within. As their website says:
The architecture of Dar El Bacha is a testament to the grandeur of Moroccan craftsmanship. The palace features a harmonious blend of traditional Moroccan elements, including intricate zellige tilework, carved cedarwood ceilings, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Each corner of the palace tells a story of Morocco’s rich cultural heritage, from the ornate courtyards to the grand reception halls.
After visiting the museum we dined out at one of Marrahech’s many fine restaurants (and enjoyed a bottle of Moroccan wine).
The following morning we took it easy and didn’t head out to see any sights until later in the day. Our visits were to the Le Jardin Secret (the Secret Garden), the Photography Museum, and to Medersa Ben Youssef with several stretches of walking through the medina between the sights.
The Secret garden was small but attractive, and more notable for the ancient system of reservoirs, pipes and canals used to water the gardens and operate the fountains. In case you were wondering, it’s secret because it is sandwiched between two riads (tall houses with a courtyard) and the garden is completely invisible from the bustling alleyways outside.
It was very hard to take a photo of the 4-storey tall riad that houses the Photography Museum, but it was fun to see old photos going back to the 1800s of Morocco as it used to be. By the time we worked our way up to the 4th floor we definitely needed to stop at their rooftop terrace for some refreshment.
Arguably, the Medersa Ben Youssef is the star of the show when it comes to historical buildings in Marrakech. There has been a medersa (an Islamic school) here since the 14th century, and after several iterations and periods of disuse, the current version as restored by the sultan in the 19th century is extremely impressive.
There was some further wandering through the medina in the afternoon, a coffee and tea at a sidewalk cafe for some people watching, and then another nice dinner to close out the day.
On our third (and final) day in Marrakech we went to the outskirts of the medina to see some intriguing buildings. The first was the Saadian Tombs, that were the necropolis of the Saadian dynasty. In the 1500s, the sultans embarked on the building of a series of ever fancier mausoleums and generations of rulers and their wives and families were buried there over the next 100 years or more. After the fall of the Saadians, the next ruling family ordered the tombs to be sealed off and they were gradually forgotten. It wasn’t until 1917 that the French Service des Beaux-Arts, Antiquités et Monuments historiques rediscovered the tombs, restored them, and opened them to the public for the first time. However, the most elaborate hall, the Chamber of the Twelve Columns, can still only be seen through a narrow opening in one wall with a tourists lining up to take a photo one by one.
We next walked over to the El Badi Palace, also built by the Saadians in the late 1500s. While the Saadian tombs were simply sealed off, the hugely elaborate El Badi, once home to the sultan and his harem of over 500 women, was stripped of everything of value including the marble cladding by the next dynasty in charge. Today, it’s just a ruin with some green, standing water where reflecting pools and fountains once were, and storks nesting on the walls. It would take some imagination to picture it as the most elaborate royal residence in northern Africa in its day!
However, at our last stop at the Bahia Palace there was more to see since it was built in the late 1800s and never fell into disuse. A huge complex of adjoining riads, fancy gardens, and marble paved courtyards with fountains (still working). Parts of the palace were under renovation since it is still sometimes used today for events hosted by the royal family.
From the old kasbah area of the medina, we wound our way back through local markets (i.e. regular prices) to tourism ground zero, the Jemaa el-Fnaa main square of Marrakech. Filled with snake charmers, baboons on chains, ostriches just begging to be photographed (for a fee), henna tattoo artists, and every kind of food, drink, and kitschy souvenir one could want, it was a crazy display. We didn’t linger too long, but went for mint tea elsewhere instead.
After a very nice dinner on the rooftop terrace of a nearby restaurant, we were set to call it a wrap for Marrakech, Morocco, and in fact all of northern Africa by jumping onto a flight to France the next morning.
See our Marrakech photos on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/100countries/albums/72177720326434537
