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Vacation in Marrakech
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Places to visit in Marrakech
Djamaa El Fna, the heart of Marrakech
Vacation in Marrakech |
Djamaa El Fna is the biggest square in Marrakech and the heart of the city. Music, drums, rythms that can put you in trance, apes, water sellers in colourful costumes with traditional leather water-bags and brass cups, snake charmers, Moroccan women who make henna tattoos for tourists, (in case you will want to have a henna tattoo you should know first that natural henna has red color, not black; black henna has chemicals inside and it might burn or affect your skin very seriously). In Marrakech you will find dozens of stalls with fresh oranges inviting you for a juice full of vitamins, street restaurants, lots of flavours from the spices used in traditional Moroccan food, sugarcane juice (very healthy - used especially for kidney stones - and delicious when is fresh and well done), horses and carriages waiting for tourists to take a tour, bazaars, many traditional clothes markets and many tourists from all over the world. All these make Marrakech looks like a colorful and exotic painting drew from a fairy tale. During your vacation in Marrakech don't forget to try different types of tajine recipes, henna tattoo, orange and sugarcane juices and shopping in bazaars.
Djamaa El Fna is the young and restless heart of Marrakech, always atractive and magic.
Bahia Palace
Vacation in Marrakech |
Another place you should not miss during your vacation in Marrakech is Bahia Palace. Intended to be the greatest palace of its time, its name means 'brilliance'. The construction was the work of a father and son, Si Moussa and Ba Amed, vizirs to Alawid Sharifs, Moroccan sultans and was built for personal use.
The first things that catch your eyes here are the gardens, so green and so beautiful, with many roses, orange, cypress, jasmine, banana trees and several fountains that decorate the older part of the Bahia palace known as Dar Si Moussa.
When you enter in Bahia Palace you don't know from where to start taking pictures.
There are so many details and so many incredible paintings that you can't take your eyes from ceilings, walls, floors and doors. There are glazed ceramic tiles, carved and painted woodworks, marbles and many fascinating details, a real decorative art. The construction was intended to serve the personal uses of the sultan. In fact, the palace also bore the name of one of his wives. His harem was housed here, and it included an enormous court decorated with a central basin with the concubines dwelling in a series of surrounding rooms. The whole complex is quite large, covering eight hectares. It is comprised of a series of walled gardens, pavilions and courtyard structures arranged in various scales.
Today, the Bahia Palace is still being used by the Moroccan government as a formal venue for receiving special guests and foreign dignitaries. Additionally, a section of the palace is occupied by the Moroccan Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
Koutoubia Mosque
Vacation in Marrakech |
In front of Djamaa El Fna entrance there's Koutoubia mosque, the largest in Marrakech. The tower has 69 m height and according to legend, the globes were originally made of pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three globes.
The fourth globe was donated by the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to flab the fourth globe. The minaret of the Koutoubia was the model for the minaret of the Giralda mosque in Seville which in its turn has influenced thousands of church towers in Spain and Eastern Europe.
The park surounding the mosque is impressive by its green. I could not imagine so much green in Morocco. By the way, the park has also free wireless internet, at least this is what they wrote on a board.
Menara gardens
Vacation in Marrakech |
The Menara gardens are located to the west of Marrakech, Morocco, at the gates of the Atlas mountains.
They were built in the 12th century by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min. The name menara derives from the pavillon with its small green pyramid roof (menzeh). The pavilion was built during the 16th century Saadi dynasty and renovated in 1869 by sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco, who used to stay here in summertime.
The pavilion and basin (an artificial lake) are surrounded by orchards and olive groves. The intention of the basin was to irrigate the surrounding gardens and orchards using a sophisticated system of underground channels called a qanat.
The basin is supplied with water thanks to an old hydraulic system which conveys water from the mountains located 30 km approximately away from Marrakech. "
In the night is very beautiful to go there to see the sunset and also sometimes there are organized shows with music and dancing.
Majorelle Garden - an amazing botanical garden
Vacation in Marrakech |
Many tourists that come to Morocco choose to spend one day of their vacation in Marrakech, by visiting and enjoying the beauties of Majorelle Garden. For this place I have no words to describe. You definitely have to see it. "The garden was made in the 1920s by the French painter Jacques Majorelle, with marble pools, raised pathways, banana trees, groves of bamboo, coconut palms and bougainvilleas.
Perhaps unsuprisingly as the garden was designed by a painter, the garden is composed and coloured like a painting. Many of the built features were painted in a dark blue ('Majorelle Blue') which works very well with the soil, climate and plants. In fact, Majorelle's garden rather than his paintings was his masterpiece.
Water is an important feature of the garden - there are channels, lily-filled ponds and fountains. Majorelle was an avid plant collector. After years of neglect, the garden was then taken over and restored by the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge.
Saadian Tombs
Vacation in Marrakech |
From Djamma El Fna you can follow the Rue Bab Agnaou till you find the Kasbah Mosque and then the route to the tombs is well signposted. The route to the tombs is interesting while you walk through narrow streets, with riads (more or less riads) on both sides. Sellers are all along this street.
Babouch, scarfs, djellabas, kaftan, veils, khol, cosmetic products made from roses, almonds, argan and so so many others. You will not get bored not even a second. Again you will be impressed by the gardens. The rooms that shelter the tombs have very detailed designs.
Your photo or video camera will have a lot of work to do again. The most significant chamber in the tombs is the Hall of Twelve Columns. Here rests the Sultan Ahmed el Mansour and his entire family. This chamber is complete with vaulted roof, columns of Italian marble, beautifully decorated cedar doors and carved wooden screens. Inside the inner mausoleum lies Mohammed esh Sheikh, founder of the Saadian dynasty, as well as the tomb of the Sultan's mother.
One can only wonder how much the Saadian Tombs would have cost to be constructed today. With beauty, detail and luxury incorporated in every room, from the floor to the ceiling, it is not hard to see why these tombs have become one of the most visited attractions in Morocco.
Dar Si Saïd Museum
On Rue Riad Zitoun Jdid, is a museum 5 mins away from Djemaa El-Fna. Set in an old palace, it houses many different artifacts from Morocco through the ages, such as wood carvings, musical instruments, and weapons. It is dedicated to the Moroccan craft industry of wood, gathering a very beautiful collection of popular art: carpets, clothing, pottery and ceramics. All these objects are regional, coming from Marrakech and all the south, especially from Tensift, High Atlas, Soussthe, Anti Atlas, Bani, and Tafilal.
Ben Youssef Madrassa
Ben Youssef Madrassa is one of the largest Madrassas in the North Africa. It is a school attached to the Ben Youssef Mosque and is home to beautiful art and architecture.
This is just a small part that Marrakech has to offer for its visitors. This city, despite the fact that is hot like an oven during summer, is always full with tourists from all over the world.
Bellow, I posted some circuits and excursions that most of the visitors choose to do during their vacation in Marrakech.
Circuits and excursions for a vacation in Marrakech !
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