Marrakech known as the Pearl of the South or the red city, is a city in Morocco at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.Located at the crossroads of the Sahara and the High Atlas, it is a home to nearly 1.5 million people, Marrakech is the 4th largest city in Morocco after Casablanca, Rabat and Fez. The city is divided into two distinct parts: the Medina or historic city (10 kilometers of enclosure) and the new city whose main districts are called: Guéliz and Hivernage.
Guéliz is now the commercial city center.It was established by the French amid the Protectorate.. The Hivernage district is home to many resorts. In recent years, the city has grown on the outskirts, particularly in the West, with the emergence of new residential neighborhoods such as the Targa region or the extension of Avenue Mohammed VI.
Marrakech has given its name to the entire kingdom of Morocco. The city was established in 1062 by Youssef Ibn Tachfine, first king of the Almoravid line.
After the passage of the Almoravids, several other dynasties were interested in Marrakech and its strategic location on the plain of Haouz and the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, especially the Almohads and Saadians, who have left several monuments and sites. an oral and material heritage of great value.Marrakech had a turbulent history until the Independence of Morocco in 1956, with rare periods of peace, often due to the ambitions of European countries.
In 1911, the capital of Morocco became Rabat, relaying Marrakech in the background. Today, it is a city living mainly from tourism, agricultural products exported to Europe and canned fruits and vegetables.
It is the center of trade of the region and the center for the transport of minerals extracted from the Atlas.
Marrakech has hosted most of the important historical events that have marked the identity of Morocco.
Portuguese, Spanish and French first hunted privateers to control and benefit from natural resources and the privileged situation at the gates of Africa.
Thanks to its historical richness and to this passage of several ruling dynasties, Marrakech is one of the main imperial and tourist cities of Morocco.
Marrakech is a city located on the plain of Haouz, center of the region Marrakech Tensift Al Haouz. it is undeniable that the geographical situation of the city is ideal. it represents a very privileged crossroads to ensure access to the mountains, the desert and the Atlantic Ocean. it enjoys its tourist attraction thanks to the possibility of making it a rallying and passage point since the sea is only 150 km the access to the Atlantic Ocean is very fast and easy.
The road to Essaouira (former Mogador and the nearest coastal city) is of good quality. It takes about only 2 hours to go from Marrakech to Essaouira. The mountain is 75 km, reaching them by the road Ourika takes about 2:30 to go to Oukaïmden, main ski resort in Morocco, located 3200m above sea level.And finaly the desert is little more than 180 km, knowing that from Marrakech you have to take the road to Ouarzazate, extremely tortuous road and sometimes dangerous. Between Marrakech and Ouarzazate it takes about 5 hours drive, then another 3 hours to Zagora in order to see the first dunes.
Marrakech is a city where the sun is very present and this throughout the year.
in winter and due to the proximity of the atlas mountains, this city experiences a great range of temperatures during the whole day, the winter in marrakech begins around November where at night you can curl the 2 or 3 degrees and the day up to 25.
The rainy days in Marrakech are very rare even in winter, and of course the city is not immune to a week of bad weather, which can be very windy and violent with driving rain.
Always due to the proximity of the atlas mountains, in summer the temperatures are very high and constant, day and night. Generally the summer in Marrakech starts in June and stabilize around 45 degrees during the day and 38 degrees at night.
The sun is present almost everyday but it is strongly recommended not to expose yourself to it, especially in the time slot from 12h to 17h.
The best season where you can enjoy your visit to Marrakech is without a doubt the intermediate one from september to November or from March to June, in this intermediate seasons the climate is very pleasant, the nights stay reasonably cool and the days can be as high as 35 degree
The main attraction of Marrakech is its Medina (Historic Quarter of the city) with its main monuments and sites recognized for their heritage value, we find historic palaces, mosques, medersas (Koranic schools and traditional teachings) and museums.
The old city of Marrakech is subdivided into several sub-districts, the richest are around the royal palace and timeless mosques, and the poorest who are concentrated in polluting industries like tanneries.
In fact the middle and upper classes mostly left the Medina when the new towns were built by the french.
Noadays the Medina is mainly popular with more bourgeois cores corresponding to the tourist activity, there is also a return of interest for the old city among the well-to-do classes. The moroccans are more and more aware of the heritage they have and which they must preserve.
- Jamâa El Fna Square (11th century), recognized by UNESCO's Oral World Heritage of Humanity.
Jamaâ el Fna is the unmissable place of Marrakech, the living heart of the city and which is for a large part a constituent of its charm and its popular identity.
Jamaa el Fna Square is a place where the oral parthony of the city of Marrakech and all over the country is expressed with storytellers from all walks of life, snake charmers, groups of Berber musicians and others, acrobats and others. ..
Also known by several other names such as Jami’al-koutoubiyah, the kutubiyyin Mosque and the Bookseller’s Mosque, the Koutoubia Mosque is the largest one in Marrakech, it is located in the district of the south-west medina of Marrakech.
This mosque is decorated with curved windows, a strip of ceramic, pointed merlons and decorative arches, it has also a very large square aith gardens and is very lit at night. The koutoubia minaret is 77 meters high including an arrow and orbs. The mosque was completed under the reign of the Berber Almohad caliph Yaqub Al-Mansour (1184-1199). The beauty of this mosque inspired other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat.
built by the Al-Saharan Sultan Al Ghalib Bi-Allah in the 12th century in Marrakech the Mouassine Mosque or Al-Ashraf Mosqueis is considered as representative of the art of the Almohads.
The mosque is part of the "Mouassine" complex which includes a library, a hammam, a medressa (school) and a beautiful fountain.The Mouassine fountain is the largest public fountain in Marrakech. It is located north of the ablution hall of the mosque. The mosque is located in Mouassines neighborhood to his left there are plenty of souks and bazaars.
The Ben Youssef Medersa was for more than four centuries a home for students from all over Morocco in search of knowledge in various sciences, including theology.
The medersa had 132 rooms for non-Marrakesh students which could accommodate up to 900 students. On the other side of the entrance door, there is the prayer room made of three naves delimited by marble pillars supporting arches with carved facades of ornamental motifs.
The central nave overlooks a small semicircular room whose opening is sumptuously decorated with floral and geometric motifs.
Almoravid Quobba is located next to the Museum of Marrakech, and it is only about 40 meters south of the Ben Youssef Mosque.
This Quobba is unfortunately the only surviving example of Almoravide architecture in Marrakech. This Building was built in 1117 and was later renovated in the 16th and 19th centuries.
Almoravide Quobba was rediscovered in 1948 and excavated in 1952, after being buried under one of the outbuildings of the Ben Youssef mosque.
The Saadian Tombs represents one of the only remains of the Saadian dynasty that reigned over the golden age of Marrakech between 1524 to 1659, it is located next to the mosque of Kasbah.
The Sultan Moulay Ismail in the early 18th century had indeed decided to remove all traces of the magnificence of this dynasty and demanded the destruction of all remaining buildings and vestiges. Although he dared not, however, commit the sacrilege of destroying their burials.
The word Bahia in Arabic means Beautiful and bright, the palace of Bahia ( Palace of the beautiful, the bright) is a nineteenth century palace of eight hectares located in the center of Marrakech.
This Palace is one of the masterpieces of Moroccan architecture and one of the major monuments of the cultural heritage of the country, it is also considered as one of the main places of tourism in Morocco.
The El Badi palace, literally palace of the incomparable, is known as an architectural ensemble built at the end of the sicteenth century and located in Marrakech Morocco.
It was built by the Saadian Sultan Ahmed al-Mansur Dhahbi in order to celebrate the victory over the portuguese army in the battle of the three kings in 1578. Noadays, there remains only a huge esplanade carved gardens, surrounded by high walls and planted with orange trees. Indeed, in 1696, the Alawite sultan Moulay Ismail took what was richest in this palace in order to build the imperial city of Meknes.
The inner courtyard represents the main part of this museum with its beautiful and large chandelier and rooms arranged all around where exposed the collection of the musuem which is mainly composed of ceramics, weapons, carpets and other traditional objects.
Although the collections may leave you indifferent but the building still surprises.
Comparing Dar Si Sid musuem with the Museum of Marrakech, we can confirme that the museum of Dar Si Said is much larger and spread over two floors with a huge number of exhibits.
We can find among the elements of the collection, furnitures, objects of everyday life, weapons and musical instruments.
The museum of islamic arts is the former painter’s studio of jacque Majorelle, it is located within the grounds of the Majorelle garden, where you can admire wonderful artistic works.
This museum is composed of 5 rooms in which we find Yves Saint Laurent’s personal collection of art objects, and a collection composed of carpets, ceramics from the desert, home doors, of course without forgetting a collection of pageantry used by Muslim women.
Bert Flint was born in the netherlands in 1931, The discovery of the Alhambra in Granada and the civilization of al andalus are a wonder for him.
During his first visit to Morocco in 1954, Bert Flint found in the country an artistic tradition highly inspired by Arab-Andalusian art. In 1957, the future collector decided to move to Marrakech.
Passionated by the Moroccan folk art, the collection of Bert Flint tends as much to the museum of art, art deco, craft and ethnology.
The name menara which means lighthouse is derived from the pavillon with its small green pyramid roof.
although there is no real lighthouse in this garden, moreover any building that is at a high altitude is locally known as menara. This pavilion was built during the 16th century by saadi dynasty and the renovated in 1869 by the Sultan of morocco Abderrahmane.
Like the gardens of Menara, the agdal gardens were created by the Almohads in the 12th century. After being enlarged under the reign of the saadians and protected by the sultan Moulay Hassan in the 19th century.
they offer us noadays a wonderful site dedicated to strolling and contemplation.
This wonderful botanic garden took off in 1980 by becoming a blue dream, with the helps of many artists and botanists sent by the fashion designer Yves saint-Laurent, who became the new owner of this place.
Majorelle garden is a small natural paradise with thousand colors which includes several species of plants, some of are on the verge of extinction. in this paradise we also find goldfish strutting between jasmine flowers, orange trees, fuchsias and bougainvillea.
No one can deny that Marrakech is an incredible city ehre outings and activities abound, once in marrakech do not forget visiting the surroundings especially the Ourika Valley which is located only 30km south of the city.
The ourika valley is a large expanse of lush greenery and ocher earth, dotted with berber villages and crossed by the ourika river.
In order to reach this serene country, we will cross fascinating landscapes, we will imagine the lifestyle of its inhabitants in the not so distant past, we will discover the douars on the hillside leading their flocks which is a constant reminder of the relativity of time.
The Village of Asni does not present any particular interest, in fact it marks the moment of choosing between continuing straight towards Marigha, Ouirgane...or forking towards Imlil and Toubkal, the highest point of the Atlas.
While in this ski resort, it becomes hard for you to believe that you are actually in subtropical Africa.
The oukaimeden ski resort is at 74 km southeast of Marrakech with an altitude between 2600 and 3270 meters. Oukaimeden is the best equipped one in Morocco, and it’s also the highest in Africa.
Covering almost 30,800 ha, the toubkal national park is located 70km south of Marrakech, it represents the highest point of North Africa with an altitude of 4,167 meters, Jbel toubkal gave its name in 1942 to the first national park of the Moroccan Kingdom.
In order to discover the intrinsic beauty of the Ouzoud Waterfall when traveling through Morocco, going through the small Berber village of Ouzoud is a must, which is only eighteen kilometers from the road Marrakech-Azilal. What makes the waterfalls more remarkable is the rainbows that appear and provide photographers with amazing photos capturing the widest rainbows.
The National Festival of Popular Arts of Marrakech is the oldest festival in Morocco, it is a folk festival created in 1960 on the initiative of king Mohammed V, this festival aims to measure the importance of Moroccan traditions including costumes, music, song, and dances.
The International Film Festival of Marrakech, is the main event devoted to the 7th art in Morocco, This festival was created in 2001 on the initiative of his majesty king Mohammed 6. Morocco imagines this event as a prestigious platform dedicated to the talents of the 7th art as a bridge between the nations.
This international artistic encounter is based on circus, street arts, theater, dance, acrobatics… and much more. This festival presents shows in public places, presented by traditional ensembles from Europe and Africa.
The Samma festival purpose is to make Marrakech a pelerinage for East-west cultural meditation, its ambition is to highlight the spiritual and also identity of Morocco through spiritual meeting and Sufi music.
Race of Morocco is a motor racing event that takes place every year in Moulay El Hassan Circuit in Marrakech, it takes place every year since 2009 as a part of the world touring car championship.
