Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CENTRAL MOROCCO & THE HIGH
ATLAS
Marrakesh is the queen bee of Moroccan tourism, but look beyond it and you'll find great
trekking in the dramatic High Atlas, and spectacular valleys and gorges that lead to the vast
and empty sands of the Saharan dunes.
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Marrakesh
POP 2 MILLION
Marrakesh grew rich on the camel caravans threading their way across the desert, although
these days it's cheap flights from Europe bringing tourists to spend their money in the
souqs that fatten the city's coffers. But Marrakesh's old heart still beats strongly enough,
from the time-worn ramparts that ring the city to the nightly spectacle of the Djemaa el-Fna
that leaps from the pages of the
1001 Nights
on the edge of the labyrinthine medina.
Sights
The focal point of Marrakesh is
Djemaa el-Fna
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( approx
9am-1pm, later during Ramadan)
, a huge square in the medina and the backdrop for one of the
world's greatest spectacles. Djemaa el-Fna comes into its own at dusk, when the curtain
goes up on rows of open-air food stalls smoking the immediate area with mouth-watering
aromas. Jugglers, storytellers, snake charmers, musicians, acrobats and spectators fill the
remaining space.
Southwest of Djemaa el-Fna is the 70m-tall minaret of Marrakesh's most famous monu-
ment, the
Koutoubia Mosque
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(cnr Rue el-Koutoubia & Ave Mohammed V;
mosque & minaret closed to non-Muslims, gardens open 8am-8pm)
. Visible for miles in all directions,
it's a classic example of Moroccan-Andalucían architecture.
The largest and oldest-surviving of the mosques is the 12th-century
Ali ben Youssef Mosque
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( closed to non-Muslims)
, which marks the intellectual and reli-
gious heart of the medina. Next to the mosque is the 14th-century
Ali ben Youssef Medersa
0524 441893; Place ben Youssef; admission Dh40;
9am-6pm winter, to
