Morocco: visit Marrakech and Essaouira

Marrakech sightseeing: main attractions and things to do

Marrakech extends on the slopes of the Atlas Mountains. The imperial city, founded by the Almoravids as far back as 1062, after a thousand years of history still fascinates people with the magic of palaces, charming gardens and the Souk, one of the most famous of the entire Maghreb, out-and-out town within the city, teeming with life and trades.

Morocco, Marrakech Medina

Square Djemaa el Fna in the Medina of Marrakech

The Medina quarter is the historical center of the city and, like the souq, it is best explored on foot. This allows you to enjoy its beauty, while the senses are enticed by a kaleidoscope of colours and intense perfumes. So many monuments are really worth visiting, such as the beautiful Zaoui of Sidi Bel Abbes and of Sidi Ben Slimane and the Chrob ou Chouf Fountain. The whole Medina is then surrounded by the famous bastions of Marrakech, clay walls 19 kilometers long, which open into splendid monumental gates.

The true center of the old town is the square Djemaa el Fna that in the morning becomes a scene of a crowded market in which the protagonists are sweets, orange juice and medicinal herbs, while at night it transforms into a huge open-air restaurant, filled with storytellers, dancers, musicians, fortune-tellers, snake charmers playing a show of multiform humanity. And to think that this square until the nineteenth century, was the stage for more cruel scenes: this was precisely the place, in fact, where the condemned to death were beheaded.

Absolutely not to be missed is the Madrasah Ben Youssef, one of the largest and astonishing Koranic school’s of the entire territory. Founded in the fourteenth century, it was rebuilt in the sixteenth century by Saadian Sultan Moulay Abdallah and it extends over an area of more than 1700 square meters. From the main entrance, a majestic bronze portal with a lintel in cedar, a mosaic-floored hallway leadings to a beautiful white marble courtyard, framed by a double set of galleries, that houses in the center an ablution pool. The prayer hall, with its pyramidal dome and richly decorated portal, is very remarkable.

Marrakech’s religious architecture shows its magnificent beauty in Koutoubia Mosque, justly famous for its spectacular Minaret that rises 70 meters above the city. An authentic masterpiece of Islamic architecture, it is a pink stone tower adorned with jagged battlements and topped by four spheres of gilt bronze. The interior of the mosque, which unfortunately is closed to non-Muslims, comprises the vast prayer hall capable of accommodating 20,000 worshipers.

Minaret of Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech

Minaret of Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech

Quite different is the Bahia Palace, or Palace of the Favourite, a beautiful complex that consists of two distinct buildings. The oldest, built by the gran vizier Si Moussa, consists of apartments overlooking a courtyard. It is interesting for its open court with two swimming pools shaped like a star, where they grow jasmine, cypress and orange trees. The section of Ba Ahmed is composed of many apartments surrounded by leafy courtyards. The most notable of these, used by the concubines of the sultan, has a rich marble flooring and zellige or zellij (typical Islamic art of tile) and is surrounded by a beautiful series of finely decorated columns.

Not far away is the Dar Si Said Museum, a building hosting several Maghreb art collections. Inside you can admire carpets, ceramics, clothing, jewelry, archaeological finds and objects of carpentry. The Reception room is truly sumptuous. Finally, deserving a visit is the El-Badi Palace, the Mellah (the old Jewish quarter), the Saadian Tombs, the Agdal Gardens, the Menara (imperial garden enclosed by clay walls), the Majorelle Gardens and the Palm grove.

The Souk of Marrakech extends in narrow streets near the Djemaa el Fna square. Below is a list of the most interesting and picturesque traditional markets to visit. The Souk Haddadine offers countless objects in metal, mostly copper and brass, metals which are also found in Souk Nahhasine. The Chouari souk specializes in selling baskets and wood. Slippers and belts characterize the artisans of Souk Smata. In the Kissarias, under its covered and illuminated galleries, you can find clothes, tissues, trimmings and leather goods. The leather is also protagonist in the Souk el Batna, el Kebir and Souk el Maazi, specializing in goat skins. The Smarine Souk offers clothing, while the Siyyaghin, jewelry.

Essaouira: the Gnaoua Music Festival

Ideal destination for a day trip from Marrakech is Essaouira, a charming town on the Atlantic coast reminiscent of the strong Jewish presence for centuries with the white houses and the indigo blue of the doors. As in any seaside city, the port is a lively place, full of activities such as fishermen selling fish and seafood auctions. From here you enter the old town until you reach the Kasbah, a platform adorned by Spanish cannons dating from different periods, from the end of the sixteenth century until the eighteenth century.

Pleasant all year, Essaouira becomes really suggestive in late June, when it is wrapped in the charming atmosphere of Gnaoua Music Festival, where the primordial animism of black Africa meets the most diverse musical genres of the world. The Gnaoua or Gnawa musicians, are indeed special people, brotherhoods that play the role of liaison between the sensible world and the intangible of spirits. Direct descendants of enslaved blacks deported to Morocco from 1500 to 1800, with the passage of time, they have absorbed religious and musical influences from all over the Saharan and Sub-Saharan region.

Essaouira Gnaoua music festival

Essaouira: Gnaoua artists performing during the music festival

Their music, like their life, is the expression of two different realities: the spectacular aspect (typically demonstrated in many concerts during the festival of Essaouira) and the sacred one, in which each music master (Maallem) repeats the sounds from the past during healing rituals and ceremonies of possession. The festival, also rich in these evocative suggestions, offers music and shows in every street and squares in the old city (medina), with absolutely valuable concerts, thanks to the presence of virtuoso musicians from all around the world.

By A. Fanzini

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