What to do, and not, as a tourist in Marrakesh

Historical Sites

Do visit the Historical Sites:

Marrakesh is saturated with history and historical sites. It was at times the capital of Morocco, and even the seat of power of North Africa, the Maghreb. In fact the name Morocco is derived from Marrakesh.

While walking about the city, you find yourself frequently coming across ancient walls and entranceways that hint at past glories. Unfortunately, the city and the region suffered many invasions and conquests, and if a building or monument was really impressive, that was usually enough reason for the next wave of conquorers to want to eradicate it.

The oldest, most intact structure still used for its original purpose is the Koutoubia Minaret. Built between 1100 and 1200 AD, it can be seen from most points in the city, and heard as well when the call to prayer is spoken over the loudspeakers 5 times each day.

Little remains to be seen in the city from the period to either side of 1100, when the Islamic dynasty of the Almovarids, based in Marrakesh, ruled from the Southern half of the Iberian Peninsula and what are now parts of Algeria and Mali. This period is considered by many to have been the height of Islamic culture in this region.

Perhaps some historians out there have heard of Averroes, who lived in what is now southern Spain as well as Marakesh in the 12th century. A true Renaissance man before the Renaissance, he made significant contributions to logic, physics, music theory, medicine, astronomy and Islamic philosophy and theology. 

During the Muslim rule there were many Jews living on the Iberian Peninsula as well as the African portion of the Empire. Just how tolerant the Islamists were of their culture is a point of controversy, but certainly they had a better time of it than when they were driven out of Spain all together by the Christian monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella at the same time that Columbus was sailing towards the Americas.

The Saadian Tombs, from the late 15th century is one of the best preserved monuments because, rather than destroying them, the conquering dynasty, the Alaouites, chose to just build a wall on top of them. When that was torn down in 1917 the tombs were discovered.

The building has an impressive, calming presence. I was enjoying the sense of peace and was sorry to see a large group of rowdy tourists arriving. To my surprise, they fell into a hush and seemed to become introspective when they arrived.

Next to the tombs was probably the loveliest cluster of palm trees that I have ever seen.

The fortunes of Marrakesh had all ready risen and fallen many times when the Al-Badi Palace was built in the early 1600's. Workers from all over Northern Africa and Europe spent several decades working on it. Now it takes a lot of imagination to envision what it was.

The Ibn Yusuf Medrassa was originally built in the 1100's, then rebuilt in about 1600. It was a boarding school for boys who were going into the religion or law. I wish I had gotten a photograph of one of the many tiny rooms that the students had. Here is a larger one with its furnishings:

And, as always, all is built around courtyards:

The largest historical building is the Bahia Palace.

The Moroccons do amazing things with doorways.

Dating back to just the end of the 19th century, it betrays European influences. The French particularly had a strong presence in Morocco by that time.

They must have spent a lot of time with their heads back, because the empahsis on ceilings is unbelievable.

The gardens are spectacular. And thank goodness for the women who were living there, since that was most of what they would get to see.

Matt and I were charmed by this cat that continued to groom itself despite the presence of tourists, sometimes large groups of them, that walked right around and over it.

Wild cats are everywhere in Marrakesh. The fact that they were usually tame and relaxed gave me a good feeling about the inhabitants of the city.

What NOT to do as a tourist in Morocco

I rarely worried about having my money taken from me by force (particularly striking as my purse was stolen in Madrid just the previous week) but losing it voluntarily due to other's cleverness and persistance was a definite hazard. The Internet can provide you with much advice on how to avoid this problem. Matt and I both read the advice, and made most of the mistakes they described anyway. As he said, reading up on things was mostly helpful for realizing right after the fact just how stupid we had been. So here is an example.

We returned one day to a stall in the Souks (the markets on the narrow streets) to purchase a table cloth and a bedspread. We went through the usual bargaining process, not achieving a great price in the end, but okay, not a big deal. He then asks us would we like to see the studio where the women do the weaving. You can take photos, he says, knowing that we Westerners are forever wanting to take photos, which they often object to. I, of course, just look at the blog, am as bad as anyone for taking photos. We followed him quite a way when he finally bows us into a building. The proprietor is waiting to recieve us. But it is not a workshop, it is an enormous rug store.  Of course, we could have left, but once again our curiosity and our desire for lovely objects, or images of such, leads us further astray.  We were there for what seemed like 1/2 an hour, now haggling over runners, killiams, etc. We finally managed to leave without a rug, but with our shirts.

Now we were a little uncertain which direction to take to get back to the Square.  Immediately there was a boy of about 13 right there offering, in very elementary English and in French, to show us the way back. We were a little suspicious, having read something about this on the Internet. Anyway, we thought we knew how to get back. We start off and he continues to follow us trying to strike up a conversation, "You are German? British?" "You like Marrakesh?".  And he continues to tell us which direction to go. At first we think to ourselves, "Yes, yes, I know it is that way. Just get lost." Then as we keep walking we are thinking, "Oh, is that really the way to go? Guess so, because I don't recognize this place." Suddenly, we are really relying on the boy to show us the way back. Now and then he will say "Just around that corner and you can see the square." But there are more corners. Finally he says, "Just there, you will see the square", and he is clearly expecting me to pay him for his help. I am both relieved to think that he has gotten us back to the square and annoyed that this has gone on for so long. I give him what I have in coins. He objects that it is not enough, and I would have given him some bills as well if Matt hadn't said "Enough." So, he takes his coins and leaves, FINALLY. And we go around the corner and there is no square. In fact, we are far, far from the sqare and way out of tourist territory.

We walked and walked until we came across some people who were clearly Westerners and got directions from them. It was a LONG walk. It had not cost us much in money, but it was a high price to our pride and to our feet.

Stay tuned for Dinner Out.

Comments? margotkimball@gmail.com