Apr 12 – A Full Day in Marrakesh
Gate1 “Take a morning tour of the city. Visit the Saadian Tombs, dating back to the16th century, where Saadian royalty found their final resting place. Your touralso includes the Koutoubia Minaret, as well as the beautiful Bahia Palace.End the tour by walking through the medina before arriving at the Djemaa el Fna Square.”
Saturday in Marrakesh was a very full and fun day, 17000 steps. In the morning, we took a cultural and historical tour of Marrakesh with a local guide.
Our first stop was the Saadian Tombs, a royal necropolis built in the 16th century by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, who was the third ruler of the Saadian dynasty. The tombs were constructed to honor his ancestors and to be a grand display of power and wealth. The tombs are located in the Kasbah Mosque, which was built in 1557 and is one of the oldest mosques in Morocco. The tombs are decorated with intricate stucco carvings and colorful tiles. The royal family members are buried inside the structures and their servants outside.
We walked outside the Koutobuia Mosque with its iconic minaret, a landmark sight in Marrakesh. The mosque sits inside the bustling center of Marrakech, and is an important place of worship for Muslims and a symbol of Islamic art and culture in Morocco. We could not go inside the 12th century mosque but admired its minaret from many angles during our walk through the city center.
We spent over an hour with our local guide inside the Bahia Palace. This palace is a stunning example of Moroccan architecture and design. Built in the late 19th century, it is a sprawling complex of gardens, courtyards, and rooms that are filled with intricate details and vibrant colors. Or you might see it as a testemant to the ego of a man with four wives. The palace was completed in 1867 by Si Moussa, a former slave who rose through the ranks to become one of Sultan Hassan I’s most important aides. One of the buildings, the family riad, has lodging for each of his wives and their children. The rooms are decorated with carved wood, tile and stained glass. He also had a harem who lived in rooms that surrounded a vast courtyard. The palace is surrounded by beautiful gardens. I did not take many pictures inside the palace. The second photo below was taken inside a cafe in an art museum. This was a lovely coffee stop provided by Gate1.
Our guide escorted us to the main plaza of the Marrakesh medina, Djemaa el Fna Square, and gave suggestions on where to eat and what to see as we explored on our own. They did “direct” us to a spice shop where we had a “presentation” on various spices and opportunity to purchase spices. We found these same spices for much less in other stops on this trip.
Pat and I wandered through the medina to locate the spa where we had booked an afternoon scrub. The Marrakech medina is much different than the one in Fez. The streets are wider and motorized vehicles move through the streets. Google Maps was quite helpful inside the medina. We saw many souks, markets where specialized craftsmen and vendors made and sold their goods. There was a street for leather, another for metal working, fabrics and clothing as well as food vendors.
We had booked a scrub and massage at a hamman, Les Bains du Lotus spa, located inside the medina for Pat, Robyn and I. For about $70 the treatment includes an express scrub followed by a 50 minute massage. Overall it was a lovely experience and we left feeling very clean. However the process took longer than we expected and Pat and I had to dash out at 3:15 and run to our next activity – a food tour of Marrakesh.
We walked fast to find our tour meeting point at the Bab Doukala gate. We were a group of eight and it was a nice experience. We were at the last stop having some dessert when a big rain storm came through. We thanked our guide and rushed out through a very wet square to find a taxi back to our hotel. We missed the carnival atmosphere of the square at night as everyone was closing up during the rain. We could not find a taxi who would pick us up but ended up hailing a tuk-tuk who was glad to give us a wet ride home. The roads were flooding when the water overwhelmed the drains.
While we were on our tour, the others from Gate1 took a cooking class and then a wet ride home in a horse drawn carriage. Robyn shared the recipes they learned with me.
We sure got our money’s worth out of our day!