Marrakech City
The city was founded in 1062 by the Almoravid dynasty and is known as “Al Madina al Hamra” (the red city) and gave its name to the whole country. Later, passed to the Almohad dynasty, and then went through a period of decline until the 16th century when it became the capital again under the Saadian dynasty, the period ended in the 18th century with the transfer of the capital to Fez. Therefore, Marrakech is considered the tourist capital of Morocco.
THE MEDINA: Declared cultural patrimony of humanity by UNESCO and well preserved, two zones are distinguished, the middle and the souks, both parts are essential to visit.
JAMAA EL FNA: the authentic heart of the city and the best-known image of Morocco tourism. A whole show opens in front of you, snake charmers, storytellers, Berber musicians, card casters, a spectacle declared oral heritage of humanity by UNESCO. Nowadays, in the evenings, a multitude of street restaurants open in the square. Its name Jamaâ el Fna (The gathering of the dead) refers either to the fact that that was where the heads of those executed were displayed or to a mosque in the area that was collapsed
The walls: With a length of 19 km, two meters thick and 9 meters high, were built in rammed earth by the Almoravids, Almohads, and Saadies. Also, retains various doors such as Bab el-Khemis, Aghmat, and Agnaou.
KUBA BÂDIYN: The only remains of the Almoravid city, it is the ablutions basin of an ancient mosque and its dome shows marked influences of the mihrab dome of the mosque of Cordoba.
Koutoubia mosque: the main monument of the city and its symbol, along with the mosque of the same name, was built by the Almohad dynasty in the XII century and is the sister of the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat.
MENARA GARDEN: Huge Almohad pond that was used to irrigate vast fields of olive trees and other trees, beautiful image. At sunset time, the colors reflect in the water.
BADI PALACE: Built by the sultan Saadi Ahmed al Mansur in the XVIIth century. The courtyard is inspired by that of the lions in the Alhambra after the fall of the dynasty was stripped of columns, marble, and so on. Today the huge walls are still visible.
MADRASA BEN YOUSSEF: The best Koranic school in the whole country, built in the XVIIth century by the Saâdies around a courtyard with a pool in the middle and a small and beautiful mosque. The students, in rooms around this courtyard, studied the Koran until the 1960s.
SAADIAN TOMBS: The mausoleum of the Saadian dynasty that was strongly influenced by Nasrid art, the tombs are located next to the Kasbah mosque, whose Almohad minaret has served as a model for the prototype of the Moroccan minaret,
BAHIA PALACE: Built in the late nineteenth century, well preserved, with two courtyards and the presence of many elements of rich Moroccan handicraft, ceilings, tiles, and plaster stucco.
MAJORELLE GARDEN: Built in the XIXth century, it was the residence of the painter Jacques Majorelle in the years
then it was the residence of the couturier Yves Saint Laurent. Nowadays it has a beautiful garden and a museum dedicated to the Berber handicraft.
