New town of Marrakech

Good Morning land of jokes and fun!

You’ll officially start your Day Guided Cultural Tour with your private Marrakech born and bred guide as it will be in some other spots. You embark exploring Marrakech from its new part, the wonderful Majorelle Garden, which is like a small paradise in the heart of the new town.

• Majorelle Garden

In 1923, Jacques Majorelle fell in love with Morocco and built himself a splendid Moorish villa, which he called Bou Safsaf, in Marrakech. He designed the patterns of the garden in 1931, at Majorelle’s request, the architect Sinoir built an Art Deco studio with pergolas and bright blue walls. The garden, which is separate from the house, opened to the public in 1947.

The house was later bought by Yves Saint-Laurent. Skilfully restored, the garden is divided by four walkways that cross each other to create parterres of brightly colored tropical flowers. Besides yucca, bougainvillea, bamboo, laurel, geraniums, hibiscus and cypresses, the garden has over 400 varieties of palm tree and 1800 species of cactus. Water lilies grow in a pool bordered by papyrus. The studio has been converted into a small museum that contains a selection of Moroccan crafts. 

2.   Medina of Marrakech

From the new part of the city to its old part with its Medina’s skinny lanes that leads to lavish sites, tombs and religious monuments decked out in marble. We’re going to start by:

• Koutoubia Mosque

One of the largest mosques in the Western Muslim word. It was built by Almohad sultan Abdelmoumen in about 1147 to mark his victory over the Almoravids. The minaret, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. It later served as the model for the Giralda in Seville, as well as for the Hassan Tower in Rabat.

• Place Jemaa El-Fna

For centuries, this unique and extraordinary square has been the nerve centre of Marrakech and the symbol of the city. It becomes the arena of a gigantic, multifaceted open-air show where it is carnival night every night fills with musicians, acrobats, storytellers and slapstick acting troupes tap into the Medina frenetic pulse. UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site.

• The Souk

The souks in the medina of Marrakech are among the most fascinating in the Maghreb. Many of the souks are known by the name of whatever is sold here. It seems vast to first time you venture in, and almost impossible to navigate, but in fact the area that they cover is pretty compact. If you are staying for some day, you’ll probably return often to the souks.

• Bahia Palace

This palace, whose name means “palace of the favorite” was built by two powerful grand viziers Si Moussa and his son Ba Ahmed at the end of the 19^th century. Ba Ahmed hired he best craftsmen in the kingdom to build and decorate this palace. It is decked out with highly prized materials. Not surprisingly, Marshal Lyautey chose to live here during the protectorate.

• Badii Palace

Though substantially in ruins, and reduced throughout to its red pise walls, enough remains of El Badii Palace to suggest that its name.

• Saadien’s Tombs

Although they were neglected for more than two centuries the tombs of the Saadien dynasty constitute some of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in Morocco. The Saadien’s Tombs are the Kasbah’s main sight. Housed in quiet, high-walled enclosure, shaded with shrubs and palms, they belong to the dynasty that ruled Morocco from 1554 to 1669.