The first time I heard about Marrakesh was in that Hitchcock film, “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (the one starring Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day)… and ever since then, the city has held a fascination for me. So later in life, when I learned that I have Moroccan ancestry, my desire to travel to the fabled city grew exponentially.

 

There was always a dream to arrive in Marrakesh via camelback like in centuries past when Marrakesh was the hub trade in the western part of North Africa, beckoning goods from the South – Senegal, Mali, The Ivory Coast… but that seemed a difficult feat to accomplish. So we arrived by bus… on the way in, I can’t keep my eyes off of the High Atlas Mountains, which made me think of a Paul Bowles novel… or the scene in Lawrence Arabia when Peter O’Toole is entering the desert for the first time.

 

While Fez is considered the soul of Morocco, Marrakesh is the heart of the country; known as the Pearl of the South or the Rose City (because of the pink wash on so many of the buildings in the Medina), Marrakesh effortlessly blends Berber, North African and Arabic/Islamic culture into a thriving, bustling and seductive city.

 

A movie never captures a city well, and Marrakesh has changed so much since Hitchcock was here – heck, it’s changed dramatically in the last 10, no last 5 years! But the city is still exotic, still mysterious, and still legendary. Like every major city in Morocco, Marrakesh is split in two – the fascinating walled-in Medina and the Ville Nouvelle, known in Marrakesh as Gueliz. As you get closer to the ramparts you might (or probably not) remember that the Byzantine labyrinth was erected to keep any invaders off-balance and confused, as luck would have it serves the same purpose for us. The Medina is probably unknowable even after a lifetime of living there!!!

 

We felt that we could have asked a guide to show us around the Medina, but I felt like it was cheating. To navigate at city at your own accord, at your own pace is what I wanted to do, to get the most out of seeing Marrakesh. And true be told, everyone we asked to point us to the Djemaa el Fna square, was most eager to help (maybe a little too eager). At the heart of the Medina is where we find Djemma el Fna square, the name means Meeting Place at The End of the World… it didn’t disappoint as being the most exciting, action-packed, sensory-overloading – unique -- marketplace in the world. We didn’t know where to begin, so we just jumped right in.

 

While the Medina reveals the history and shrouded secrets of old Marrakesh, the jet set and the financiers that followed them have elevated the Gueliz section of Marrakesh to something any worldly and adventurous Western will feel right most comfortable with. I didn’t see the purpose of paying a visit to any modern store; I could find their wares practically anywhere. What you can and will find in the souqs of the Medina are items that are a little more rare, and one-of-a-kind. I bargained and haggled and hectored with an old man for a lamp that would make my library glow with the exciting memories of a bygone era.

 

Since the War On Terror began, medersas (or Qu’ranic schools) have taken on a bad rap, as if they all train terrorists, but Islamic fundamentalism is practically unheard of in the western reaches of North African, and the beauty and elegance of the Ali ben Youssef Medersa quickly made me get over my fears and bias. The school is amazingly well preserved for a 16th-century learning institution, and the sublime architectural design work is breathtaking, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that Muslims from all over the Islamic world study there.

 

It was mid afternoon by the time we reached the Djemaa el Fna, and I was hungry (famished is a better word), and we were struck by a peculiar site – decapitated lamb’s heads – my nose dragged this direction, to a restaurant that needs to be championed in Conde Naste Traveler, Chez Lamias Hadj. My girlfriend, covered up to avoid unwanted glances, decided to stay covered up and not try the lamb’s head, but it’s to die for. Too bad they don’t sell it on the streets of New York.

 

The sun was getting ready to turn the sky purple, and my mind started racing back to my imagination about Marrakesh, and its imperial nature… I wanted to experience one of the palaces (because you experience an Islamic palace, you don’t just see it). But there are two exquisite palaces to see the La Bahia Palace, which once housed a harem and where how important the wife or concubine was to the sultan denoted the room sizes, with its lavish arches, carved wood ceilings, marble cornices and painted ceilings or the El Badi Palace, a 16th century gem, that has a gorgeous swimming at its center and four sunken orange orchards. The main hall, the Koubba el Khamsiniyya, has 50 stunningly impressive marble columns that are awe-inspiring. Not hard to tell why this palace was sacked and sacked and sacked throughout its history.

 

Marrakesh at night is an uneasy sight, something to be enjoyed with the assistance of a trusted guide – enlisted by your hotel – to get you to the restaurants that serve delicious chicken. We went to Dar Marjana, a much-hyped restaurant, but it delivers… without a doubt. We went back the next evening, and were on the train the next day.

 

© 2009 Chris Derrick