Things to do in Marrakech
Plaza Yamaa el Fna, the Plaza as everyone knows is an hour of the day in the soul of Marrakech, which not in the pulse of the city, and where we will always find something different to see, according to the time of day we visit . Thanks to the work of the writer Juan Goytisolo, the Plaza de Marrakech has been classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Unesco.
Soup. From Yamaa el Fna Square we can access to the labyrinth of the souk. In the souk of Marrakesh, strolling disoriented, we can find the latest developments in Moroccan design. From here will come the best slippers, lamps, candles, bags ... we can find in the north of the country six months later. On your excursions to Marrakech (Morocco) do not miss the souk, the perfect place for the traveler to practice the art of bargaining. The streets are wide, and it is comfortable to walk between the stalls and shops, although it is true that the best time is the first in the morning to go shopping, since in the afternoon it is crowded with locals, who go to the souk To make their purchases as well.
Tanneries. Must visit any medina, if we want to see how the tanners work the skin of cow, goat and sheep before it becomes leather bags or slippers. Despite the bad smell, which will be alleviated with a bundle of fresh mint, a walk through the tanneries will show us a profession already forgotten in Europe.
The Kutubia mosque or booksellers' mosque, is with its tower, sister of the Giralda one of the symbols of Marrakech. You can not visit it, since only Muslims can do it, but from the outside it shows in all its splendor, surrounded by beautiful gardens.
The palace Badi, the whim of Sultan Ahmed the Mansur, dates from the sixteenth century, is today a collection of ruins that merit a walk inside. In your travels in Marrakech you will be surprised by its subterranean passages that, in their day, served as stables and dungeons. The decaying walls of the palace accommodate stork nests, birds highly respected in Morocco, due to the Berber belief that they are transformed human beings.
Tombs Saadíes. Very close to the palace is the mausoleum of the Sadí dynasty, with royal tombs from the 16th and 17th centuries, wrapped in a beautiful garden. Hidden until the dawn of the twentieth century, they are a haven of peace and beauty within the swarm of the medina. They emphasize the room of the Twelve Columns, where they were buried the Sultan the Mansur and all his family.
Garden of the Menara. Extra walls of the city, after a long avenue of palm trees, you reach the gardens of the Menara. There lie in the shade camels that, for a small fee, we can ride for a pleasant walk. La Menara is a large Islamic garden, with a pond, a pavilion and fruit trees. Without a doubt, one of the essential destinations of the excursions in Marrakesh (Morocco). Its water reservoir, which formerly supplied the city, is now used as a stage background, for a nighttime spectacle of light and sound, of great beauty.
The ville nouvelle, or Guéliz, is the fruit of the passage of the French by Morocco. Designed by these at the beginning of the 20th century, it is the area where hotels, cafes, boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs, etc ... The "modern part" of the city, as the Marrakchis still call it, Arrival of the French, the city was reduced to the medina, always intramuros.
Marrakech, the pearl of the south or the red city, as they call it, is inherited from the Andalusian handicraft tradition, and most of its palaces and mosques were built in the 11th century with part of the booty that Sultan Yusuf bin Tachfin, First, and his son Ali brought from Al Andalus, turning it into capital of Morocco, until 1269.
