History of Ben Youssef Madrasa

The first madrasa on the site was built by Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf in the mid 14th century. Belonging to the Marinid dynasty, this period saw the expansion of education – and particularly art and literature – across Morocco. The current madrasa dates to the 16th century: it was commissioned by Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib.

The madrasa is believed to have housed up to 900 students in its 130 dormitory cells – it was one of the biggest educational centres in North Africa. Look out for the inscription above the gateway, which reads ‘You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded’. The ornate decoration shows Andalusian and earlier Moroccan influences, and the zelijj tiles are one of the most notable and recognisable features of the building. Some have drawn comparisons with the Alhambra, and there have been suggestions that craftsmen who worked on it were commissioned to work on the madrasa too.

The madrasa finally shut its doors in 1960, and following a refurbishment project, was re-opened to the public in 1982 as a place of historical interest and significance.

Ben Youssef Madrasa today

The madrasa is one of Marrakech’s most popular attractions, and it’s often busy. The building is something of a maze: it centres around the main courtyard, and everything pretty much stems off from there. As with many Islamic buildings, the main courtyard has a reflective pool in its centre.

The student dormitories are clustered around the courtyard on the first and second floors: they’re open for exploring but watch your head and avoid them if you’re claustrophobic as they’re small and cramped. Many of them would have had multiple students sharing in order to accommodate everyone

Keep your eyes peeled for various Quranic inscriptions (and some praising Sultan Abdullah) across the building.

The madrasa is normally open daily – visit early or late to avoid the worst of the crowds. The madrasa was undergoing restoration work until spring 2020 – it’s unclear precisely when it will re-open.

Getting to Ben Youssef Madrasa

The madrasa is on Place Ben Youssef, next to Ben Youssef Mosque and close to the Museum de Marrakech. The medina area is hard to navigate by anything other than foot given its winding streets, but it’s not hard to locate. If you’re coming from further afield, get a taxi to drop you on Rue Sid Abd El Aziz.

History of Ait Ben-Haddou

It’s thought the site has been fortified since the 11th century, and although most of the buildings and the maze-like streets you see today are from the 17th century, Aït Ben-Haddou was an important trading post that linked ancient Sudan with Marrakech on one of several trans-Saharan trade routes.

Aït Ben-Haddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and comprises six kasbahs and almost fifty ksours (individual kasbahs), made from rammed earth, adobe, clay bricks and wood. It was a fortified village with houses – some tiny, some castle-like – community areas and associated buildings, a public square, a mosque, Muslim and Jewish cemeteries and a caravanserai. According to UNESCO ‘it is an extraordinary ensemble of buildings offering a complete panorama of pre-Saharan earthen construction techniques’. However, the use of natural materials means that buildings and structures need constant maintenance or risk being destroyed through exposure to the elements.

Ait Ben-Haddou today

There’s a sense that time stands still at Ait Ben-Haddou, and when the citadel is free of tourists, it feels like stepping back in time, into another world. It’s no surprise Ait Ben-Haddou is a popular filming location. Long before it became a star on the Game of Thrones (as Yunkai, the Yellow City), Ait Ben-Haddou was used in Gladiator, Jewel of the Nile, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Lawrence of Arabia amongst many, many others!

Amazingly, a few families still live in the village and although conservations efforts are ongoing, a number of the red mud and straw buildings are slowly being reclaimed by the land from whence they came.

Access to the walled village is free (although some of the kasbahs charge a modest entry fee of ten dirhams – about 75p/$1 – to help with maintenance) and for the most amazing views, try and go at sunrise or sunset. The town of Ouarzazate (pronounced ‘war-za-zat’) is almost permanently full of tourists and location researchers so hotels, restaurants and cafés are plentiful and of a high quality.

Getting to Ait Ben-Haddou

Ait Ben Haddou is about 30km north west of Ouarzazate. Head west on the N9 and take the P1506 at Tazentout. If you don’t have your own transport, organised tours leave from Ouarzazate pretty regularly. It’s possible to day trips here from Marrakech, but they’re not for the faint-hearted given it’s a 4 hour drive each way.

History of the El Badi Palace

Shortly after his accession in 1578, Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour commissioned the Badia Palace: it’s believed it was largely completed by the early 1580s, but that Al-Mansour continued to embellish and decorate the palace for at least 20 years after this with the finest produce from across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. El Badi was a lavish complex of buildings, made up of over 350 rooms, courtyards, gardens and a large pool.

Al Mansour was known as the ‘golden king’, and was the longest ruling, as well as the last, of the rulers of the Saadian dynasty. The Badia Palace was one of the most impressive of its type in the world at the time, and although it’s hard to picture today, the reflection pools and remnants of the sunken gardens give a hint of the former grandeur and splendour that it would have embodied.

Yet, today there is no sign of the gold or marble which once adorned the walls of El Badi Palace. Indeed, the whole complex lies in ruins in the centre of Marrakesh, having been utterly destroyed by the Sultan Moulay Ismail. Moulay Ismail is infamous for demolishing many of the buildings in Marrakesh to use their materials in his own creations and El Badi palace was probably one of the most prominent examples of this. The palace was certainly in a state of complete decay by the early 18th century.

El Badi Palace today

The ruins of the palace are open to visitors today, including the underground chambers which have various exhibitions – there’s a detailed permanent exhibit looking at conditions for slaves and prisoners who would have resided in these subterranean spaces which is grimly fascinating.

Particular highlights include the sunken gardens and the Koubba el Khamsiniyya or “main hall”, the Koutoubia minbar (complete with the gold and silver calligraphy of Cordoban artisans) and the Khayzuran Pavillion, which hosts contemporary art exhibitions,

For an overview of El Badi Palace, go to a nearby terrace or rooftop to see it from above. The views from the ramparts of the palace itself are remarkable.

Getting to the El Badi Palace

The palace is located slightly south of central Marrakech, the other side of the Avenue Imam El Ghazali from the Bahia Palace. To reach the palace entrance, head through Place des Ferblantiers and turn right along the ramparts. It’s easiest and quickest to walk here from central Marrakech (it’s about 15 minutes), but taxis will be able to get you to the entrance if you’re coming from further afield than the medina.

History of Essaouira

Pronounced ‘essa-weera’, the Atlantic coastal city of Essaouira is full of narrow alleys and the pungent smell of spices, thuya wood and sea air tells you that you are in an ancient north African town.

Essaouira, A UNESCO World Heritage Site, was established by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian explorer in the 5th century BC and over the next two thousand years it was a port, a centre of the manufacture of purple dye (which coloured the purple stripe in Imperial Roman Senatorial dress) and a garrison town but the Essaouira you see today is largely thanks to Mohammed III who built the fortifications and walled the beautiful town in.

The Portuguese seized swathes of Moroccan coast in the early 16th century, building forts along them, but these did not last long. Other European powers tried and failed to establish bases in Essaouira – both because of its strategic location, but also because of the large numbers of pirates who took shelter in the port. In the 20th century, Essaouira became part of the French protectorate of Morocco.

The influences of Portuguese, French, Berber, Dutch, Jewish and Muslim cultures are evident as you make your way around the town and at one stage the population was evenly split 50/50 between Jews and Muslims. The city is also located on the crossroads between two tribes (the Haha Berbers and the Arab Chiadma), adding to the rich cultural mix of the city.

Around the harbour, the fishermen and artisan woodworkers are doing the same as their predecessors and the art scene is as vibrant as it has always been but if you’re a Game of Thrones devotee, Essaouira is and will always be Astapor, home of the Unsullied and the southernmost of the three city-states of Slaver’s Bay.

Essaouira today

Because of the ‘vents alizés’ – the trade winds that sweep inland off the Atlantic, it’s known as the ‘Wind City of Africa’ and is a favourite spot for hardcore windsurfers rather than sun-seekers. The city has a temperate climate, and is popular with tourists all year round. The port, medina and fish markets are some of the highlights to visit – look out for fresh fish being cooked on the streets, which is Essaouira’s speciality.

Getting to Essaouira

Essaouira is on the west coast of Morocco, about 3 hours drive west of Marrakech. Flights operate seasonally from an assortment of European airports including London Stansted, Paris Orly, Brussels, Bordeaux and Toulouse directly to Essaouira.

History of the Hassan Tower

The Hassan Tower is actually a 140-foot red stone minaret built during the reign of Yacoub El Mansour, a sultan of the Almohad Dynasty who ruled from 1184 AD.

Construction of the Hassan Tower began in approximately 1195 AD and was intended to result in the largest mosque on earth. The buildings were influenced by a variety of Muslin and Moorish styles, from Al-Andalus in Spain, to Marrakech and Alexandria. However, the capital of the Almohad Caliphate remained Marrakech rather than moving to Rabat.

However, only four years of construction had elapsed when the sultan died and, with him, the project. What was built of the mosque (348 columns and the beginnings of its walls) was destroyed in an earthquake in 1755.

In the 20th century, French and Moroccan archaeologists fully excavated the site and reconstructed what they could. In the 1960s, the ruins of the mosque were moved to accommodate the building of Mohammed V’s mausoleum near by.

Today several columns surround the Hassan Tower, showing the intended layout of the mosque. Indeed, even the Hassan Tower was not completed. In fact, it was supposed to double in size, although it’s already 44m tall. Inside the Hassan Tower are six levels, each with a solitary room connected by ramps to allow the muezzin to ride a horse to the top for the call to prayer.

The Hassan Tower today

The complex remains Rabat’s must-see sight – along with the neighbouring mausoleum – and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Look out for the gorgeous decorative sekba panels on the outside and be sure to visit the extremely photogenic pillar stumps. The dawn and dusk light casts a particularly lovely hue over the complex, making it the best time to visit.

Getting to the Hassan Tower

The tower is located in the Quartier Hassan, behind the Mausoleum of Mohammed V – you should be able to stroll through the grounds to it easily. It’s about 2km from Rabat’s Medina – walkable, but with some busy roads to cross. Taxis are plentiful around the medina, so hail one if the heat or chaos gets to you.

History of the Jardin Majorelle

In 1917, Jacques Majorelle – the son of a renowned Art Nouveau furniture designer – arrived in Marrakech to convalesce from a period of ill health. Like so many others, he was enamoured with the city, and in 1923, bought a plot of land, building a Moorish style house on it. Eight years later, Majorelle commissioned the architect Paul Sinoir to build a Cubist villa for him, and began to cultivate an elaborate garden with over 135 species of plant from five continents, as well as continuing his passion for Orientalist painting.

The shade of blue that the house is now painted is named after the main himself – bleu Majorelle – and has been patented. In 1947, Majorelle opened his gardens to the public for the first time, charging a small admission fee in order to help finance their upkeep and maintenance. In the 1950s, a costly divorce meant Majorelle had to sell the house, and the gardens quickly fell into a state of disrepair.

Fortunately, in the 1980, the site was saved. Yves Saint Laurent, and his partner, Pierre Bergé had visited in the 1960s and on hearing it was up for sale to developers, stepped in to rescue the gardens. They embarked upon a major restoration project which involved over 20 gardeners and additional plants being brought it, bringing the number of plant species up to 300.

The pair owned the villa and spent time at Jardin Majorelle until Saint Laurent’s death in 2008: his ashes were scattered in the rose garden. In 2010, the Foundation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent took ownership of the villa and site, continuing public access. Pierre Bergé was the director of the Garden’s Foundation until his death in 2017.

Jardin Majorelle today

Jardin Majorelle has become one of Marrakech’s most popular tourist destinations, and the queues are infamous. The introduction of a new online booking system should ease the worst of it, but don’t come expecting an oasis of contemplation and calm – it’s full of Instagrammers and tourists. That’s not to say it’s lost any of its appeal, however. The gardens remain spectacular and beautifully aesthetic, and the Berber Museum (housed in the villa) is a fascinating exploration of cultural heritage.

The gardens are open Wednesday – Sunday year round, but check precise hours, particularly during religious festivals. If you are looking for more tranquillity, try heading in the later afternoon, when the worst of the crowds have been and gone.

Getting to the Jardin Majorelle

The garden is located on the Rue Yves Saint Laurent, close to the Avenue Yacoub el-Mansour, in Marrakech. It’s about a 30 minute walk from the medina, but across busy roads. Alternatively, any taxi in town can take you there easily, or you can hop on a bus to the Boukar Majorelle stop.

History of the Mausoleum of Mohammed V

Mohammed V was the sultan of Morocco for two periods – 1927 to 1953 and 1957 to 1961. He agitated for Moroccan independence for the first part of his reign, and was exiled by French colonial authorities in 1953 as a result. However, he successfully negotiated an independence agreement with France and Spain in 1956, and was restored to leadership, assuming the title of king in 1957.

Commissioned by King Hassan II in 1962 and completed in 1971, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V is a white building crowned with green tiles. Inside, the mausoleum is lavishly decorated and adorned with a wealth of traditional artwork. It was designed by the Vietnamese architect Cong Vo Toan to evoke a sense of Moroccan identity and to pay tribute to the sophisticated craftsmanship of Moroccan artisans.

The design makes use of traditional porticoes of Moorish arches, white marble and the ubiquitous sekba motif, found all over Morocco. The rectangular open-sided pavilion too the west was designed as a museum for the Alouite dynasty, and the mosque in between the two buildings is deliberately low as not to obstruct the view of any of the surrounding structures.

Together with its namesake, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V is also the final resting place of King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah, his two sons.

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V today

The mausoleum complex is open from dawn to dusk, and it’s quite a sight to behold. Royal guards wear dress uniforms, and visitors are expected to dress respectfully (long clothes, covered shoulders and ideally a headscarf for women). The tomb itself can be viewed from above, via a gallery. Be sure to visit the Hassan Tower which is located just behind the mausoleum complex.

Getting to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V

The Mausoleum is located in the Quartier Hassan. It’s about 2km from Rabat’s Medina – walkable, but with some busy roads to cross. Taxis are plentiful around the medina, so hail one if the heat or chaos gets to you.

History of the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

Moulay Ismail was a member of the Alaouite Dynasty and the ruler of the country from 1672 to 1727. In a break with tradition, he made the city of Meknes his capital, and embarked on several massive building projects.

In his time as sultan, Moulay Ismail gained a reputation for ruthlessness, earned due to his purges of anybody unwilling to support him and for megalomania, particularly when it came to creating monuments and palaces at the expense of destroying those built by others. One famous casualty of Moulay Ismail is the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, demolished for its materials.

Nevertheless, Moulay Ismail was also known as a very effective leader, and his accomplishments included taking areas such as Tangiers and al-Mamurah from the British and the Spanish respectively. He ended attempts by the Ottomans to get a foothold in Morocco and established a firmer diplomatic relationship with Europe through the ransom of Christian captives at his court.

Created by masses of slaves and criminal prisoners, the sultan oversaw the initial construction of his tomb. The Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is a good example of the opulence of the sultan’s building style. Built around grand courtyards and fountains are rooms with intricate tiling and stucco walls adorned with fine objects such as clocks gifted to the sultan by his friend, the French king, Louis XIV.

Moulay Ismail was laid to rest in the mausoleum together with one of his (five hundred) wives and two of his (eight hundred) children. The mausoleum was restored and opened to the public by Sultan Mohammed V in the 20th century.

Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail today

The mausoleum complex is arguably the highlight of Meknes, and is well worth a visit. Non-Muslims cannot enter the actual tomb, but can explore the entry hall and front courtyards. You’ll need to dress modestly, and women are recommended to cover their heads.

The complex was undergoing major restoration work from 2016 onwards: it’s best to check before visiting what’s actually open and available to visit.

Getting to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

The mausoleum is on Avenue Bab Marrah, in the Cite Imperiale district of Meknes, about a 20 minute walk from the main madrassa. Depending on where in the city you’re coming from, a taxi can be quite convenient.

History of Ouarzazate

Linking ancient Sudan with Marrakech, the town was a small but strategically important crossing point for traders from all over Africa looking to expand their markets into northern Africa and Europe. Ouarzazate expanded considerably during French colonial administration, turning into a larger garrison town and administrative centre as well as a customs and trading post. After the French protectorate left in the 1950s, the movie business took over and hasn’t looked back.

Ouarzazate is one of the most perfectly preserved examples of the Morocco we have all seen in a thousand movies. Notwithstanding the port of Pentos, one of the Free Cities in Game of Thrones, the Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate – the world’s largest film studio complex – has been used to depict places as diverse as ancient Rome, Tibet, Egypt, Somalia and dozens of Middle Eastern locations and is colloquially known as ‘Ouallywood’. The nearby Ait Ben-Haddou was used for the filming of Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, and since then, the world’s film location scouts are in Ouarzazate semi-permanently.

Ouarzazate today

Boiling hot in the summer (36°C – 40°C) but thanks to the icy winds that shank off the High Atlas Mountains, the winters can get down as low as 1°C – 3°C. Since the film industry boom, the area has developed quickly and now includes hotels, restaurants, shops, apartments and public spaces and with plenty of small businesses offering the hire of cars, motorbikes and even camels, your trip into the heart of the Sahara is well taken care of. It may not be as atmospheric as other towns nearby, but it’s functional and a bit more swish, as well as being an excellent base.

Getting to Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate is known as the ‘door to the desert’, straddling the southern Atlas Mountains and the start of the Sahara Desert. It’s about 4 hours south east of Marrakech along the N9 if you’re driving – otherwise plenty of tour buses run excursions this way, although we wouldn’t recommend a day trip as the distances are too far to make it worthwhile. CTM buses run from Marrakech to Ouarzazarte – they cost around 100 MAD and take about 5 hours – you could also get a spot in a grand taxi for around the same price.