The back story
The red city: reading Marrakech’s great sights
The Koutoubia’s minaret, the open-air theatre of Jemaa el-Fna, the Saadian Tombs, the ruins of El Badi and the courtyards of the Bahia and Ben Youssef: how to read the medina UNESCO listed in 1985.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Jorge Franganillo · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsMarrakech was founded in 1070–72 by the Almoravids, UNESCO records, and remained for centuries a political, economic and cultural centre whose influence reached from North Africa to Andalusia. Its walls still hold the city they built and the cities that followed: the Koutoubia Mosque, the Kasbah, the ramparts and monumental gates of the first centuries; later, the Badi Palace, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the Saadian Tombs and the great residences; and at the centre of it all Jemaa el-Fna, which UNESCO calls a veritable open-air theatre.
The minaret and the square
The Koutoubia’s minaret rises 77 metres over the medina; its design, the Moroccan National Tourist Office notes, inspired both the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville. Below it, Jemaa el-Fna has been a symbol of the city since the eleventh century, in UNESCO’s words: storytellers, musicians and food stalls through the day and well into the night.
The Kasbah
South of the square, through the Kasbah, are the Saadian Tombs and the vast ruined courts of the Badi Palace, and to the east the courtyards and gardens of the Bahia and the old Jewish quarter, the Mellah.
The north medina
North of the square, through the souks, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, Le Jardin Secret, the Musée de Mouassine and the Maison de la Photographie make a morning’s walk.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © YoTuT from United States · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsBeyond the walls
The Menara gardens, founded by the Almohads, and the Agdal gardens lie south of the medina; the Jardin Majorelle and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent are north-west, beyond Bab Doukkala.
Start early: the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia are calmest at opening time, and the square is at its best at dusk.
Our advice: if someone offers to guide you through the medina, use only official guides with a badge, as the UK Foreign Office advises.
Why it's on our list
- The minaret and the square
- The Kasbah
- The north medina
- Beyond the walls
Location
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More in depth
The back storyFrom Majorelle blue to the festival: Marrakech’s artsThe Musée Yves Saint Laurent and the Berber museum at Majorelle, MACAAL’s African art, the photographs of the Maison de la Photographie, Dar el Bacha’s exhibitions, the music of Mouassine and the Marrakech International Film Festival.
The back storyWild Marrakech: Storks, Bulbuls, Macaques and the Eagles of the AtlasWhite storks nesting on the walls of El Badi, bulbuls in the gardens, Barbary macaques at the Ouzoud falls, and eagles, foxes and jackals in Toubkal National Park: the wild side of Marrakech.