Marrakesh, Morocco: Where the 1001 Nights Still Live
As fast as the Almoravides took control of North-Africa, they lost it. In 1145, a new group of Berber zealots led their armies down from the Atlas Mountains into the fertile valley of Marrakesh. Led by Ibn Toumert, they attacked the Almoravides for being subject to Andalucian corruptions. The Almohads were extremely successful. The third Sultan Yaqoub el Mansour had conquered all of North-Africa and had given the Christians a sound defeat in Spain by 1195.
Almohad rule ended during the first half of the 13th century. Other dynasties followed: the Merinids, the Wattasids, and the Saadians, who did their best to expel the Christians from Morocco. But none of these dynasties had the power and the success of the earlier ones. Morocco became a bit of a backwater under their rule. In these years of relative weakness and isolation, Moroccan society and culture did find its shape, including the institution of the Makhzen or the governing power.
In 1665 the Alouites, the sherrifs from the Tafilelt Oasis, came to power. Their dynasty proved, in some ways, to be the most successful. But in 1912, the Moroccan Sultan Moualy Hafid was forced to sign a treaty by which he placed the throne under the protectorate of the French. In the following fifty years, Morocco was modernized quickly by the French and all of the land was brought under central control, something that had been quite rare in the preceding centuries.
This opulent ambiance of Marrakesh found no greater reality in the court of the infamous Thami el-Glaoui, the last pasha of Marrakesh who reigned from 1912 to 1955. He was styled the ‘Lord of the Atlas’ and the uncrowned king of the South. A Berber of the Glaoua tribe, el-Glaoui did more than anyone else to cultivate the mystique of Marrakesh. He was a supporter of French rule, which he used to bolster his own regional power. His cruelty and connoisseurship were legendary and, along with his brother el-Mandani, he was responsible for nearly all the grand kasbahs of the South. His violent overthrow at the advent of Independence in 1956 brought to an end the great and terrible age of Moroccan sultans.
Hassan II took over as Morocco’s slightly less autocratic ruling monarch in the early 1960s. During his forty year reign, the country’s politics, society and culture were reformed dramatically. In 1999, the succession of Mohammed VI ushered in an era of even more liberal, social policies and improved human rights. However, the country’s economy is still heavily dependent on agriculture, which has been hampered by droughts, and unemployment is rife. Unfortunately, Mohammed VI’s Western-looking tendencies have created tensions among the fundamentalist Islamic movements and a series of bombings took place in Casablanca in 2003. Despite this, Morocco maintains its reputation as one of the world’s most tolerant Islamic societies. The country, especially Marrakesh, is also a choice destination for the traveler seeking exotic, Middle Eastern ambiance.
Ali ben Youssef Medersa
This medersa or religious school is a peaceful and meditative place with some absolutely stunning examples of stucco decoration. The building was originally built in the 14th century by the Merenids in a somewhat different style than that of other medersas. Later, in the 16th century, Sultan Abdullah el Ghallib, of the famously refined Saadians, rebuilt it almost completely, adding the incredibly refined Andalusian details in the carved cedar, stucco plasterwork, and mosaic. The most valuable treasure of the medersa, a 10th-century marble basin, which used to adorn the courtyard, has now been moved to the Dar Si Said Museum. The large main courtyard, framed by two columned arcades, opens into an ornately decorated prayer hall that features rare palm motifs as well as the more customary calligraphy of Koranic texts. The medersa also contains a small mosque, whose beautiful carved cedar, stucco, and mosaic remain in good condition.
Jardin Majorelle
Now owned by Yves Saint-Laurent, the pretty sub-tropical Jardin Majorelle provides a wonderful haven. They were designed by the French painter Jacques Majorelle, who lived in Marrakesh from 1922 to 1962. The garden, as we know it today, is roughly half the garden, created by Majorelle. In the garden prominently you can see his painting studio, painted in a typical vivid cobalt blue, known as “Blue Majorelle”. This blue color is also used in more elements in the garden, for example the fountains, water rills and pots. An important element in the garden is water, as it is in all Islamic gardens. So you can find a square pool, containing water lillies and lotus plants.
The plant collection in the garden is very famous. Louis Majorelle imported a lot of plants from tropical areas all around the world. There is a dense vegetation of, for example, palm trees, jaracandas, dragon trees, cypresses, dense grooves of bamboo, giant euphorbias, aloes and so on.
Koubba Ba’adiyn
Although modest in appearance and size, the koubba (sanctuary or shrine) is interesting for the fact that it is the only example of Almoravid Marrakesh that wasn’t destroyed by the zealous Almohads who succeeded them. The koubba is remarkable because it bears the origins of nearly all the motifs and forms of pure Moroccan architecture, including palms, pine cones, the classic shape of the windows, and the dome with its octagonal support.
Mus�©e de Marrakesh
The original home of Mehdi Mnebbi, a highly regarded defense minister to Mouley Abdelziz (1894-1908), the decaying palace was bought by dedicated patron of the arts, Omar Benjelloun. Inside, an orgy of stalactite stucco-work drips from the ceiling and combines with a mind-boggling excess of zellij work. It contains Arab, Berber, and Jewish artifacts. But the Palace itself is well worth a visit for its beauty, it being one of the jewels of Marrakesh.
Palais de la Bahia
As the house of a Grand Vizier, the Palais de la isn’t bad, and it’s hardly surprising that it aroused the envy of the ruling sultan, Abdel Aziz, who had the palace thoroughly looted on the death of its owner, Si’Ahmed ben Musa (also known as Bou-Ahmed). A jewel of a palace, with all the key elements of Moroccan architecture – light, symmetry, decoration, and water – El Bahia was built as a harem’s residence. The rooms vary in size according to the importance of each wife or concubine, but each wife had her own quiet courtyard in any case. The writer Edith Wharton once stayed in the most-favored wife’s room during the era of the French Protectorate. One can still experience its layout and get a sense of its former beauty. There are several cypress-filled courtyards, and the entire building is filled with smooth arches, carved-cedar ceilings, ceramic-tile lower walls and fountains, shiny marbled finishes, stucco plasterwork cornices, and zouak painted ceilings. Sadly, the rooftop tower that Wharton once climbed for its fabulous view of Marrakesh is closed to the public; and when the royal family is in town, the entire palace is closed since the family’s entourage often stays here.
Palais el-Badi
The most famous of the city’s palaces is the Palais el-Badi, south of Djemaa el-Fna. Built by Ahmed al-Mansour between 1578 and 1602, at the time of its construction it was reputed to be one of the most beautiful palaces in the world (and was known as the Incomparable). Its scale is certainly staggering from the vast 90m-long central pool surrounded by sunken orange groves. It is now mainly in ruins, but one can still explore the underground corridors and go on top to admire the view.
Saadian Tombs
Long hidden from intrusive eyes, the area of the Saadian Tombs, alongside the Kasbah Mosque, was the original, privileged cemetery for descendents of the Prophet Mohammed. However, the ornate tombs that can be seen today are the resting places of the Saadian princes, most notably Ahmed al-Mansour. The complex was discovered only in 1917 by Gen. Hubert Lyautey during the time of the French Protectorate. Enthusiastic about every aspect of Morocco’s history, the general undertook to restore the tombs for posterity. The central mausoleum, the Hall of Twelve Columns, which contains the tombs of Ahmed el Mansour and his family, is dark and lavishly ornate, with a huge vaulted roof, warm-tone doors of carved cedar and carved wooden screening traditionally used to separate the sexes, and gray Italian marble columns. In a smaller inner mausoleum, built by Ahmed el Mansour on the site of an earlier structure containing the decapitated body of the Saadian dynasty’s founder, Mohammed esh Sheikh, lies the tomb of Ahmed el Mansour’s mother. The serene garden of headstones also contains the tombs of several children.
