Beyond The Palaces of Marrakesh

As I was writing this post about landmarks of Marrakesh, I realized the blog posts would be too long, given the plethora of wonderful sights. I decided to create a separate post, only just the palaces of Marrakesh, to keep this post at a reasonable length. Based on my previous post on Marrakesh, you might think I am not all that impressed with Marrakesh. In all honesty, I think Marrakesh’s popularity and towering reputation are well-deserved. This “Daughter of the Desert” is undoubtedly the jewel of Morocco and takes safeguarding its historical heritage seriously. I think my “criticism” of Marrkaism focuses mostly on the lack of public space and the aggressive behaviors of most shopkeepers.

The Almoravid Qubba, an example of Almoravid architecture in Marrakech.

Wandering around Marrakesh could be quite disorienting. To make the best out of limited time in the city, I think having a plan before arrival is important. In this post, I would like to share some of Medina's most important landmarks (besides palaces). For anyone who might want to use this as a “guide” for your next visit. I am arranging them according to each landmark’s importance as far as sightseeing is concerned. Of course, this is just my opinion, and I look forward to your thoughts!

Jemaa el-Fnaa Square

No matter how short your visit is, you will most likely visit Jemaa el-Fnaa Square at some point. This is not only Marrkesh’s largest public square but also one of the largest in Africa. Located on the west edge of Medina, the square is the modern entry point into Medina as it is the terminus of Mohamed V Avenue, the unofficial causeway into Marrakesh. For a thousand years, this has been the heartbeat of the city and a magnet for all types of activity. There is no consensus among historians about the origin of the name “Jemaa el-Fnaa,” but the most common theory is that it gets the name from a former mosque at its present location.

Compared to great European town squares like Prague or Antwerp, Jemaa el-Fnaa Square appears disorganized architecturally. Although almost every building bears the pink plaster characteristic of Marrikesh, they vary in age, height, and articulation. Most confusingly, there are not one or two dominating landmarks on the square. The only dominant and recognizable landmark is the Koutoubia Mosque, two blocks away. As far as I could tell, there was not even a single memorial at the plaza, which was highly unusual for a central plaza of its size or significance.

The square is usually semi-abandoned during the early morning hours.

Of course, what made this square truly magnificent was not its physical architecture but the fact that it drew a cross-section of people from Morocco and abroad. Other than your typical juice or street stands, the variety of vendors on the square is awesome. From traditional baskets to contemporary art, there is everything under the sun. However, I am convinced there are city regulations on the kind of retail activities permitted on the square. For instance, I don’t see anyone selling electronic or raw meat. Amid all the chaos, the square still has a sense of historical appropriateness.

Of everything on sale, the most unusual item on offer would be the sellers for false teeth and dentures. Since I can’t imagine any tourist getting false teeth on the spot, there must be enough locals buying them for them to be in the business, right? While visitors today could enjoy the ambiance and bustle of the square, not all vendors are so innocent. Among the most controversial vendors are snake charmers and guys with chained-up monkeys. By contemporary standards, these guys are animal abusers who are the scourge of society. By posing for photos with them, visitors essentially encourage these "entrepreneurs” to poach animals from the wild. Even if you casually take a picture, just be warned that they will likely track you down and demand a fee.

While we like to judge those tourists who patronize these “performers,” I need to remind myself these “trades” existed through ancient times, and what changed was our own sensibility. After all, is modern factory-style poultry farming any more humane? The snake charmer or monkey wranglers are always present in cartoons or movies. Though I am not excusing the practices, we should all show some sympathy and appreciate that changing people’s understanding of animal welfare could take time. We should all be grateful that these ancient practices are becoming less and less acceptable yearly.

If you could only visit the square once, there is no question that the best time to visit the square is late afternoon or early evening. From around 4 pm. every day, food vendors gather on the square to set up their stalls. Compared to most night markets in Asia, the street vendors at Jemaa el-Fnaa Square are very organized and well-regulated. Each stall is given a number for easy identification and operates under standardized sheds organized in rows. Overall, I am extremely impressed with how efficient and tidy the operation is. Although my Lonely Planet guidebook recommends a handful of stands, I think the best thing is to find one frequented by the locals. As you would expect, those recommended by the guidebook will likely have copycats. I wouldn’t blindly follow a book printed a few years ago.

You could order any combination of different juices at one of the stands.

Of all the stalls I tried, the most exciting dish I tried at the square has got to be the snail soup. Unbeknown to most foreign visitors, snails are popular snacks in Morocco and are most often served as a quick snack in winter. Because of French colonialism in Morocco, I wrongly presumed the French introduced snail-eating a hundred years ago. Known as babbouche or ghlal, Moroccan snails are typically cooked in warm broth with various spices. Each stall would have its own unique recipe, but the most common ingredients are supposed to be licorice root, tea leaves, aniseed, and caraway seed.

Though I had tried snails in France before, I was still apprehensive about trying. After all, the butter of escargot probably masked the natural taste of the snails a great deal. Tasting the natural taste of land-based mollusks seems…. wrong. After standing around the snail soup stands, I figured I should not miss out on this unique opportunity. Who knows when I will be in Morocco the next time? In the end, I settled on stand #3. To my great surprise, the broth of the snail soup tastes quite familiar to me. It reminds me of the tea egg from my childhood. Who knew I would find a taste of Taiwan in Marrakesh?

Jemaa el-Fnaa Square is the ultimate street food heaven in Morocco.

The citizens of Marrakesh were concerned about preserving the square’s unique cultural heritage as the gathering place for musicians, storytellers, and traditional performers of all kinds; they petitioned UNESCO to create a program to aid the cultural continuation of intangible heritage. The result was the creation of the “Masterpieces of Oral and Tangible Heritage of Humanity” program in 2001. The goal was to facilitate and raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage internationally. Judging from the teeming activities on the square, I would say the UNESCO program is beyond successful.

Joining in one of a dozen performance troupes for some authentic music and dancing.

Different musical troupes or storytellers set up their shop around an oil lamp as night fell. The performance is a mixture of spoken words, dancing, and singing. I am unsure whether the performance was in Arabic or Amazigh, but they drew serious crowds of all ages. For a small fee, visitors are offered front-row seats and joined in the singing and dancing. While I did not understand a single word, it is a local authentic experience you can’t buy anywhere else.

Koutoubia Mosque

Because Marrakesh is a flat city, the most recognizable landmark is the Koutoubia Mosque, thanks to its towering minaret. At a height of more than 250 feet, the 800-year-old minaret is still the tallest structure in the city due to strict zoning codes. If you think the Koutoubia Mosque looks familiar, you might recognize it as the architectural inspiration for the much larger Mohamed V Mosque in Casablanca. The elegant silhouette makes Koutoubia the prominent backdrop to the nearby Jemaa el-Fnaa Square despite being a few blocks away from each other. It is a convenient meeting point and a landmark for wayfinding.

The original mosque was built on top of a former palace in 1147, but the builders made a terrible mistake by not checking the alignment of the new mosque with Mecca. The rulers demolished and rebuilt the structure next door to correct this problem. The current mosque took forty years to complete and is primarily based on the plan of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia. You can see the differing orientations if you find the architectural plans for the two mosques online. In the early 20th century, a team of French archaeologists uncovered the foundation of the original mosque. The ruins have been beautifully preserved and presented as a memorial or a piece of public art.

The interior of this mosque is closed to non-Muslim visitors, as is just about every mosque in the country except for the Mohamed V Mosque in Casablanca. Fortunately, there are plenty of pictures of the interior posted online. It does not look as glamorous as the mosque’s grand exterior might imply. Interestingly, the Quran only prohibited non-Muslims from visiting Mecca and made no mention of this policy for ordinary mosques. I have read that this prohibition was first introduced under French colonial rule. Hubert Lyautey, France’s Resident-General in Morocco, put this policy in place. The goal of his policy was to enforce ethnic and cultural segregation in Marrakesh. Under his direction, he even constructed a separate settlement, Ville Nouvelleb, exclusively for the French ruling class.

Restored foundations of the Koutoubia Mosque.

But what caught my attention was the design of the minaret. This minaret is so massive that it has a continuous ramp to the top. The ramp is wide enough for a full horse-drawn carriage to climb the minaret. The said design reminds me of Copenhagen’s Rundetaarn, an astronomical tower with a spiral ramp for carriage. There is a section drawing of the minaret on the plaque. Oddly, I could not find a single picture of the internal ramp online. There must be something going on behind the walls. Interestingly, the minaret exterior used to be covered with Marrakesh’s characteristically pink plaster. It was not until the 1990s that the original masonry and stone works were exposed. I think most of us would agree that it was a good decision.

Being a premier landmark of the city, Koutoubia is very photogenic. The best place to appreciate it would be the nearby Parc Lalla Hasna, named after the sister of the current monarch. As I wrote in my previous post, Marrakesh, the Medina could be mentally and physically exhausting. This green oasis could offer a much-needed respite from the persistent vendors and intense traffic. A long reflecting pool and water fountains make this an ideal photographer spot. I would argue this might be the most beautiful spot in all of Marrakesh.

Madrasa Ben Youssef

Of all the places we visited in Marrakesh, no monument impressed us more than Madrasa Ben Youssef. The term madrasa is a school devoted to studying the Quran, particularly the subjects of Islamic law and jurisprudence. Madrasa Ben Youssef got its name from the adjacent mosque and was commissioned by Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib in the mid-sixteenth century. At its completion, this is the largest madrasa in northern Africa, with 132 dormitory rooms and 900 students. The school remained at this location until 1960 when it was transferred to the city to be opened as a historic site.

The madrasa has been restored several times since 1960, with the latest renovation only completed in March. We count ourselves lucky to enjoy the glorious result of a multi-year restoration. Even before entering the madrasa, we were struck by its exterior. The walls are covered with pristine red plaster and five-foot-high wooden wainscoting. This section of the public lanes is also paved with beautiful stone slabs. Assuming the restoration was well-researched and accurate, the madrasa gave us a good sense of how Marrakesh looked back in the day. The smooth plaster surface helps reflect a lot of natural light downward. As a result, it makes the narrow lanes a lot airier.

Madrasa Ben Youssef is really a work of art.

The madrasa itself is organized around a splendid central courtyard. The intricacy and craftsmanship of every single surface are just breathtaking. The cedar wood carving came from the High Atlas mountain and was considered a very luxurious material due to scarcity. I was surprised at how awesome of a job the restorer did on a material that was difficult to maintain. The gilded calligraphy on the intricate cedar carving shimmered in the sunlight like celestial handwriting. While most decorative elements were made of gypsum, there is an interesting mix of materials, including marble and Moroccan Zellige tiles.

On the north side of the building is a prayer hall, all decked out with marble. On one side is the mihrab, which indicates the qibla, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The Muqarnas-style gypsum dome is perhaps the most embellished space in the building. But just like Bahia Palace, Madrasa Ben Youssef is stripped of all its original furniture and interior decoration. And compared to Bahia Palace, there was even less signage or exhibition here. The place could feel a little eerie if it was not for all the visitors. I suspect the city will better utilize this beautiful venue as time passes.

Madrasa Ben Youssef is Brian’s favorite place in Marrakesh.

The madrasa was supported financially by the sultan with free accommodation and food. However, all the washing and cooking were done by students. Spatially, much of the madrasa is actually composed of student dormitories. Every eight to ten rooms are organized around a small courtyard. Compared to the college dorm rooms we have nowadays, these rooms are very tight. Shockingly, each of the tiny rooms could accommodate four to six students. Since most rooms have no windows to the outside, I could only imagine how miserable the sleeping condition would be at the height of Moroccan summer. Despite being a student quarter, the architectural decoration in this part of the madrasa is still quite impressive.

I wholeheartedly recommend putting Madrasa Ben Youssef on the list for anyone who has only a day in Marrakesh. Even though there is an admission fee of 70 Dirhams, it is probably the most impressive monument in Medina. Because of the lack of interior decoration or exhibit, you don’t necessarily feel guilty about spending only half an hour. However, I suggest visiting in the middle of the day when the sun is high enough to illuminate the floor for the best photography opportunity. If taking pictures is a concern, visiting early in the morning is recommended to avoid the crowd.

Saadian Tombs

Although Madrasa Ben Youssef may be the most beautiful building in Marrakesh, one specific interior is head and shoulder above everything else. Located next to Moulay el Yazid Mosque, the tomb is well hidden. As the name suggests, this complex is the burial ground for the Saadi Dynasty, which ruled Marrakesh from 1525 to 1668. This area in the southern part of Medina was the Kasbah section, which is more defensible and the home to successive rulers of Marrakesh. While there were already a few rulers buried here prior, the primary builder of the necropolis was Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, with his successors gradually expanding the complex.

As the main benefactor of the necropolis, Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur naturally built himself the largest and most lavish tomb. The Chamber of the Twelve Columns is unlike any space I have seen regarding the luxuriousness of the details and its intricacy. This place is regarded as the high point of Moroccan architecture and the single most luxurious interior in the country. As the name suggests, twelve ornate columns compose and support the room. Buried at the center of the rooms is Ahmad al-Mansur, along with two other fellow sultans. Around the room, there were about a dozen burials of lesser royals.

I am particularly in love with the circular mosaic patterns of the wainscoting and the muqarnas style archways and central dome. The most interesting thing about visiting this room was that no visitors were allowed inside because of the tight space. As a result, the only way to see it was to stand at a narrow entryway, which is just big enough for two visitors at a time. So when there is a crash of visitors, there could be a ten-minute wait to take a peek inside. With so many people in line, I felt the pressure not to hog the spot for too long (justifiably). Try visiting Saadian Tombs early to avoid the tour groups if you can.

In the middle of the necropolis is the Chamber of Lalla Mas'uda, the largest mausoleum in the complex. It is the resting place of Muhammad al-Sheikh and Lalla Mas'uda. This room may be less lavish, but no less elegant. All around the ground of the necropolis are colorful tombstones. Compared to Christian burial, Islamic tombs are more low profile and have no upright tombstones. Visually, the necropolis is serene and orderly. The intricate mosaics made the whole ground to be both colorful and tasteful. A highlight of the visit for me was seeing a restorer at work. As an architect and homeowner, I could appreciate how much work is involved in keeping the necropolis in such pristine condition.

Given how beautiful the Saddian Tombs are today, I was surprised to learn that this necropolis was abandoned. After the fall of the Saddian dynasty, Marrakesh was ruled by Sultan Moulay Ismail of the Alaouite dynasty. Known for his ruthlessness, Moulay Ismail was eager to erase all traces of the Saadian rules from Marrakesh by plundering places like Bahia Palace. But fearing back karma, he spared the Saadian necropolis from destruction.

Gradually, the complex was walled off from the rest of the city and gradually forgotten. For two centuries, the tombs were completely forgotten and “rediscovered” by archaeologists about a hundred years ago. It was remarkable that such a beautiful and sizeable monument in the middle of Medina could be forgotten.

Walls of Marrakesh

Speaking of important landmarks, we definitely can’t overlook Marrakesh’s impressive ramparts. After all, this is the defining boundary of Medina, but visitors often overlook it. Constructed in the early 12th century by the Almoravid dynasty, it was expanded several times to accommodate the expanding population, notably to accommodate the kasbah and the Agdal Gardens in the south. Around 30 feet high and 6 feet thick, the walls of Marrakesh are probably not the most impressive fortifications in the world. However, they are still mighty impressive, given the city’s architectural profile.

The walls of Marrakesh were built with the rammed earth technique, which could also be found in other great Moroccan city walls of cities like Fez or Taroudant. The wall comprises clay and mud mixed with binding materials such as straw and lime. As you can probably guess, this construction method is permeable to moisture and requires constant maintenance or wholesale reconstruction. You could compare the restored and original fortifications side by side at certain sections of the walls. The differences between the two are night and day. The issue of authenticity came into mind when dealing with a construction method that is very fragile and ephemeral.

A section of the wall was removed to accommodate Mohamed V Avenue.

Funny enough, the city walls could be quite “invisible” to most visitors, as most stay within the confine of the Medina for the most part. Honestly, I noticed the walls most when we passed through one of the numerous gates. Today, there are about a dozen gates still in existence. Many have been modified in the modern era as their defensive purpose gave way to modern convenience. Of course, there were many segments where the wall was torn down to allow modern boulevards to plow through. At the end of the day, we all need to be practical.

Bab Agnaou is the most famous historic gate of Marrakesh.

Among all the gates, the most famous got to be Bab Agnaou. The gate was especially grandiose because it was designated as the main ceremonial entrance to the Kasbah of the city. The design is remarkably similar to Bab er-Rouah in Rabat. Even though the gate may seem grand and intimidating, it never served any defensive purpose because there used to be two additional bastions built in front of it. The frieze at the top of the gate includes inspections from the Quran. The one inscription on the archway reads, “Enter with blessing, serene people.” I suppose this gate was for guests, not foes.

Although every city gate has its own charms, I would suggest that the only one to seek out specifically would be Bab Agnaou. One exception might be Bab Moussoufa, the gate visitors would pass through on their way to Jardin Majorelle. The gate is nothing remarkable, but I was particularly intrigued by a series of seven pillars just outside. These massive pillars may seem part of the fortification, but they were a 2005 monument commemorating the Seven Saints of Marrakesh. The seven saints are seven important Islamic figures buried in Marrakesh. Because locals believe each of them possesses mystical powers, their tombs became popular stops for pilgrimage. For the past century, there has been an annual organized pilgrimage to all seven shrines, drawing pilgrims from all over Southern Morocco.

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Jemaa el-Fnaa Square

Koutoubia Mosque

Madrasa Ben Youssef

Saadian Tombs

Walls of Marrakesh

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