You may recall that we visited Marrakech for the first time in March 2020 — just as Covid was starting its rampage. The mysterious new pandemic filled our shorter-then-planned visit with anxiety and uncertainty. While we did visit a few of Marrakech’s attractions, we had to abandon others.
Here are our posts from that first visit: First Marrakech Moments, A Morning Tour of Marrakech, Moroccan Rug Negotiation, Berbers and the Atlas Mountains, Tastes of Marrakech, Ouarzazate & Ksar Aït Ben Hadou, and Repatriation from Marrakech.
Five years later, we had the chance to visit again this colorful city — without the anxiety. Much better!
Here’s Take Two!
We traveled with our good friend Wendy from Toronto. A friend of a friend of hers had recently visited Marrakech and recommended a guide. Wendy reached out to him, and we arranged for his guidance for the mornings of our week-long visit, as well as two evening food tours. His name is Kamal Ben Moussa, but he said just to call him Ben. (His family name is Ben Moussa; Ben actually means Son of, but he’s found it’s less confusing for foreigners just to call him Ben.) You can reach him at marrakechprivatetours@gmail.com.
Thanks to Ben, we were able to witness some fascinating hidden details that otherwise would have been invisible to us.
We’ll start with three famous destinations in this post (along with a bit of food). In the next post Ben will help us explore the souks (and even more food!).
Ben Youssef Madrasa
The Ben Youssef Madrasa was one of the largest and most important Islamic colleges in North Africa. Here’s some background:
The Ben Youssef Madrasa was built by Sultan Abdullah Al-Ghaleb Assaadi between the years 1564 and 1565, and for four centuries, it remained a stronghold for scholars and a destination for knowledge-thirsty students in various fields, particularly in religious sciences.
The madrasa has 136 rooms spread across its ground floor and upper floor, a prayer hall, a courtyard, and an ablution room. It is an architectural masterpiece of extreme beauty that chronicles the original art of Moroccan architecture and showcases a rich artistic repertoire with diverse motifs, vibrant colors, and joyful forms born out of Moroccan creativity.
This madrasa has been restored, thanks to the great care of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Commander of the Faithful, may God assist him, by specialists in sciences, history, archaeology, engineering, and traditional craftsmen (maallams) who excelled in rehabilitating the madrasa using inherited techniques.
The Ben Youssef Madrasa is considered a historical treasure and a testament to the genius of our ancestors in architecture and decoration during its founding era. Its architectural construction and aesthetic creativity reflect the founders’ high regard for the pursuit of knowledge for which it was built, their concern for learning conditions, and the comfort of the students for whom this madrasa was constructed and endowed as an inalienable endowment property to live in architectural atmospheres where everything exudes prestige, beauty, and majesty.
(from a panel in the madrasa)
We learned that there were long periods starting in the 16th century when great wealth concentrated in Marrakech thanks to its key role in trans-Saharan trade, especially in gold and salt. This wealth made it possible for worthy students, no matter their origin, to be invited to the madrasa and to study free-of-charge. Imagine “university” life in these courtyards and rooms.
Morocco and Marrakech are famous for these patterns in tile, plaster and wood. One reason for the patterns is the Muslim proscription of depicting animals and humans. Additionally, the fabrics and jewelry of the Berbers of North Africa, who predate the arrival of the Arab Muslims, contribute a rich palette of motifs. Most of the patterns have symbolic meaning, as well as names. For example, the intricate tile patterns that look impossibly woven are called zillij. Sebka is the name for interlacing lozenge-like patterns, often used in plaster decorations. You find honeycomb and stalactite carvings everywhere; these are muqarnas.
As you’ll see in our next post about the souks and craftspeople of Marrakech, we came to understand that these skills of intricate plaster and wood carving are alive and well in Morocco. These are living crafts, not just remnants of some lost past.
We really didn’t spend any time getting all analytical about pattern types. We just turned our greedy eyes to maximum and enjoyed.
Museum of Confluences Dar el Bacha
This palace, Dar El Bacha, is considered one of the most opulent examples of Moroccan decorative architecture. Part of the palace is open to the public as the Museum of Confluences; the rest remains open only to selected guests of the King. We didn’t visit that part!
Let’s start with some official background from a panel at the museum:
Located in the old Medina of Marrakech, Dar El Bacha is a majestic palace built in the 1910s by Thami El Glaoui (1878-1956), the pasha of Marrakech from 1907 to 1956.
The building is a typical example of a riad, featuring a rectangular garden surrounded by six rooms on its four sides.
The palace is considered an archetype of Moroccan architecture. It illustrates both the expertise of native craftsmen and the Pasha’s appreciation for European-inspired decor, especially Italian, as seen in the doors, windows, and the built-in central heating system found in many rooms.
The patterns are of rare finesse and harmony: the traditional tiles and the carved wooden ceilings bear witness to the richness and the delicacy of Moroccan decorative style. Furthermore, the water supply system as well as the bathroom’s heating system attest to the Moroccan craftsman’s talent.
Since July 2015, and under the management of the National Foundation of Museums, the building has become a museum called “Museum of Confluences”, with a mission to showcase the various aspects of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage that shaped the country’s identity.
As always, the story behind this extraordinary collection of craftsmanship is complicated. Here’s a bit of what we learned: The context for the rise of Thami El Glaoui from a leading family in a prominent Berber tribe from the Atlas Mountains to Pasha of Marrakech was the “invitation” of the French into Morocco. (A pasha is like a governor.) By the end of the 19th century, the Sultan of Morocco had lost control of most of the country; many different tribes claimed territory all over what is now Morocco. (Currently there are more than 100 Berber tribes in Morocco.) The story is that the Sultan invited the French into Morocco to assist in his reclaiming territory and control of the region. This interpretation is not universally accepted, however.
The Sultan and the French had a particularly hard time bringing the people of Marrakech back under their control. So the French installed El Glaoui, who was an outsider to the Marrakechis, as a tough fixer. El Glaoui was both shrewd and ruthless in subduing Marrakech for the Sultan and the French, while also being exceedingly successful in expanding his own wealth and influence.
Which brings us back to Dar El Bacha. This was his grand opulent palace. He hired and/or coerced a multitude of local craftspeople to create the richest palace possible. He purportedly was in love with all things Italian, from architecture to cars to girlfriends. You can see the mashup of Moroccan and European motifs in the palace walls.
Once again, extraordinary art and craft in service to difficult political and egotistical ambitions.
Jardin Majorelle & Yves Saint Laurent
This garden and its unique blue villa are among Marrakech’s most popular destinations. While the connection to Yves Saint Laurent is very interesting, somewhat because of the celebrity of his brand, it is Majorelle’s garden that most captivated us.
Jacques Majorelle was born in Nancy, France, and, in 1917, came to the dry climate of Morocco for treatment for tuberculosis. The landscapes and the souks, the people and the light seduced him. His passions were painting and botany. Over time, his paintings of Morocco brought him success in Europe.
Marrakech became his home. He bought a palm grove on the edge of town, and began to create his studio and garden. He collected succulents from all over the world and composed them in an extraordinary garden oasis — which we can visit today.
Inspired by the architecture of Le Corbusier, in the 1930s, he had built a modernist villa and studio in the middle of his garden. He developed a unique ultramarine blue color with which he drenched his villa. There had been nothing like this buzzing blue pavilion ever before. To this day, this color is called Majorelle Blue. Majorelle lived and worked here until his death in 1962.
Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé acquired the property in 1980. They rescued the garden and estate from neglect and decay. Saint Laurent said that the garden served as an “inexhaustible source of creation.” When he died in 2008, his ashes, per his wishes, were spread over the rose garden.
The site includes a fascinating museum of Berber clothing, jewelry and artifacts; and a museum dedicated to the work of Yves Saint Laurent. It was a little jarring to walk along a long collection of YSL dresses from the 1950s and after, in a dark interior gallery, all the while knowing that the beautiful sunlit cactus gardens of Marrakech were right outside.
Sahbi Sahbi is a women-managed and women-run modern restaurant in the new town of Marrakech.
March 2025