Ouarzazate

 

Ouarzazate is the gateway to the Draa Valley from Marrakesh and located 30 minutes east of Ait Benhaddou.

The kasbah is home to the Krupp field gun given to the Glaoui's family by the Moroccan sultan in 1893. At the time, this was the only cannon in Morocco not owned by the imperial family, and it enabled the Glaoua army to consolidate control of the route to Marrakesh from the desert.

Many films and shows like Game of Thrones were shot here.

There is a film museum across from the kasbah. The crummy tour we were on only allowed us 15 minutes in the city so we chose to look around the fortress.

The journey from Ouarzazate to Timbuktu took around 52 days by camel.

Ait Benhaddou

 

Ait Benhaddou was a fortified village along the caravan route from the Sahara to Marrakesh.

It is a three and a half hour journey from Marrakesh to the village by car.

You cross the Atlas Mountains to get to the village.

There are many other ksars along the way.

Many films have been shot in Ait Benhaddou, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, and Kingdom of Heaven.

We took a tour bus to the village, which we kind of regretted because we were forced to take a tour, sit through a carpet sales pitch, and eat at an overpriced restaurant.

A common sales pitch is to say something for sale, like a rug, is made by a women's co-op. This sales pitch is unironically made by a man, with not a woman in sight.

Ait Benhaddou was still a neat UNESCO site to visit. I'd travel by rental car next time.

Women made things in here, we swear!

Marrakesh

 

Marrakesh was the capital of Morocco intermittently between the 11th-13 centuries and 16-17th centuries.

We stayed in an excellent riad in the old town, with a few resident animals.

Many Moroccan expats return home to purchase and fix up properties in the old souk.

We did not ride this camel.

The riad had many turtles wandering around the premises!

They could be pretty quick when they wanted to be.

We had a good view of the old souk from our riad's roof. It is very dense and stretches for miles around.

Riad dinners are the best. If you're lucky you can get some of the only wine served in Morocco as well at them.

Cell service isn't great in the old souk and Google Maps is iffy, so a physical map is a must.

Souk kittens!

Ben Youssef Madrasa was a college founded in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 16th century.

At its height the madrasa had over 800 students.

The city of Marrakesh was founded in the 11th century by the Almoravids as the capital of an empire the stretched from Senegal to central Spain to Algiers.

The Almohads took over Marrakesh in 1147 and also used the city as their capital.

The Almoravid Qubba was built in the 12 century and is one of the few extant structures not rebuilt from that time.

The Secret Garden is a slice of paradise hidden away in the old souk.

A group of private investors recently restored the 19th century palace, which fell into disrepair after the last owner died in 1934.

Water was originally supplied to this and other complexes in Marrakesh using the khettara, or underground water channel.

The water would flow all over the garden using narrow channels in pathways.

Dar el Bacha (House of the Pasha), is a highlight of Marrakesh.

A copy of the Tabula Rogeriana, based on the atlas made by Moroccan Muhammad al-Idrisi for Norman King Roger II in 1138.

A minbar, or mosque pulpit

Dar el Bacha was a palace given to Thami El Glaoui by the Sultan in 1912. The Glaoui was the most powerful man in southern Morocco under French rule, and was one of the world's richest men during his lifetime.

The likes of Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill visited the Glaoui here.

The Glaoui was Pasha of Marrakesh from 1912-1956. His family were chiefs of the Berber Glaoua tribe (from where his name is derived), which gained royal patronage for assisting the Sultan's movement across the Atlas Mountains in the 1700s.

The mellah, or Jewish quarter, of Marrakesh housed almost 40,000 people at its peak. All but 200 have emigrated to Israel. 

The base of the Glaoui's power was in the High Atlas mountains outside of Marrakesh at Telouet.

The Glaoui allied himself with the French colonial power to protect himself against Morocco's tumultuous internal politics and was greatly rewarded. Though he initially opposed nationalists and the restoration of the sultan, he saw the error of his ways, reconciled with the independence movement, and died soon after the sultan's restoration.

The Bacha Coffee cafe in Dar al Bacha is not to be missed.

Bacha Coffee was originally founded in 1910, and was refounded as an international luxury coffee company.

Donkeys still haul many goods around the old town.

Kutubiyya Mosque was founded in 1147 by the Almohads after their victory over the Almoravids.

The Saadian Tombs are the royal necropolis of the Saadin dynasty.

They were mostly built during the reign of Ahmad al-Mansur from 1578-1603.

Al-Mansur defeated the Portuguese Empire and a Moroccan pretender at the Battle of Alcacer Quibir, marking the beginning of the decline of the Portuguese Empire and a starting a golden age for Morocco. Al-Mansur is buried under the middle tombstone. 

The defeat led to Portugal's incorporation into Spain for 60 years, and the Portuguese soldiers the Moroccans captured funded monumental building through ransom and aided them in capturing valuable Saharan gold trading routes in the Songhai Empire.

Al-Mansur preserved Moroccan independence by balancing European and Ottoman power in the region, and funded construction of many of Marrakesh's most prominent structures.

The Kasbah Mosque was built by the Almohad's in the late 12th century and is located next to the Saadian Tombs.

The El Badi Palace was also commissioned by Ahmad al-Mansur in 1578.

The palace was built using materials from all over Europe and Africa, from Italy to Timbuktu.

After the fall of the Saadian dynasty and rise of the Alaouite dynasty, the palace fell into disrepair and its valuable materials stripped for other projects.

Bahia Palace was built in the 18th century by a grand vizier of the Alaouite sultan.

Si Musa, who built the palace, was the descendent of black slaves who rose through the ranks of the Moroccan makhzen, or royal government.

The Alaouite dynasty rose to power in 1631 and united the country after a period of turmoil under a weakened and fractured Saadi dynasty. 

The current King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, hails from the Alaouite dynasty, which has ruled Morocco for 392 years.

The Alaouite family are descendants of the Prophet Muhammad who immigrated to Morocco's biggest oasis, Tafilat, in the 12th or 13th century.

Even though it wasn't the capital of Morocco under the Alouites, it maintained its importance as the location of the tombs of Morocco's seven patron saints.

Christians were not allowed into the city until 1867 because it was a holy city.

The French used the pretext of the murder of a French citizen in Marrakesh in 1907 to invade the country, and conquered Marrakesh in 1912.

Ba Ahmed, the grand vizier who resided in Bahia Palace, was dependent on foreign powers to put down rebellions and pay the soldiers keeping the sultan in power.

The Dar Si Said Museum, the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets, is located in a palace built by Ba Ahmed's brother and defense minster. Pictured is a wool carpet from the High Atlas mountains.

A wool carpet from Zenaga in the High Atlas mountains

A bullet mold

A local's rifle

One of the oldest carpets in Morocco, woven in the Chiadma region in the 18th century

There are a couple of restaurants scattered around the old town.

The Jemaa el-Fnaa is a massive square in the center of the old town.

There are some very tasty food stalls there.

If you ignore the touts, drink lots of water, stay in the shade, and don't get flustered when you think you're lost, Marrakesh will deliver a magical experience unlike anywhere else in the world.