| | | Medina of Marrakech
Marrakech
UNESCO World Heritage Site : 1985
Marrakech (Morocco)
| | | Marrakech or Marrakesh, known as the "Red City" or "Al Hamra," is a city in southwestern Morocco, near the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.
| | Medina of Marrakech : Virtual tour |  | 18 sections and 48 items |
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Medina of Marrakech : Building(s) (11)
|  | Bahia Palace (9)
between 1866 and 1900
The Bahia Palace is a palace and a set of gardens. It was built in the late 19th century, intended to be the greatest palace of its time. The name means "brilliance". As in other buildings of the period in other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. There is a 2 acre (8,000 m²) garden with rooms opening onto courtyards.
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|  | Ben Youssef Madrassa (4)
between 1570 and 1565
Ben Yousuf Madrassa was an Islamic college in Marrakech and was named after the amoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106/1142), who expanded the city and its influence considerably.
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|  | Dar M'Nebhi Palace (3)
Musée de Marrakech
Marrakech Museum
approx. between 1880 and 1900
Close to the Medersa Ben Youssef sits the Dar M'Nebhi Palace. This palace from the 19th century hosts a collection of Moroccan art. The main reason for the visit is not the art on display, but the building itself. It is one of the jewels of Marrakech.
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|  | El Badi Palace (10)
between 1578 and 1594
El Badi Palace consists of the remnants of a magnificent palace built by the Saadian king Ahmad al-Mansur in 1578.
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|  | Koutoubia Mosque (3)
between 1120 and 1199
The Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakech. The minaret was completed under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199) and was used as model for the Giralda of Seville then for the Hassan Tower of Rabat.
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|  | Menara gardens
near 1130
The Menara gardens are located to the west of Marrakech, Morocco, at the gates of the Atlas mountains. They were built in the 12th century (c. 1130) by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min.
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|  | Qoubba (2)
Koubba Ba'Adiyn
approx. between 1100 and 1130
The Qoubba is amazing thanks to its unique layout. Its rectangular aspect, limited by four piles, turns into an internal square by the doubling of the foiled arches forming a vault.
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|  | Royal Palace
The Royal Palace is located between the Aguedal Gardens and the Saadians Toms.
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|  | Saadian Tombs (3)
between 1578 and 1603
The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578/1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service.
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Medina of Marrakech : Monument(s) and Building(s) (1)
|  | Fountains of Marrakech
The palaces, mosques, gardens and farms forming a green belt around the city require large amounts of water, and the wells drilled into the rich ground water do not provide enough. Thus a clever process was developed by an engineer named Abdallah Ben Younes ("Al Mohandis"), whose origins are unknown.
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|  | Souks de Marrakech (5)
Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco. Craftsmen, architects, painters and sculptors built magnificent palaces, mosques, gardens and Koran schools, in addition to souks of unlimited beauties and treasures.
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|  | Place Jemâa el Fna (9)
Djemaa el Fna is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter (old city). The origin of its name remains unknown : it means Assembly of the dead in Arabic, but as the word djemaa also means mosque in Arabic, it could also mean place of the vanished mosque, in reference to a destroyed Almoravid mosque.
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| | Medina of Marrakech : Description | |
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Name
The possible origin of its name could be from the Tamazight (Berber) words mur(n)akuch, which means "Land of God". (The root "mur" is now in the Berber languages used only in the feminine form "tamurt"). The same word "mur/mawr" appears in the country Mauritania, but this interpretation is still unproven to this day. There are other possibilities that are often invoked.
This city is the capital of the Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz region.
Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco and also has one of the busiest squares in Africa, Djemaa el Fna. The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers, and musicians, as well as drug lords by day; By night, the square turns into food stalls, becoming a huge open-air restaurant with busy life that include the infamous Ladies of the Night(prostitutes).
Like many North African and Middle Eastern cities, Marrakech comprises both an old fortified city (the médina) and an adjacent modern city (called Gueliz). It is served by Ménara International Airport (RAK is the code for the airport) and a rail link to Casablanca and the north.
The city is spelled "Marrakech" in French, "Marrakesh" in English, and "Marrakesch" in German.
Demographics
Marrakech had a population of 1,036,500 in 2006. he official number of residents is one million. Also, there is a very large international community consisting mainly of Europeans: especially French, estimated at 10,700 people, mostly retired. Additionally there are Germans, Italians, English, and Swiss.
Main sights in Marrakech
Religious Sites
- Koutoubia Mosque
- Ben Youssef Medrassa
- Ben Youssef Mosque
- Casbah Mosque: Moulay Alyazid Mosque
- Mansouria Mosque
- Mansouria Mosque
- Barrima Mosque
- Mouassine Mosque
- Zaouia of Sidi Bel Abbes
- Zaouia of Sidi Ben Slimane al-Jazuli
- Zaouia of Sidi Youssef Ben Ali
- Sidi Moulay el Ksour Mosque
- Synagogue Beth-El
- Synagogue Salat el Azama
- Synagogue Salat Rabi Pinhasse
Palaces, dars and villas
- El Badi Palace
- Royal Palace (Dar el Makhzen) and méchouars
- Bahia Palace
- Dar Si Saïd Museum
- Dar el Glaoui
- Villa Majorelle at the Majorelle Garden
Cemeteries, koubbas and mausolea
- Saadian Tombs
- Mausoleum of Ahmed el-Mansour
- Second mausoleum
- Koubba of Fatima Zohra and Koutoubia Mosque cemetery
- Almoravid Koubba
- Koubba Cadi Ayyad
- Jewish cemetery
- Sidi Abd el Aziz
- Sidi es Suhayli
Souks
- Souk Kimakhin (stringed instruments)
- Souk El Attarines
- Souk El Biyadine
- Souk Alghazl
- Souk El Kassabine
- Souk Alhmamssia
- Souk Tlaa-Hbat
- Souk Ettalaa
- Souk Attamr
- Arrahba
- Souk el Bradiia (pitchers)
- Souk Hadaddine (metalwork)
- Souk Nahhassine (brass, copper)
- Souk Chouari (basketry, woodturning)
- Dyers' Souk, Wool Souk
- Souk Smarine (clothing)
- Rahba Quedima ("Old Square")
- Souk el Kebir (leatherwork)
- Kissarias
- Souk el Batna (skins)
- Souk el Maazi (goatskin)
- Souk Zrabia (Carpet Souk)
- Souk Fakharina
- Souk Siyyaghin (jewelry)
- Souk Smata (slippers, belts)
- Souk Sebbaghine
- Cherratine Souk
Museums
- Dar Si Saïd Museum
- Marrakech Museum
- Bert Flint Museum at Maison Tiskiwin
- Islamic Art Museum at the Majorelle Garden
City walls and gates
- Defensive wall
- Bab Debbagh
- Bab Agnaou
- Bab el Khémis
- Bab er Robb
- Bab el Jédid
- Bab Doukkala
- Bab Aghmat
- Bab Nkob
- Bab er Raha
- Bab Aylen
- Bab Ahmar
- Bab Ighli
- Bab Ksiba
- Bab ech Charia
- Bab el Makhzen
- Bab Berrima
- Bab Taghzout
- Bab er Rharaza
- Bab Fteuh
Places and squares
- Place Djemaâ el Fna: the biggest square in the African continent.
- El Mashwar
- El Moussalla
- Place Bab Doukkala
- Square Charles de Foucauld
- Place de la Liberté
- Place du 16 Novembre
- Place des Ferblantiers
- Place Sidi Ahmed El Kamel
- Place Youssef Ben Tachfine
- Place Mourabiten
- square Bir Anzaran
Gardens and parks
- Annakhil: Palm Grove
- Aarssat Elhamed
- Aarssat Moulay Abdessalam
- Aarssat Elbilk
- Ghabat Achabab
- Bab Errab Garden
- Majorelle Garden
- Menara gardens and olive grove
- Agdal Gardens
- Koutoubia Mosque park
- oasiria aquatic park 4km Amzmiz road
Other structures
- Chrob ou Chouf Fountain
- Convention Center (Palais des Congres)
- Opera House
- Cadi Ayyad University
Trips from Marrakech
Many tourists take a trip from Marrakech to visit the valley of the Ourika River in the Atlas Mountains or the valley of the Draa River in the south near the Sahara desert, but also Middle Atlas Mountains : Waterfalls of Beni Mellal, and to the Essaouira on the Atlantic Ocean.
Transport
Menara International Airport serves as the main airport for the city and receives flights from Europe and neighboring Arab countries.
A toll-paying motorway connects Marrakech with Casablanca.
CTM coaches (intercity buses) and various private lines run services to most notable Moroccan towns as well as a number of European cities, from the Gare Routière on Rue Bab Doukkala in downtown Marrakech.
Marrakesh is the southern terminus of the ONCF, the Moroccan railway network, and Marrakesh is well served by trains heading Tngier, Rabat, Casablanca, and Fez. The train station is located on avenue Hassan II.
The ONCF owned "Supratours" bus company serves towns not served by the train. The bus timetable coordinates with the train timetable and the bus terminal is right beside the station.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrakech
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_GNU_Free_Documentation_License | | Medina of Marrakech : History | |
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Marrakesh was founded in 1071-1072 by Youssef ben Tachfin on the site of the camp which Abou Bekr had left him in charge of. Fran that point forward, Marrakesh was no longer an occasional stopping place for the Almoravides. It became the true capital of these conquering nomads who succeeded in stretching their empire from the Sahara to the Ebro and from the Atlantic to Kabylia.
The original layout of the medina dates back to the Almoravide period from which there still remain various monumental vestiges (ruins of the so-called Abou Bekr Kasbah, of the Youssef ben Tachfin mosque and those of the Ali ben Youssef palace, not far from the Koutoubia, the pool and the "koubba" of the Ali ben Youssef mosque which were discovered in 1955 and the Bab Aylan gate, etc.). The walls of the medina were built in 1126-1127 following the order given by Ali ben Youssef. The planting of the palm groves which at present still covers a surface area of roughly 13,000 hectares to the east of the city, has also been credited to the Almoravides.
When in 1147 this dynasty bowed to the attacks of the Almohades which were led by Abd el Mou'men, the task of purification which was carried out did not spare the monuments which, for the most part, were destroyed by the victors. Nevertheless Marrakesh remained the capital. Under the Almahade rulers (1147-1269), Marrakesh experienced new and unprecedented prosperity.
Between 1147-1158, Abd el Mou'men had the Koutoubia mosque built upon the ruins of the Almoravide foundations. Its incomparable 77 meter high minaret, a key monument of Muslim architecture, is one of the major features of the cityscape and is the actual symbol of the city. The ruler's successors, Abou Yacoub Youssef and especially Yacoub el Manscur, were the ones who truly renovated the capital. They built new quarters, extended the city wall, fortified the Kasbah (1185-1190) which was a prolongation
of the city to the south with its own ramparts and gates (Bab Agnaaz, Bab Robb), its mosque, its palace, its market, its hospital, its -parade-ground and its gardens. These
leaders strengthened their control over their domains by planting crops (Menara to the west) and by civil engineering achievements the best known of which are the Tensift bridge and the kettara network in the palm groves.
The decline of Marrakesh, which began during the conquest of the city by the Marinides
in 1269, never went beyond the point of no return, as is. illustrated by a number of non- negligible constructions (Ben Salih mosque and minaret, not long after 1321). The rebirth of the capital under the reign of the Saadian rulers (1510-1659) led to a new blossoming of the arts, a fact which is borne out by the ruins of the el Badi palace and the Saadian tombs, whose precious architecture is isolated from the rest of the Kasbah by a wall. Some of the elements making up these refined and sumptuous constructions came from afar, such as the marble columns from Carrara which Montaigne observed being cut in Tuscany "for the king of Morocco in Berberia". Also dating back to the Saadian period are the restoration of the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the building of several fountains decorated with gypsum work and woodwork (Mouassine, Chrob ou Chouf and Bab Doukkala Fountains).
Under the reign of the alaouite dynasty Marrakesh, the temporary capital, was graced with new mosques, madrasas,palaces and residence which were harmoniously integrated into the homogenous unit of the old town which was surrounded by ten kilometers of clay and
lime beaten cob ramparts . Beyond the walls were the great traditional areas
of greenery : the palm groves, the Menara and, to the south, the Agdal gardens which were redesigned by Moulay Abd er Rahman (1822/1859).
With its maze of narrow streets, its houses, its souks (markets), fonduks, its traditional crafts and trade activities, its medina of 700 hectares, the ancient habitat of Marrakesh, which has became vulnerable due to population growth, constitutes an eminent example of a vibrant historic city. In view of the exceptional value of the property presented, of the critical situation of recent years, but also of the growing awareness demonstrated by the development plans drawn up in 1981 and the formation of a safeguard | | Medina of Marrakech : More pictures | |
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