Marrakech is clearly divided into two different cities: the Medina is bordered by a city wall and the new city of Gueliz, beyond. Gueliz offers all the possibilities of any modern city.

Marrakech has developed from an old Berber town that dominated the south of Morocco as a centre for trade and craft. As one of the four royal cities (Fes, Meknes, Rabat and Marrakech), the city includes many buildings and monuments that document its history.

The Medina of Marrakech is surrounded by an adobe wall 20 km long, its reddy-brown colour turning purple as the sun sets. A trip along the city walls in a horse and carriage, whilst the sun is setting, is an unforgettable experience.

The Djemma-el-Fna square is the centre of public life in Marrakech.
It is quite a large space between the souk and the Koutoubia, where conjurors, snake charmers, storytellers, music groups, fruit juice and water vendors, and fakirs entertain the crowds and passers-by.

Here, it’s possible to have a tooth extracted, have your fortune told or have a henna tattoo painted on your arm.

At about five in the afternoon the scene changes. A stream of people arrive from all directions with their portable kitchens, as well as tables, chairs and awnings to install restaurants in the square, where you can eat anything: couscous, kebabs, salads, soups, tajines and much more.

In the labyrinth of narrow, dark streets that are sometimes tunnel-like, sometimes filled with shafts of sunlight piercing the cracks in the cane roofs, you thread your way past one shop after another. Here, you enter an atmosphere full of sorts of sensory impressions – unfamiliar smells and visual surprises at each turn.

At first, everything seems chaotic and disordered, but after a little while you realise that the souk is divided into distinct sections: food, cloth, leather, wood, ironwork, etc. – and on many occasions not only do you find the shop but the corresponding workshop as well.

One can watch how a wooden chest is decorated using marquetry, o see how a blacksmith gives form to a metal window screen, or see how someone sews a leather bag. In such an atmosphere it is not difficult to evoke past times.

Menara is the name given to the olive groves and fruit orchards on the outskirts of Marrakech. The plantations are irrigated using water taken from an enormous reservoir that forms a picturesque lake in the landscape.
As far back as the XII century, the gardens of Menara existed, but they were extended in the XIX century. Sultan Sidi Mohammed ordered the construction of a Moorish pavilion with a roof covered in green tiles.
Nowadays, when the inhabitants of Marrakech want to spend a few hours in the country, maybe enjoying a picnic in the shade of an olive tree, they can reach the gardens of Menara in only a few minutes.