Mamounia Marrakech in 10 words

One of the world’s great old hotels, since opening in 1923 the Mamounia has been welcoming the rich and famous to Marrakech; Winston Churchill was one of the most celebrated guests to have frequented this hotel.
It was originally built in the 19th century as the palace of the crown prince of Morocco but under French rule the building was annexed for use as a hotel. Since independence the property passed into royal hands and is now owned by the king.

The rooms
Recently refurbished, the rooms now look as they must have when the hotel first opened, with Hermès orange leather trim and art nouveau painted panels.

The gardens
The acres of formal European-style gardens predate the hotel and were laid out for the prince. Wellmanicured paths lead between ponds and flowerbeds
to a central pavilion.

Guestbook
Sean Connery and Catherine Deneuve, Bill Clinton, plus scribbles from Kate Winslet and Will Smith: Mamounia’s livre d’or must be among the starriest guestbooks.

The suites
Among its several grand suites, the most famous is the one named after Winston Churchill (below). The decoration is intended to evoke the era when the politician visited and contains artifacts including his pipe.

Majorelle Ceiling
Winston Churchill met fellow painter Jacques Majorelle (see pp26–7) in 1946 during one of his stays at the Mamounia. The portly politician persuaded the hotel’s management to commission a mural by Majorelle (above), which you can now see on the ceiling of the newly-extended lobby.

Winston Churchill
“This is a wonderful place, and the hotel one of the best I have ever used,” were Churchill’s views on the hotel and the city that he adored, in a letter to his wife, Clementine.

The architects
The original architects of the Mamounia, Henri Prost and Antoine Marchisio, blended art deco with traditional Moroccan motifs (left). Recent renovations were carried out by the company that designed Morocco’s royal palaces.

Churchill’s paintings

Churchill would paint in the afternoon and was fond of Marrakech’s extraordinary light. A couple of his paintings still hang in the hotel.

The Man Who Knew Too Much
Several scenes of this 1956 Alfred Hitchcock thriller (below), with James Stewart and Doris Day, were shot in the hotel.

The birds
The story may be apocryphal, but film director Alfred Hitchcock was supposedly inspired to make his movie The Birds after being dive-bombed by finches on his balcony at the Mamounia.

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Marrakech Books & Internet

Marrakech
Known as the "Red City" Marrakech is the capital of the south. The atmosphere is distinctly more African than that of the other Imperial cities, Fez, Rabat and Meknes. The setting of the city is stunning with ochre stucco buildings surrounded by the snow−peaked Atlas mountains. If you have the time, Marrakech is definitely worth a stay of several days.

The Jma−l−Fna is an unbelievable experience. It is a market scene straight out of the movies with snake charmers, musicians, dancing bears, acrobats and storytellers. Around the square there are numbered stalls that sell very cheap freshly−squeezed orange juice in the morning and afternoon. At night there are tables set up that you can eat at for a very reasonable price. Other sights include the impressive Koutoubia minaret and the Ben Youssef Medersa and the Saadian Dynasty tombs, the ruined 16th−century El Badi Palace the Dar Si.


Said Museum.

The artistic colors of the museum and beautiful gardens donated by Yves St. Laurent are a refreshing break
from the heat of the city. Spring is a good time to visit.
Marrakech − Bookshops
Marrakech has a few good bookshops, most in Gueliz, who have a good collection of French books. English
books are harder to find. Some of the budget hotels do book exchanges. Try hotel Essaouira.

all Librairie Gilot
Accross the street form Chatr, at no. 44 on the Avenue Mohammed V.
Librairie Chatr
Address: 19, Avenue Mohammed V (Gueliz).
Marrakesh − Internet Cafes

all Hotel Ali
Hotel Ali offers Internet access at good rates. The hotel is located about 200 meters from the Jma el Fna,
behind the post office. el Maroudi: happy ramadan to all my friend hendriks: I am the productmanager of
Sindbad reizen and Cycletours. Many times groups of ours have stayed in Hotel Ali, and we enjoyed
ourselves. Ewa Westling: Does Hotel Ali have an e−mailadress where you can book rooms?
Cybernet
tel: (212) 4 43 91 17 − (212) 4 43 84 04

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Ten must see marrakech jardins

Jacques Majorelle

French artist Jacques Majorelle (1886–1962) came to Marrakech in 1919 to recuperate from his heart problems and immediately saw the painterly potential of southern Morocco.

Louis Majorelle

Louis Majorelle was the painter’s equally famous father. A French decorator and furniture designer, he was one of the leading exponents of the Art Nouveau style. His work is displayed in celebrated museums, such as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

The plants

A beautiful bamboo “forest” and an arid cactus garden with species from around the world share garden space (below). Most stunning of all are the flowering masses of red and purple bougainvillea. 

Bassins and fountains

The garden has a fountain and two large bassins or pools (left), the smaller fed by a sloping channel. Next to the museum, a third pool is filled with golden carp.

Boutique

In the northeast corner, a small boutique sells an interesting array of quality local handicrafts including clothing, jewellery and miscellaneous leather products such as bags, sandals and beautifully bound notebooks. However, there is a notable paucity of information concerning Majorelle and his garden.

Islamic Art Museum

The painter’s former studio now houses a small but well-presented collection that includes Berber jewellery, fine embroidery and carved wooden items.

Majorelle’s paintings

The museum’s first room has a series of lithographs depicting various Atlas kasbahs. Some of Majorelle’s most acclaimed works were the tourism posters that he created for Morocco.

Majorelle blue

The name Majorelle lives on in an electrifying shade of cobalt blue inspired by the Berber homes of southern Morocco. His former studio is strikingly painted in this colour.

Bassins and fountains

The garden has a fountain and two large bassins or pools (left), the smaller fed by a sloping channel. Next to the museum, a third pool is filled with golden carp. Petrol station

At the corner of Boulevard de Safi, this petrol station was designed by Jean-François Zevaco and is possibly the city’s most striking modernist building.

Doors and ceilings

Arguably the highlight of the museum is its collection of wooden doors and ceilings (below), all beautifully carved. Some of the ceiling panels are painted but most impressive are the huge double doors dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

Yves Saint- Laurent French designer Yves Saint-Laurent first visited the city in 1962. By the end of the ’60s, he’d bought his first house here, a palatial place in the medina known as the “House of the Serpent”. Later, he moved into a villa next to Majorelle Gardens, which he purchased and saved from being destroyed to make way for an apartment complex. Saint- Laurent still spends part of each year in the city.

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10 Marrakech Souvenis you can´t miss

Babouches 

Babouches are Moroccanslippers, handmade from local leather, although increasingly the babouches found in the souks are made of a synthetic plastic that only looks like leather. In their most basic form they are pointy-toed and come in a variety of colours – canary yellow being the most common – but are otherwise plain. However, lots of boutiques and shops customize their babouches with silk trim, or even carving the leather with exquisite designs.

Argan oil

Argan oil is an almost mystical substance to which all kinds of properties are attributed . Part of its mystique can be credited to the rarity of argan trees, which only grow in southwestern Morocco. The oil is sold all over the souks but much of it is low grade. For quality oil, it’s best to buy from a reputable dealer.

Carpets

Marrakech is famed for its carpets, made by the tribes of the south. Each tribe has its own patterns. Beware the salesmen’s patter. Some carpets are very old and made of genuine cactus silk but these are rare. Most sold today, though beautiful, are quite modern and made from non-natural fibres. Buy a carpet if you like it, and not because you have been told that it’s a good investment.

Pottery

 Each region of Morocco produces its own distinctive pottery. The local style is plain terracotta finished with colourful glazes. Ceramics from the Akkal factory would not look out of place in a cutting edge design shop. Or visit the big pottery souk outside Bab Ghemat which is to the southeast of the medina.

  

Lanterns

There are two types of lanterns: those that hang from the ceiling and those that sit on the floor. The former (known as fanous) are typically fashioned from metal and come in elaborate shapes with intricate decoration. The latter are made of skin and goats’ hair and are usually colourful. Look for them in the northern part of the souk or down at the Place des Ferblantiers.

Leather bags 

Marrakech is known for its leather. It is made by treating animal hides by hand in the tanneries  in the east of the medina which are then dyed. Unsurprisingly, the shops of the souk are filled with leather goods from purses to handbags to book bindings. Do plenty of window shopping before settling on an item. 

Candles  

Candles are used to great effect in local restaurants. They are sold in all shapes, colours and sizes in the souk, and some of the designs can be highly inventive. Some of the best are made by a small company called Amira (www. amirabougies.com) and you can buy them in various boutiques.

Jewellery 

The local Berber jewellery is silver, chunky and heavy. However, a number of artisans in Marrakech, both local and foreign, produce more modern designs. Look out for Joanna Bristow’s brilliant designs in select hotel boutiques such as La Maison Arabe .

Fashion 

Marrakech may have inspired countless foreign couturiers from Yves Saint-Laurent to Tom Ford. However, it’s only recently that the city has begun to develop a fashion of its own. There are some young Moroccan designers producing beautiful clothing, like the high profile brothers behind the boutique Beldi , whose collections made from local fabric are tailored to Western sensibilities.

Marra-Kitsch  

A recent trend amongst local designers involves taking the iconography of Marrakech and giving it a Pop-ish twist. Florence Tarrane of Kulchi does shoulder bags that feature the khamsa (five-fingered hand), the good-luck symbol of the Arab world. Hassan Hajjaj makes fanous from sheets of tin printed with advertising logos, sold at his riad (see www.riadyima.com).

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JEMAA EL FNA for food Connaisseurs

As day gives way to night, this famous square is decked out in inviting, make-shift tables, where you can sample grilled meats and traditional dishes.

"I couldn't believe the flawless organisation of the night restaurants in this fantastic square! Long tables are laid out in a flash, while the coals glow red and kebabs flash before your eyes accompanied by bread and tomato sauce. The sellers appeal to passers-by, inviting them to sit at their tables. Under the lights and the fumes, young and old find themselves sitting at the same benches partaking of timeless, unchanging dishes that include couscous with seven vegetables,

tagines, hot steaming snails, all types of kebabs and Moroccan salads to name but a few. It's a celebration of eastern flavours in a good-natured atmosphere all at tiny price. You could come back every night to Aicha's no. 27 stand or to Hassan's sandwiches at no. 78, before sinking back into the energetic colours of Jemaa el Fna."

Jack Rogers, chef at a London restaurant.

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