Explores the opulent marble palaces, vibrant mosques and fragrant Moorish gardens of Marrakesh
Juliet Nicolson
During my first visit to Marrakesh 20 years ago, I declined not only an invitation to exchange my two daughters for a pair of camels, but also one to swim in our riad’s pool. I had already seen that the water, dense as spinach soup, was being used by the attendant to clean his teeth.
Two decades later, the delightfully unexpected and eccentrically exotic nature of this city remains unchanged. As we wandered through its maze of dark, narrow alleys, we jumped to avoid first a donkey pulling a cart laden with clanking copper kettles, and then a scooter carrying a homeward-bound schoolboy, his arms wrapped round his chauffeur-mother’s waist and his tiny sister balanced on the handlebars. Weaving our way through stalls selling silver slippers, nougat, rugs, jeans and backgammon boards, we passed a huddle of women in multicoloured robes conspiring to change the world.
Eventually, we arrived at the spellbinding Le Jardin Secret, an ancient Middle-Eastern garden in which green-tiled pathways intersect with headily scented, butterfly-shimmering flowerbeds. At its heart is a tower from which, high above the rooftops of the Medina, we looked down over the chicest riads, their tented terraces nudging against lines of white linen sheets drying in the breeze. We watched a game of chess, a couple kissing, a cat stretching in the sun as the minaret of the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque rose up in the distance.
Outside the souk, the cacophony inside the largest square in the world assaulted us. Djemaa El Fna means ‘assembly of the dead’, so named because the bodies of local enemies were once displayed in this vast amphitheatre. Today, it is a forum for those who come to preach, perform, sell, watch, marvel and sometimes retreat, a place where henna-adorned fingers beckon you to submit your hands for the same elaborate embellishment. We could see chickens pecking their way between stalls selling fresh orange juice, a snake undulating to the sound of a flute, rising up lazily from his basket, camels standing in the shadows looking cross and bored, and a worldweary monkey sitting unresponsively on the shoulder of his bearded owner.
In the evening, we dined at the Royal Mansour, the King’s own glittering, chandeliered hotel-palace, where cocktails are served in golden goblets. Feeling like extras in a Fellini film, we took our seats at Sesamo, a dazzling, Venetianinspired dining-room overseen by the leading chef Massimiliano Alajmo, who led us on a culinary excursion to his native Italy, while using vegetables from the hotel’s garden. Days later, I was still dreaming about his pistachio ice-cream.
After dinner, we drove half an hour from the city, with the jagged drama of the Atlas Mountains running like a child’s drawing across the blue page of the sky, to reach the oasis of the Oberoi. Set among avenues of centuries-old olive-trees, this magnificent ochre-coloured palace, built by local craftsmen, features huge, airy courtyards lined with black and white mosaic tiles that open out into a dramatic water-filled walkway. Almost every villa has its own swimming pool, nestled in the privacy of a walled garden filled with lemon-trees and powder-puff blooms of bougainvillea.
The fusion between Moroccan culture and the Indian heritage of the celebrated Oberoi chain is evident throughout the property, from its architecture to its three superb restaurants. We ate divinely fresh salads for lunch, while at night we were served a tender Moroccan lamb tagine and a prawn curry that transported us with every mouthful to the kitchens of Rajasthan. Equally memorable was our visit to the ayurvedic spa, which is encircled by a moat of water lilies and paddling moorhens. Here, the fully authentic hammam was an experience both eye-watering and exhilarating, beginning with an extended cleanse in the prettily tiled steam-room, followed by an energetic, full-body scrub and completed by a thorough and dedicated massage from my therapist Yousa. My daughter’s facial, meanwhile, was a deliciously restorative treat, with the spa manager Sofia recommending that the music be switched off in favour of soothing silence. This feeling of absolute peace and wellbeing seemed to envelop the whole hotel, whether we were sunning ourselves beside the large pool or listening to the birds in the ancient trees.
The shifting light tempted us to linger in these unique surroundings, the softness of dawn’s blush giving way to the intensity of the midday sun until gentle evening shadows would wrap around the arches and filter through doorways. It is reassuring, although almost impossible to believe, that such a magical place can be reached in little more than a three-hour flight from London, and for far less than the price of a camel.
Hayes & Jarvis (01293 762456, www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk) offers a three-night stay at the Oberoi Marrakesh from £1,099 a person B&B, including flights and transfers.
‘Vibrant, bountiful, tropical.’
‘Salt of Palmar (www.mrandmrssmith.com) is a real standout – a sustainable hotel with an eye-catching design courtesy of Camille Walala. The team’s commitment to the community is woven into everything they do:
there are guidebooks written by locals, produce grown on-site, beach baskets made of recycled flotsam and a skills-swap
programme for guests.’
‘La Cabane du Pêcheur – a local shack with a Creole-influenced menu that varies daily, depending on what the nets have brought in.’
‘My husband James and our children. I love seeing new places with them.’
‘The panorama across the lush green hills of the Bois
Chéri tea plantation.’
‘Horse-riding at sunrise across empty sugar-white sands on the beach in
Quatre Cocos.’ ‘The water at Pointe d’Esny is beautiful and it is a very quiet spot to swim. From there, you can take a little boat out to Île aux Flamants, a sand-bank island in the middle of the ocean. I’d suggest bringing
a packed lunch and a couple of beers.’
‘I always travel with De Mamiel Altitude Oil,
my Olivia von Halle silk eye mask, Sarah Chapman’s Intense Hydrating Booster serum and a Travelwrap Company cashmere shawl.’
‘My floral cotton Dôen dress, a Melissa Odabash one-piece and a pair of Castañer wedge
espadrilles – they add elegance to any outfit.’
‘Jo Loves Pink Vetiver fragrance, a slick of Inika Organic’s cruelty-free and plant-derived
mascara, plus a touch of Dr Lipp’s lip balm.’
‘I’ve just finished Jeanine Cummins’
which tells the gripping story of a mother and son fleeing a Mexican drug cartel.’
‘Two Door Cinema Club – I saw them at Glastonbury last year and have been obsessed ever since.’
A–B
Alberta Ferretti (020 7235 2349; www.albertaferretti.com)
Alexander McQueen (020 7355 0088; www.alexandermcqueen.com) Annoushka (020 7629 8233; www.annoushka.com)
Atelier Vime (www.ateliervime.com) Att Pynta (020 3633 7684; www.attpynta.com) Balenciaga (020 7317 4400; www.balenciaga.com) Bottega Veneta (020 7838 9394; www.bottegaveneta.com)
Burberry (020 7980 8425; www.burberry.com)
C–D
Canggu & Co (+62 813 5351 1158; www.cangguco.com)
Cassandra Goad (020 7730 2202; www.cassandragoad.com)
Castañer (www.castaner.com) Celine by Hedi Slimane
(020 7491 8200; www.celine.com) Ceruado
Chanel (020 7493 5040; www.chanel.com) Chanel Fine Jewellery (020 7499 0005; www.chanel.com) Chloé (020 3057 4001; www.chloe.com)
(www.coach.com) Design Vintage (01243 573852; www.designvintage.co.uk) Dior and Dior Joaillerie (020 7355 5930; www.dior.com) Döen (www.shopdoen.com) Dolce & Gabbana
(020 7659 9000; www.dolcegabbana.com)
E–G
(www.theedition94.com) Erdem (020 3653 0360; www.erdem.com) Ermanno Scervino (020 7235 0558; www.ermannoscervino.it) Etro (020 7493 9004; www.etro.com) Fendi (www.fendi.com) Fope (www.fope.com) Giorgio Armani (020 7235 6232; www.armani.com) Givenchy (www.givenchy.com) Good American (www.goodamerican.com) Graham and Green (grahamandgreen.co.uk) Gucci (020 7235 6707; www.gucci.com)
Tulle blouse,£1,350; wool and silk trousers, £1,300, both Dior. Gold and emerald bracelet, £1,600; gold and diamond rings, from £660, all Dior Joaillerie. See main story (page 74) for details
H–M
Hermès (020 7499 8856; www.hermes.com) Latzio (www.latzio.com) Loewe (www.loewe.com) Louis Vuitton (020 7998 6286; www.louisvuitton.com) Marina Rinaldi (020 7629 4454; www.marinarinaldi.com) Market Set (www.marketset.fr) Max Mara (020 7499 7902; www.maxmara.com) Melissa Odabash (www.odabash.com) Meri Meri (01242 575868; www.merimeri.com) Michael Kors Collection (020 7240 6263; www.michaelkors.co.uk) Miu Miu (020 7409 0900; www.miumiu.com)
P–S
Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam (www.nicholashaslam.com) Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini (www.philosophyofficial.com)
Prada (www.prada.com) Raj Tent Club (www.rajtentclub.com)
Roksanda (020 7613 6499; www.roksanda.com) Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello (020 7493 1800; www.ysl.com) Salvatore Ferragamo (020 7838 7730; www.ferragamo.com) The Shop Floor Project (01229 584537; www.theshopfloorproject.com) Skims (www.skims.com) Smallable (020 3445 0146; www.smallable.com) Soane (www.soane. Summerill & Bishop (020 7221 4566; www.summerillandbishop. Sunbeam Jackie (www.sunbeamjackie.com)
T–V
Tasaki Ultimate Ears
Tine K Home (www.tinekhome.com)
Universal Standard
Vacheron Constantin (020 7578 9500; Valentino Valentino Garavani (020 Van Cleef & Arpels (020 7493 0400; Versace (020 7259 5700; www.versace.com)