Marrakech and the South

Day by day

1. Day 1

   Marrakech

   On arrival into Marrakech airport, you’ll be chauffeur driven to your accommodation. Marrakech enjoys a legend status which conveys the ideas of mystery, sensuality, and exoticism. Its influence has been so strong and intense in the history of Morocco, that as a matter of fact the country was named after the city, and not the other way round. Marrakech was founded in 1062 by one of the chieftains of the Almoravid king Youssuf Ibn Tashfin. The Almoravids were desert warriors, very much attached to their Islamic religion; the original garrison developed very quickly into a city where numerous mosques and madrasas (Koranic schools) were built. Andalousian craftsmen built and decorated several palaces, merging their style with the Saharan and African traditions, which gave the city a distinctive architectural flavour. The Almoravids also erected the city walls, and created a complex system of underground irrigation canals to bring water from the High Atlas, the khettara – a system still in use to water the several gardens of the city.