Marrakech's marvels

By William A. Davis, Globe Staff, 01/10/99

ARRAKECH, Morocco -- Each evening at dusk, three magical things happen here.

As the rays of the sinking sun strike the crenelated medieval walls of the old city, the mud brick ramparts suddenly change color from subdued ocher to rosy red. At the same time, the lights that illuminate the minaret of the great Koutoubia mosque switch on and the 210-foot-high tower hangs glowingly over Marrakech like a guardian angel. And, as daylight dies, the Djemaa el-Fna -- the fabled square where an eclectic mix of performers and entertainers from snake handlers and sword swallowers to storytellers and dance troupes competes for public favor -- begins to come exuberantly alive.

It's a moment like no other in a city that seems to occupy a dimension all its own. A place where the fantastical world of ``Tales of the Arabian Nights'' and the workaday modern one comfortably coexist.

Situated on a fertile plain, Marrakech was founded almost 1,000 years ago at the intersection of two major caravan routes. From the beginning, it has been both an oasis -- it is still surrounded by groves of olive and palm trees -- and a marketplace. It also remains a hospitable and cosmopolitan city welcoming travelers from the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara, the Mahgreb, Equatorial Africa, Western Europe, North America, and beyond.

The major city of southern Morocco, Marrakech was also the country's capital in the Middle Ages and again in the 16th and 17th centuries. Some palaces and mosques survive to attest to past imperial glories, but people, not buildings, are what really make Marrakech so special.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the Djemaa el-Fna, the soul of the city and its chief attraction. Physically, it isn't much: a large, dusty, irregular space rimmed by nondescript buildings. But, when filled with people, it's hard to imagine a more vital or vibrant place.

The sound of drums and the rhythmic wailing of Arab singing echoes and reechoes across the square. So, too, do the clapping, exclamations of admiration, and roars of laughter from the knots of spectators gathered around the performers. Acrobats create alarmingly unstable human pyramids, storytellers relate exciting (and often ribald) tales from the city's history, snake handlers defy death, sinuous dancers sway hypnotically, and on and on. It's a show that continues for hours every night with something happening in every corner of the square just about all the time.

There are open-air food stalls in the Djemaa el-Fna, too, offering Moroccan cuisine at its most authentic. (Non-Moroccans generally find it a bit too authentic and usually opt for indoor restaurants.) Clouds of smoke rise from the outdoor kitchens, and the air is scented with the smells of charcoal, grilled meat, cooking vegetables, and all the pungent spices of North Africa.

Tourists flock to the square, of course, with cameras at the ready. Entertainers pose willingly and smile broadly -- provided they're tipped. So also do the most colorful denizens of the square: the watersellers, who are dressed in red, festooned with copper drinking cups of different sizes, and, to attract attention, wear broad-brimmed hats trimmed with small bells.

The Djemaa el-Fna belongs to Moroccans, however, and foreign visitors are vastly outnumbered. The variety in dress and physical appearance to be seen in a typical Djemaa el-Fna crowd is remarkable.

Young women in the latest Paris fashions walk arm in arm with veiled matrons completely covered from head to foot, only their eyes exposed. Men in smart business suits stroll beside companions wearing skull caps and ``djelabas,'' the ankle-length robes that are the Moroccan national costume. There are tall blacks from the southern Sahara, fair-haired Berbers from the High Atlas Mountains to the east, and Arabs from the north of the country. All Moroccans and all contributing to the savory stew of humanity that is the Djemaa el-Fna.

A visit to the Djemaa el-Fna is the Marrakech experience and not to be missed. It can be a bit wearying, however, as any foreigner is assumed to be rich and so is constantly importuned by beggars and those who will let you take their picture -- for a fee. Also common, although less so since a government crackdown, are unlicensed guides who befriend unwary visitors and lead them deep into the medina or old town and to high-priced shops where touts get a commission on each customer they bring.

Fortunately, there are several terrace restaurants on the Djemma el-Fna, such as Cafe Argana, where you can take a hassle-free break and enjoy a refreshing glass of mint tea (the most popular pick-me-up in Muslim Morocco) while looking out on the Djemaa el-Fna. These terraces are also the best places from which to take overview photographs of the square, shots that include both the frenetic populace below and the majestic Koutoubia tower looming serenely above it all.

Behind the square, at the heart of the old walled town, are the souks, or markets. A labyrinth of covered streets, alleyways, and courtyards, the souks date from the Middle Ages but offer convenient one-stop shopping, just like a modern mall.

There isn't much that you can't buy in the souks. But the very best deals are in Moroccan-made handicrafts such as leather goods, woodcarving, jewelry, ceramics, and clothing.

Haggling is the name of the game in the souks. Typically, a merchant will start by asking an outrageous price, but if the customer hangs tough -- threatening to walk out and go the store across the street, for example -- will usually settle for a much lower price, often a third or more less than the original one.

At one time, each trade and craft was confined to its own souk. This is no longer the case, but some streets are still dominated by certain crafts. A famous one is the dyers market, where raw cloth and yarn are dipped in vats of dye and hung up on poles and racks to dry. The effect is colorful and eminently photographable.

The souks look intimidating but are perfectly safe. They are confusing, however. But, if you keep to the main streets, you'll eventually emerge in the Djemaa el-Fna or one of the city's main thoroughfares. One way to keep from getting lost in the medina -- day or night -- is to be on the lookout for glimpses of the Koutoubia, the landmark of Marrakech.

Built in the late 12th century by the Almohad sultans, who made Marrakech the capital of Morocco, the Koutoubia is the cathedral mosque of the city and regarded as one of the gems of Islamic architecture. Beautifully proportioned, the Koutoubia minaret is the tallest building in the city -- and by law always will be -- and visible for miles around.

With only a few exceptions, non-Muslims are not allowed into mosques or Muslim shrines in Morocco. The Koutoubia, alas, is not one of the exceptions, and can only be viewed from the outside. However, it can be admired from many angles and is impressive from all of them.

In the days when France administered Morocco as a ``protectorate'' -- that is, as a colony in everything but name -- a new town was built on the elegantly logical model of Paris just outside the walls of the medina. With a Gallic appreciation of perspective, the town planners laid out the new town so that all the main avenues radiate from the Koutoubia and offer splendid views of it.

The Koutoubia is the acknowledged jewel in Marrakech's architectural crown, but there are a number of notable nonreligious buildings in the city that can be visited.

It sounds gloomy, but one of the most beautiful spots in the city is the Saadian Necropolis, the tombs of the sultans of the Saadian dynasty, along with those of their wives and other family members. Set in a lovely garden adjacent to a mosque and surrounded by a high wall, the necropolis was established in the late 1500s. During the French protectorate, a narrow passageway was cut through to the main mausoleum so non-Muslims could visit the tombs without going through the mosque.

Men and women of the royal family, more than 60 in all, are buried in separate buildings, their retainers outside in the gardens. The mausoleum buildings are richly decorated in the ornate style perfected in Andalusia, the Moorish kingdom that flourished in southern Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries. The gilded cedarwood ceilings are superbly carved to resemble stalactites, and exquisite tiles cover the walls and floors.

In Morocco, it has traditionally been considered both in poor taste and unwise to flaunt wealth. There are a number of palaces and grand homes in the medina, but you usually can't tell it by looking at them from the outside. The interiors, however, are something else again.

One such palace, built in the 19th century for a high court official, is now the Museum of Moroccan Arts. The building is in the classic Arab style with a central courtyard and cool, high-ceilinged rooms. The former audience chamber on the second floor is magnificently decorated with painted stucco and beautiful tiles and has a superb cedarwood ceiling with stalactite carvings, much like those in the Saadian tombs. The collection is splendid, too, with galleries filled with hand-crafted jewelry, rugs, pottery, woodcarving, and leather work from all over Morocco.

Also interesting to visit is La Bahia Palace, which was built for a sultan's grand vizier and is still used by the Moroccan royal family. It's an impressive and rambling structure with many rooms and secluded gardens and courtyards. The rooms off one courtyard were reserved for the vizier's four official wives, and the smaller ones around another, for his far more numerous concubines. The master of the house, however, had two sets of sleeping quarters -- one for nights and another for afternoon naps.

A number of old palatial homes in the medina have been bought by wealthy foreigners and restored, usually at considerable expense. Several are now restaurants specializing in Moroccan haute cuisine. Two elegant examples are Yacout on Rue Sidi Ahmed Soussi and Stylia on Rue Ksour.

Yacout occupies an 18th-century palace redesigned by American architect Bill Willis. The result is an extraordinary blend of classical Moroccan and high-fashion modern. The building has a beautiful central courtyard with an illuminated pool and fountain and a roof terrace with a marvelous view over the medina. The restaurant seats about 100 people, but meals are served in various small rooms around the courtyard, and the effect is almost that of dining in a private home.

Stylia is so deep into the maze of the old town that it can only reached by foot. Diners are advised to have a taxi drop them off at the top of a narrow street where a doorman in a ``djelaba'' waits to guide them through twisting alleyways to the restaurant. The tiled-walled dining room is a former audience chamber with a splendid carved ceiling and a tinkling fountain in the center. Musicians sitting cross-legged on cushions play and sing haunting Arab music all through dinner.

Although not very old by Marrakech standards, one of the city's most beloved landmark buildings is La Mamounia, a hotel ranked among the best in the world. A happy melange of Moorish and classic Art Deco styles, La Mamounia was built in the 1920s but stands in a magnificent 20-acre garden created in the 18th century by Sultan Sidi Mohammed as a wedding present to his son Prince Moulay Mamoun; hence the name.

As in the sultan's day, an army of gardeners still tends the flowers, shrubs, and ancient trees. The hotel lobby and public rooms are filled daily with more than 1,000 fresh roses, and rose petals float in the many pools and fountains. The hotel's Moroccan restaurant is considered one of the best in the city. The international restaurant, L'imperiale, replicates the exquisite Art Deco decor of the first-class dining room of the famously luxurious French ocean liner, the Normandie.

La Mamounia was Winston Churchill's favorite hotel, and he visited it almost annually for many years. An enthusiastic amateur painter, he often set up his easel and painted in the garden. On one memorable occasion during World War II, he and Franklin Roosevelt even found time to admire the sunset from the hotel roof.

To honor his memory, La Mamounia has a themed Churchill suite furnished in English country-house style and displaying original photographs, letters, and other memorabilia. Churchill's rolled umbrella is in its stand, for instance, and his old hat hangs from a hook. On an easel by a window overlooking the garden is a copy of one his unfinished Marrakech paintings.

It's as if it were still 1944 and at any moment the great man could walk through the door. In time-defying Marrakech, that somehow seems almost possible.

For more information about Marrakech and Morocco, write to the Moroccan National Tourist Office, 29 East 46th St., Suite 1201, New York, NY 10017; or call 212-557-2520.