Magical Marrakech

On the weekend 20 students and 2 staff members set off to Marrakech. Leaving winter behind, we arrived at around 7pm at Marrakech airport where our drivers were waiting. Our Riads – Riad Karmela and Riad El Noor were ‘AMAZING'. Each room was individually designed in beautiful Moroccan colours.

That evening we went out to Djemaa el-Fna, famous for its open air kitchens which fill the who square and a great place to soak up the atmosphere of Marrakech, to have dinner. That evening we found a rooftop café for copious amounts of SWEET mint tea.

The next morning, after breakfast, our guide Aziz took us on a 3 hour walking tour which started with Koutoubia Mosque, the minaret which dominates the skyline. From there we went to the beautifully decorated Saadian Tombs. These were once hidden from intrusive eyes and were originally the privileged burial place of the sheriff, the descendants of the Prophet Mohammed. Next stop was the ruins of Palais El – Badi, this was once one of the finest palaces in the world, now it is home to storks and very little remains of this splendid palace and finally we visited a herbalist shop, tasted more tea, had free shoulder massages and learnt about the healing properties of different herbs and spices.

Time for lunch and then a meander through the exotic, colourful souks. Back at our Riad, we had an amazing 4 course meal with a selection of delicious starters, fantastic tagines, a dessert with chocolate brownies, apple pie, pistachio ice cream and orange segments and not for the last time, mint tea and pastries on the terrace.

The next day we went to Palmeraie, a magnificent palm grove outside the city, where we dressed up and went on a very memorable one and a half hour camel ride with views of the Atlas Mountains in the background. Afterwards we were served sweet pancakes and you guessed mint tea.

This was a truly magical weekend, everything was perfect.

January