5 Nights in Marrakech

Marrakech is not an ordinary place, it is a boisterous, dusty, colorful, loud and fragrant city.

It was clear to me as my plane made its decent above the maze of terracotta colored, cubelike structures, that I was about to land in a city like no place I had been before.

I was taking a mother-daughter trip, and my mother met me at the airport with our driver, I barely recognized her as she was in full Moroccan regalia, complete with long flowing skirt, head covering, and jangling bric-a-brac jewelry.

We were staying at a Riad inside the Medina, and in Marrakesh, taxis can only take you to the exterior wall of the city. Our driver escorted us through the maze that were the alleyways towards our Riad, by Bab Doukkala. As our driver dragged my suitcase behind me, we passed overflowing market stalls piled high with soggy looking vegetables, the tops of carrots all wilted. Dusty piles of nuts and spices, butchered meat hanging - not in windows but in the alleyway itself. A camel's head...

• Check in to Riad

• Explore the area around Bab Doukkala

• Visit Le Jardin Secret

• Dinner at le Marocain at La Mamounia Hotel

Our first night in Marrakesh was spent dining at the magnificent restaurant Le Marocain located within La Mamounia Hotel.

Upon arriving at the heavily guarded entry to La Mamounia, we were escorted down the grand foyer and through the gardens. We passed babbling fountains, and an extensive courtyard gilded with fruit bearing trees. Orange trees and date palms heavy with fruit lined the ornate mosaic pathway down the garden to the riad at the bottom of the property. Le Marocain is a mysterious and elegant restaurant, set over three levels, a myriad of rooms showcasing the splendors of Arabo-Andalusian architecture. A truly majestic setting in which we savored the Moroccan specialties prepared by Chef Rachid Agouray.

• Meet our local guide Noura

• Visit Koutoubia

• See les Jardins du Koutoubia

• Visit Bahia Palace

• Explore the medina markets and souks

• Horse and buggy tour around the medina

• Dinner at Mysky rooftop and Lounge

For day two, I hired a local guide to show us around the Medina. I chose a woman guide, as I had discovered that sometimes the local guides can be a bit pushy and take you to stalls owned by their friends and relatives, and I felt that having a female guide would allow us more flexibility to choose our own itinerary. I wasn't wrong. Our guide Noura El Kacimi was outstanding, she took us through the quarters of the medina, showcasing the various areas within the pink walled city. We haggled with store vendors, ogled stalls lined with handmade shoes, negotiated deals on brass items and got lost in the dazzling alleyways adorned with recently dyed yarn, swaying in the breeze. Noura remained with us the entire day. We visited the The Kutubiyya Mosque, also known as the Koutoubia Mosque, it's the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. Situated in the southwest medina quarter, it is near the bustling Jemaa el-Fnaa marketplace and surrounded by expansive gardens.

• Visit les Jardins Majorelle

• YSL Museum

• Lunch at Le Menzeh par Pierre Herme

• Dinner at Comptoir Dana

Visiting Les Jardins Majorelle has always been a dream of mine, and today we dedicated the entire morning to exploring this enchanting and mysterious garden in Morocco. Covering 9,000 m², Jardin Majorelle is a captivating creation that took forty years to complete. Surrounded by outer walls, it features a maze of intersecting pathways on different levels and vibrant buildings that combine Art Deco and Moorish styles. The French artist Jacques Majorelle envisioned this expansive and lush garden as a haven and botanical research center. Starting in 1922, he filled it with rare plant species sourced from around the globe. The story of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé saving the Jardin Majorelle is quite well known, their decision to purchase the garden in 1980 and preserve it from hotel developers not only saved a beautiful piece of Moroccan heritage but also created a serene retreat for themselves. Renaming Jacques Majorelle's villa to Villa Oasis adds a personal touch to their legacy in Marrakech.

After visiting les Jardins Majorelle, we visited the YSL museum. as a self-proclaimed fashion enthusiast, I had a marvelous time perusing the extensive exhibition hall containing various collections from Yves Saint Laurents life's work. Tickets to the museum can be purchased as a bundle with admission to les Jardins Majorelle.

We spent the evening of day three at Comptoir Darna, upon recommendation from friends that visit Marrakesh often. Comptoir Darna is a renowned nightlife attraction in Marrakech, offering a perfect fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. Established in 1999, it has become a must-visit spot in the red city, where every night is a celebration. The restaurant is known for its enchanting decor, live entertainment including belly dancing, and a vibrant atmosphere that immerses guests in Moroccan culture. The menu features a blend of French, Moroccan, and Mediterranean cuisines.

I was amazed at the decor, the ladies bathroom was quite a sight to behold, with an array of colorful dimly lit lanterns suspended from the ceiling, it was a scene you would find in a magazine.

• Day trip to the Atlas Mountains with our guide, Noura

• Dinner at Dardar rooftop

The fourth day was an adventure filled day with our lovely guide Noura. She picked us up bright and early and took us on a day trip to the Atlas mountains and we visited the Berber villages.

The High Atlas is home to the Imazighen, also known as the Amazigh or Berber people. These ancient indigenous tribes prefer the name Amazigh, which means "free people."

Noura picked us up in an air condition van, and we drove for about two hours into the mountains. Our first stop was at a beautiful rug store. It was clear that they don't get many tourists in these parts, we were haggled to the point of actually buying rugs, (that we didn't need... never mind.)

As we climbed higher and higher into the mountains, we would stop to admire the view. Tiny little clay huts built in groupings, barely recognizable from the color of the red earth around it. Part of our tour included lunch at a small home in one of the villages. Upon touring the home, where it was very clear to me that not only did they have no running water, the water source they were using was definitely not hygienic, I declined the kind offer of lunch that I saw bubbling on the stove and agreed to tea.

I discovered a donkey housed in a small room next to the kitchen, there were also cats roaming around freely, and unfortunately for me I then had the experience of using the restroom... not a pleasant experience!

After visiting the home, we were taken to a factory where they make argan oil. As a hairstylist, this was of particular interest to me. I had no idea how manually intensive it was to harvest the argan nuts, crack them, and how the oil is extracted. Everything is done by hand, and we got to sample some of the oil, and also argan butter, which is absolutely delicious.

Following our educational and enlightening day in the Atlas Mountains, we returned to town and savored a beautiful sunset meal at Rooftop Dardar. We got there just in time to hear the call to prayer echoing from the speakers concealed in the palm trees throughout the medina. Marrakesh marked my initial encounter with the emotive calls to prayer during our stay, offering a poignant reminder of being truly distant from home. As the sun set over the rooftops of the dusty maze of the walled city, the DJ kicked it up a notch, from smooth sunset rhythms to upbeat house music, I was pleased we had made it back in time to experience this place as the sun was setting.

• Hammam experience at Les Bains de Marrakesh

• Souk shopping

• Dinner at El Fenn

It had been told to me that in order to truly experience Marrakech, you must visit a hammam. I had done my research, and Les Bains de Marrakesh Is the highest rated Hammam in the Medina. A Hammam Is essentially a bathhouse or spa, where you can receive multiple body treatments such as scrubs, massages, and the famous exfoliation treatment that Morocco is known for. We began our treatment in the communal bath area, there were several other people also waiting to be called to their treatments. We met a couple from the UK that come often to the spa, they cautioned us not to go into the steam room without bringing a bottle of water with us, noted.

Our first treatment was a scrub, my mother and I were led into a room, and gestured to lay on big slabs of concrete. We were rather aggressively hosed down, and some sort of sandy concoction was applied all over our bodies. We were asked what temperature we wanted the air and my mother declared "as hot as you can make it!" Immediate panic from me. The room immediately filled with hot steamy air, and before long I couldn't see the shape of anything in the room. I started to feel dizzy and panic set in, for about 15 long minutes I felt like I was coming in and out of consciousness, I was certain my mother was probably dead somewhere close by, there was no way she was enjoying this, nor surviving it. Eventually I remembered my water bottle that I insisted I bring in with me, I gulped the entire contents of it down and tried not to think about how unhygienic the surfaces of the room were. The gruff ladies came back and scrubbed our bodies with very rough gloves. I thought the torture was over, but it wasn't. Another phase of strange gunk applied all over, and this time it was rubbed off almost immediately but with a different type of mitt.

After the horrendous scrub phase of the treatment, we were led to a room to relax (recover) and take tea. I was cold, and clammy and quite shaken, but ready for the next phase which was a massage and a wrap.

We were taken to the rooms for massage and then eventually led into the room for the wrap. Immediately I felt this was a mistake, but I had promised my mother a relaxing spa day and was committed to the exercise. The wrap was a type of clay that was applied in goopy clumps until we resembled stone artifacts. We were then bound in a type of plastic wrap and had I been able to look over and see my mother, I just know she would have resembled a mummy in a tomb. At one point I asked her if she was having a good time, she replied that she was, and that's all that mattered.

That evening (true to my rooftop seeking form) we dined at El Fenns rooftop restaurant. I had heard about El Fenns interesting story:

In 2002, Howell James and Vanessa Branson (Richard Bransons daughter) were hunting for a holiday house in Marrakech. At the end of a long day, the close friends walked into what was then a near derelict riad. By the time they left an hour later, they were on the way to owning not just one Marrakech home – but several. Unknown to them, the main building (today centred on the courtyard that houses the hotels reception reception) was being sold with a string of smaller properties – some with only one or two rooms. It was only when Howell, a former permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office who has also held senior positions at the BBC and Christie’s, and Vanessa – an art collector, gallerist and patron - signed the sale papers that they realised just how much house they were getting. They ended up with several properties which make up the magnificent El Fenn it is today.

El Fenn is one of those properties that makes you wish you stayed longer, or perhaps you had a vacation home here? I was completely enamored with the interior design style used throughout the property. Each room of the guest house is decorated in a different style, the common areas are a mix of modern Moroccan with Morrish influences. Splashes of red against green, pink against orange, lanterns glowing and decorative objects everywhere, a feast for the eyes.

We had a drink at the bar before dinner, and admired the Koutoubia glowing in the distance, we marveled at how clear the sky was, Stars dotted the dusk sky. The DJ played mellow mixes of Arabic inspired house music, and I couldn’t help but think how beautiful this evening was, a perfect sendoff for the last evening of my 5 nights in Marrakech. I felt as though I were the transported to a place where Balinese and Arabic cultures mix. Bali will forever hold a place in my heart, as it is a destination I traveled to tens of times in my 20s, and this rooftop in El Fenn suddenly pulled at my heartstrings the way my travels to Bali often did.

Perhaps it is the sense of being in a place truly far from home, perhaps it is the smells of the incense, smoky and sweet at the same time, combined with the humming vibration of the beat of the music, the gentle flickering of colorful lanterns dotted around a mirror-like reflection pool. It was at this moment that I took in a deep breath, and reminded myself why my travels were so important. Sometimes you have to lose yourself in a place that feels nothing like home, to feel truly alive.

Fallon xo