While the quick approach of November means we’ll soon be off for our cruise and a short stay in Morocco, we sadly will not be able to make it down to the south this time around – a shame as we so enjoy Marrakech and Nic still has designs on getting further south

The very same area that the Saadians came to power from.
Originally their rule from 1509 through to 1554 CE only extended over southern Morocco – around the region where the city of Zagora is now.
This all …

Drawing upon Morocco’s top artisans, Grand Vizier Si Mossa had them work on the palace for fourteen years.

Boasting floor to ceiling decorations, el Bahia palace was originally constructed in the 1860s, but was further embellished upon by the slave-turned-vizier, Abu ‘Bou’ Ahmed, between 1894 and 1900.

While only a portion of the 8 hectare palace is open to the public, the sections you can walk are pretty extensive, and gives you a great sense of the lifestyle enjoyed by the two viziers and their many wives and concubines.

Upon his death, …

During our stay in Marrakech we tried to wander the city as far as we could on foot from the Jemaa el-Fnaa. And while a bit of a hike from our riad – though I suspect that might have had more to do with us getting lost a couple of times navigating the warrens that make up large parts of the market district then it being that far away – we were able to make our way over to the el Bahia Palace.

At the time it cost us about a …

The Saadian Tombs date back to the time of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603 CE) but weren’t actually discovered until 1917. And as you walk the grounds you can see the effort Beaux-arts Service has put into their restoration of the tombs, and why this beautifully restored mausoleum is such an attraction to visitors of Marrakech.

And of course there’s the staff.

Approximately sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty – who originated in the Draa River valley – lay buried here. Among those interred in the mausoleum is Ahmad al-Mansur and his family.

Outside …

In a guest post we did for Maroc Mama Nic talked about our trip up to the city of Ifrane in the northern mountains of Morocco. While there we had the opportunity to tour Al-Akhawayn University and their mosque, a replica built of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech.

And a few days later while we were staying off the Jemaa el-Fnaa we had the opportunity to look around the original.

Completed between 1184 CE & 1199 CE under the reign of Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur, the Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque …

The Jemaa el-Fnaa is the central market place and square of the Old City in Marrakech’s medina quarter.

While the true origin of its name remains unclear, translation of Jemaa means “congregational mosque” and probably refers to a destroyed Almoravid mosque.
The Fnaa however derived from “Fana” or “Fina” could mean “death” or “a courtyard / space in front of a building.”
Which as you could see would have two very different meanings. Possible translations have included “the mosque or assembly of death,” or “the Mosque at the End of the …

With the likelihood of us being able to swing by Morocco for a few days after our cruise in November, I thought I’d take the opportunity to write about our first visit there and how our stay in a quiet little riad rekindled my taste for hard-boiled eggs.
When I was a kid I used to love them.
My father would usually make them for me on the weekend when we had more time for breakfast, and I would happily sit in front of the TV dunking strips of toast – …