Sights & Attractions in Marrakesh

Marrakesh has two distinct parts: the walled-in medina, or Old City, and the wide-open New City (Ville Nouvelle), Gueliz. When you can see the ramparts, you're either just inside or just outside the medina, a labyrinth of narrow alleys in which houses, souks, and bazaars form an interlocking honeycomb, specifically designed to confuse invaders and now serving much the same purpose for tourists. Walking among the twisting and turning alleys deep in the medina is a voyage in itself. If you are literally claustrophobic, ask for a guide at your hotel; if not, just follow your nose, keep walking, and you'll end up at one of the babs, or arched gates, that lead in and out of this ancient quarter. If that fails, ask a young Marrakshi to show you the way out, and give him a 5 DH piece for his trouble.

A street—usually no more than an alley—is called a rue (French) or zencat (Arabic) and an alley is called a derb. At the medina's center is the famous Djemâa el Fna square, the heartbeat of Marrakesh, whose name has many interpretations: as Djemâa means "meeting place" and el Fna means "the end" or "death," it could be translated as "Mosque of Death" or "Meeting Place at the End of the World." Today it's a fun fair, but once upon a time the Djemâa's purpose was more gruesome: it provided for public viewings of the severed heads of sinners, criminals, and Christians, hung on stakes around the square. Most of the medina's monuments charge an entry fee of 10 DH-15 DH and have permanent on-site guides; if you use one, tip him about 30 DH. Gueliz, in comparison, is flat and open, its wide streets lined with orange and jacaranda trees, office buildings, modern stores, and a plethora of sidewalk cafés.

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