Morocco: Calling all art lovers....

We had lunch with friends at an artist's retreat outside of Marrakesh on Sunday.  I thought I would share it with you through pictures.  It's called Al Maqam, and it combines a restaurant, an art gallery, guest rooms, and art studios.  Run by well known Moroccan artist M. Morabit, artists, film makers, architects, and interior designers can all be found here enjoying lunch or painting in the studio.  Non-artistic types are allowed in too! 

In a verdant setting, Al Maqam is a simple, family friendly place where you can feel relaxed having coffee in paint spattered clothing or taking a stroll with your children on the grounds.  We lunched on beans in tomato sauce, rice salad, and green peppers in olive oil, followed by chicken tagine and home made bread.  Desert was a bowl of fresh fruit and refreshing mint tea.  All for $12 a person.  We then did a little shopping in the gallery.  I bought two lovely, limited edition signed lithographs as gifts (one for Steve at Brooklyn Rowhouse who is making a new blog banner for me), as well as hand-crafted, artistic coffee mugs with lids for work colleagues. 

Also while at Al Maqam, we chatted with an artist in one of the studios preparing for an upcoming exhibit and took a look at a few of the guest rooms.  The rooms are art filled and inviting, with striped tented ceilings.  So nice.  What do you think?

Lunch was with adorable artist couple Julie Klear and Moulay Essakalli, the owners and designers of Zid Zid Kids (carried in Bloomingdales and elsewhere), as well as with spirited Kim Koenig-Ouassil  the owner of the Sheherazade showroom in New York.  Julie is currently illustrating a children's book and is thinking about taking a week at Al Maqam to do the final drawings.  What fun!

If you are in Marrakesh, for a different experience, I recommend planning a leisurely afternoon at Al Maqam located at:  Douar Lamgassem, Tahennaouat (about a half hour outside of Marrakesh),Tel:   024-484002 or 061-139773, Email: m.morabiti@yahoo.fr.