My Marrakesh

Marrakech: and what to do with children?

It was Sunday, and so the American family set off.........They were headed for Marrakech's wee little fun fair, for wee little fun kids.  It's called Kawkab Jeux. 

There were tickets to be bought.

The small girl, Skylar, kicked off her shoes.

The blogging Mom also took off her hightops, well, just because.

There was air hockey, pool, and arcade games.  And even the tiniest in the group managed to have a grand time.

There were huge jungle gyms to climb and balls to be thrown.

For the very brave, there were even wild stallions to ride.

It was worth the price of admission just to have a go at the world famous Jum Ping.

As you can see, Jum Ping was only for the highly skilled. (Grown ups should not attempt this without supervision.)

When she tried to get into the rides for the "big kids," the genie with the magic lantern looked suspiciously at the blogging Mom and sent her away. Sniff.........

When it all got too exhausting, parents and their stuffed pets could sit for a spell.

Sadly, after an hour or two it was time to head home. But not before sagely partaking of nutritious food groups.....

Kawkab Jeux 1, Rue Imam Chafaï - Kawkab Centre Harti, Marrakech Tel: 024 43 82 29

http://www.kawkab-jeux.com/

My Marrakesh is better than yours....

My Marrakesh is better than yours......Look, they made me say it - Budget Travel Magazine.  You see, back in early October, the cool Editor of Budget Travel Magazine, Erik Torkells, asked me if I would participate in a series that they have called, My _____[city] is better than yours, where bloggers talk up the city they live in.     The other bloggers who have participated in the series are Clotilde of Chocolate and Zucchini on Paris, Grace of Design Sponge on Brooklyn, and Daniel of Shanghai List on Shanghai.  Ahem, so either Budget Travel is slumming it with me or my mother is paying them. (Thanks, Mom.  You are the greatest!)

The feature is my 2,500 word love letter to the city of Marrakech:  where to eat, play, and shop.  It will be out in the March 2008 issue:  eight pages, including four pages of pictures.  Last Thursday, Budget Travel's super friendly Photo Editor, Amy Lundeen, flew accomplished photographer Jason Lowe and a photographer's assistant to Marrakech for a week to take photos for this spread, including a portrait of this little blogger/olive farmer.  Color junkie that I am, I picked the Majorelle Garden for the portrait.  Photos aside, it was a fun opportunity to stroll around among the cactus with blow dried hair :-)

Note:  Budget Travel has a blog, too.  Check it out here.

Take a peek at this great article in the New York Daily News about Marrakech's markets.  It was written by Jim Farber with photos by the talented Judy Tillinger.  Yay!

PS Thank you so much for all your kind words on our Peacock Pavilions guest house.  I really hope it will be special and that I will be lucky enough to meet some of you *in real life* (What a concept.)

Marrakech: and the New York Times

Psst.......Check out what New York Times journalist Seth Sherwood just sent me....... an article he wrote about Marrakech in today's  New York Times Travel Section.  Seth and I spent a couple hours together, as he was preparing his article.  So cool:-)  Read it right here.  And do take a peek at the *amazing* slide show accompanying the article with beautiful photos taken by Ingrid Pullar right here. 

A little taste of Marrakech in text and images.........

P.S. Speaking of travel stories, Michael at Traveling Stories Magazine wrote to tell me about a contest that they are sponsoring.  Details are right here.  So get to writing.....I can't wait to read your stories!

 

Photo by Maryam:-)

Marrakech: and the joys of being a personal shopper

Oh, picture this.........on an island known for its beauty, a pristine sandy beach, an azure colored sea, palm trees dotted with tiny Moroccan lights.  Behind, a white washed restaurant lined with arches, the doors and windows painted a stunning Majorelle blue.  You walk in.....glimmering Moroccan lanterns hang from the ceiling, multi-colored leather poufs  surround low tables.  On the walls hand drawn Moroccan sepia portraits.  You are served a refreshing glass of mint tea in jewel-like Moroccan tea glasses.  In the background, strains of mixed jazzy Moroccan music.........

It's all so lovely.....Is it a dream? 

No it's real, or almost real.....It's the Kasbah ........

Those of you who read this blog, know my love for beautiful things and my passion for shopping.  And I am also lucky enough (pinch me!) to do personal shopping for individuals and stores.  Recently I had the very fun pleasure of shopping with two *super nice* clients who are building what will undoubtedly be a little Moroccan slice of paradise, the Kasbah, in the most incredible setting in Asia. 

Over three days we bought:

• Many metres of gorgeous Moroccan textiles
• Several stunning hammered tray tables
• Oodles of leather poufs
• Nearly 40 Moroccan lanterns in all shapes and sizes
• Gallons of Majorelle blue paint
• 100 exquisite Moroccan tea glasses with Moroccan tea pots
• Gleaming Moroccan door knockers and fountain spouts
• A dozen CDs, from Moroccan trance music to Moroccan lutes.... 

And much more.... 

My brief was to get them the very best things, at the very best prices.   Unraveling the mysteries of the Moroccan souks, I took them to my trusted sources.  And knowing the *real* prices of things (not the inflated tourist prices), I was able to efficiently bargain for them.  When it was all over, I helped arrange for it all to be reliably packed and shipped.

But the real fun of it all was helping them to fulfill a long awaited dream and take away some of the magic of this very special city, Marrakech ...........And you know shopping with other people's money isn't, cough, so bad either.......:-)

I can only imagine the grand opening of their  Kasbah .  I don't know about you, but I am saving my pennies because a plane ticket to Asia is only a credit card away....

A stylish Medina restaurant: Marrakech’s Le Tanjia

I had lunch at Le Tanjia, a restaurant in the Marrakech medina or old city.   When in the medina, this is one of my favorite places to have lunch or dinner, and their brunch on Sunday is very good.  This time was particularly enjoyable, since I spent it with some darling friends, Sarah and John, whom I met some time ago through this blog.  They passed the last several months here in Marrakech but sadly, are off now…. to Paris (What a difficult life they lead, I know, I know…). 

I thought I would share with you several pictures of Le Tanjia.  Serene and elegant, decorated in hues of chocolate and cream.  I think my designer friend, Patricia, might approve. 

The terrace with its beautiful rose-filled fountain is perfect for whiling away day-time hours (Do get one of the tables along the fretwork lined sides -- wonderful views.) 
The inside rooms, settled around an interior court, are just the thing for night-time soirees for two or more – cozy and atmospheric, without resorting to the wild panoply of colors for which Marrakech is so famous.  The carefully prepared food won’t disappoint either. Try one of their rocket laced salads with a glass of wine.

 

Le Tanjia
14 Derb J’did – Hay Essalam
Mellah, Medina – Marrakech
Phone + 212 (0) 24 38 38 36 / +212 (0) 24 38 42 42
letanjia@yahoo.fr, www.le-tanjia.com

All images: Le Tanjia

Marrakech: and the design pleasures of the flu

Ha-choo!  This brings a whole new meaning to Moroccan-inspired design....

Limited edition Moroccan cardboard tissue boxes.    Sniffly style-addicts swear they're even better than chicken soup...

P.S.  What beautifully designed every-day item do you own that is less than $5?

Marrakech: And through the Moroccan door

Who would have thought we would wind up here?  Find ourselves in Morocco?  Wind up in Marrakech?  But life sometimes has plans for us that we could never have imagined.  One door leads to another and then another….We open each door and walk through.  And find what awaits us…. 

I wonder what doors await you?  And what you might find on the other side…?.

Morocco: and a tale of blue trespass

Dear friends,
I received a call and was told I needed to leave the country.  Hmmmm....

I thought I might fly.  Or perhaps take a car.  Or a taxi or a bus.  But then I thought, Maryam, why be so conventional?  Why not think outside the box?  Life is short - where is your sense of adventure....?

So I set off, and shhh.....with another man.  His name is Ali and he is rather fond of blue. He already has two wives and he smells rather like a large mammal -- i.e. a couple of strikes against him.  But I was taken in by his strange charm, nonetheless.

Unfortunately, after about an hour, my, ahem, derriere, started to ache.  So I decided a plane might be a better option.  Perhaps I am a boring girl, after all.   

You can find me now in the land of the pyramids.

love,
Maryam in Cairo

P.S.  If you come to Morocco, Ali would like to meet you.  Or if not Ali, then maybe Moustapha, or Mohammed, or....  Hanging out with him on one of his large pets will cost around 100 dirhams (about $12) per hour or a bit more if you are somewhere pricey.  So do set off on your own camel trek.... 

Marrakech: and a story of a girl without a curl

She had been around the block more than once.
She had seen things that would make you blush.
She had heard stories of a most intimate kind.
She had been undressed by men and women.
She had been groped by the young and the old.
She had been forced to stand naked in the cold.

She had survived.

She was battered.
She was bruised.
But she was still beautiful.
If you took the time to look

at the Marrakech mannequin.

 

Lori Park: and one enchanted evening...

Saturday night in the medina and I'm pinch-hitting for Maryam and heading for the huge and mysterious Musee de Marrakech, a magnificent 19th century palace perfectly restored by Omar Benjelloun and now run by a foundation headed by his elegant widow Naima. The Musee holds treasures aplenty, ancient Berber jewelry and clothing, rare Jewish artifacts and rugs of astounding quality. But best of all is the never-ending courtyard with central fountain and all they myriad rooms leading off it.

What better venue for American artist Lori Park's remarkable exhibition of ethereal wire sculptures, which were the big draw for the art cognoscenti of Marrakech, a wonderfully eclectic mixture of Moroccans and international types of all ages, who gathered last Saturday evening to celebrate the opening of "Radiance" which runs until the 30th of September. Park's very contemporary work - sculptures of torsos, twisting and turning, attired in gloriously colored paper dresses adorned with dried roses - such dresses that Yves St.Laurent's brides might have dreamed of - are on show in the douriyia and the ancient hamman. In one dim corner, where fires had once been stoked, figures suspended from the ceiling seemed ghostly and eerie. As Park herself suggests, the whole palace - not to mention Marrakech - lends itself to a certain and stunning theatricality.

Many, many thanks to darling friend and blogger Elizabeth for doing this review for me. How I wished I could have been at the opening (Sweet daughter Skylar had a fever and I didn't want to leave her side.).  But Lori and I have made a date for tea at the Museum and a stroll through the exhibit.  I can't wait!

Musée de Marrakech:
Place Ben Youssef - Marrakech-Médina
Tél.: 212 24 44 18 93

Open daily from 9:30 to 6

P.S.  This is my 200th post!  And I have had 4, 997 comments (and treasured every one).  Eeek!  It's hard to remember what my life was like before blogging.  Do you bloggers feel the same way?