Morocco Travel Guide

MUSEUM

HISTORIC    BUILDING

ART GALLERY

HISTORIC    SITE

Marrakesh gallery to show their collections in their original context.

Together the collectors ‘repatriated’ 4500 photos, 2000 glass negatives and 80 documents
dating from 1870 to 1950; select works on view here fill three floors, organised by region and
theme. Fascinating, well-documented works include a 1907 Djemaa el-Fna vista, a 1920 photo
of Ali ben Youssef Medersa with students, and a rare, full-colour 1957 documentary shot in
Morocco. Most works are editioned prints from original negatives, and available for sale.

Don’t miss the panoramic terrace for coffee or one of Marrakesh’s best lunch deals: a
fragrant chicken tajine with preserved lemon for Dh35. If you’re heading to Ourika Valley, save
your ticket for free admission to the Ecomusée Berbere ( Click here ).

Musée de Marrakech

Offline map Google  map (    0524   44  18  93; www.museedemarrakech.ma,    in  French; Pl  ben

Youssef; admission Dh40, with Ali ben Youssef Medersa & Koubba Dh60; 9am-6.30pm)
Maybe the rumours are true of a curse on the Mnebhi Palace, now home to Musée de
Marrakech. Its low walls and light-filled inner courtyard left no place to hide for Mehdi Mnebhi,
defence minister during Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz’s troubled 1894–1908 reign. While Minister
Mnebhi was away receiving a medal from Queen Victoria, sneaky England conspired with
France and Spain to colonise North Africa. In Mnebhi’s absence, autocrat Pasha Glaoui filched
his palace – but after independence, it was seized by the state. The palace became
Marrakesh’s first girls’ school in 1965, but upkeep proved a problem.

The palace’s fortunes turned around in 1997 with restoration by the Omar Benjelloun
Foundation. Traditional arts displays include Rabati embroidery, inlaid daggers and Fassi
pottery, plus displays of historic photos in the original hammam and variable contemporary art
in the former kitchen. Outside, there’s a courtyard cafe serving powerful espresso, and a small
bookshop.

Koubba Ba’adiyn

Offline map Google map ( admission with Medersa Dh60; 9am-6pm) The Almohads destroyed
everything else their Almoravid predecessors built in Marrakesh, but overlooked this small,
graceful 12th-century koubba (shrine) across from Ali ben Youssef Mosque, which was
probably used for ablutions. This architectural relic reveals what Hispano-Moresque
architecture owes to the Almoravids: keyhole arches, ribbed vaulting, interlaced arabesques
and domed cupolas on crenellated bases.

Dar Bellarj

Offline map Google  map (    0524   44  45  55; Ali ben Youssef Medersa;     exhibitions

9.30am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Sat) Flights of fancy come with the territory at Dar Bellarj, a
stork hospital ( bellarj is Arabic for stork) turned into Marrakesh’s premier arts centre. Each
year the nonprofit Dar Bellarj Foundation adopts a program theme, recently ranging from film to
women’s textiles and storytelling. Calligraphy demonstrations, art openings, crafts exhibits and
arts workshops are regular draws, and admission is usually free (there’s a charge for some
events) – though a Dh20 coffee in the art library makes a blissful break from the souqs.

Mellah