In the back, you can see the Atlas mountains…

More photos from Marrakesh.

The Atlas mountains on the way to Ouarzazate.
More photos from Morocco

The photos on this site are copyright by Laurenz Bobke.

The drive to Ouarzazate is a standard excursion from Marrakesh - and highly recommended.
There are some breathtaking views from the Atlas mountain and beautiful landscapes anywhere.
The tourist buses are comfortable - but if I ever get there gain, I’ll try to find a taxi instead - so that I can make more photo stops and exactly where I want them.

A sunset in the Atlas Mountains, shot when returning from Ouarzazate to Marrakesh.

Sunset in the “Palmerie” of Marrakesh.

Aït-Ben-Haddou maybe is the most famous “Ksar” in Morocco.
This fortified village has been featured in many Hollywood productions although Ksar Ouled Soltane in Tunisia may be even more famous.

The pavillion and the great water reservoir were built by Saadian Sultan Abd er Rahman in 1870.
I visited Marrakesh in winter-time and the temperature was quite agreeable. However, in the heat of summer, those gardens must have been a veritable oasis and a welcome escape from the city.

Surrounded by olive groves, Menara Gardens makes for a very scenic change from the bustle of central Marrakesh.
Even though the water of the pool in front of the pavilion looks somewhat murky. it’s still one of the most romantic places the city has to offer.
You can see the door in the red wall on both photos, by the way.

More impressions from the Medersa, one of the most important sights of Marrakesh.

Some impressions from the Medersa Ben Youssef in Marrakesh.
This Islamic school dates back to the 16th century and used to be the most important such institution in the whole Maghreb.

Quite a nice way to get an overview of the city before diving into the souks of Marrakesh: the tourist bus stops at all the major sites and you can hop on and off as much as you like for 24 hours.
It’s also a good way to shoot some photos that you normally couldn’t but one should bear in mind that most Moroccans prefer not to be photographed.

The Saadian dynasty ruled in southern Morocco in the 16th and 17th centuries.
There are the remains of about 60 members of the dynasty within the mausoleum, outside are the graves of servants and soldiers.

click on the pictures to see a larger version.

I was fortunate enough to get a table with an excellent view of Marrakesh’s main square on the evening before my flight back to Germany.
The sunset itself was not spectacular, but seeing the lively Place Jemaa el Fna and the spire of the Kotoubia Mosque under a rapidly changing sky was truly beautiful.
The square itself is already quite lively during day time and offers many attractions: there are many fruit stalls, musicians, magicians, tea vendors and artisans.
When night falls, however, it becomes even busier: there are long rows of food stall catering to tourists as well as the local population and Many people are passing through on their way to the extensive souks surrounding the square.
On the photos you can see the smoke rise from hundreds of grills.
Wikipedia told me that the name comes from the Arabic for “Assembly of the dead” and indeed, the heads of many executed people were on display here in ancient times.
Today, it is hard to imagine a livelier spot…

I very much enjoy looking at other people’s impressions of the same locations I visited, here are some I found interesting:

http://yourinnervagabond.com/blog//?p=122
http://www.evete.com/morocco2007/2006/09/djemaa_el_fna_s.html
http://blog.flickr.com/flickrblog/2006/08/oj_stand_on_jam.html
http://photosdumaroc.net/

A street scene in the Kasbah area of Marrakesh, near the Saadian tombs.

Jardin Majorelle Marrakech, originally uploaded by laurenz.

Located in the heart of Marrakechs new city, Jardin Majorelle is a beautiful spot to somewhat relax from the other wonders of this city.

It once belonged to the painter Jacques Majorelle who also happened to be interested in botanics.
There is a small museum displaying his paintings as well as some islamic art, but possibly his most amazing work is the way brightly coloured buildings and ceramics blend with the tropical plants.
This very much reminded me of the modern glass installations of Dale Chilhuly in Miamis Fairchild Gardens.
The park was also once owned by Yves Saint Laurent.

Some more impressions from the Jardin Majorelle:

Website of the Majorelle Garden (French)

Other impressions of the same place were posted in the following weblogs:

http://parisart.typepad.com/d_signe/2006/11/blues_again.html
http://moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/my_marrakesh/2006/09/morocco_majorel.html
http://www.brindilles.net/2006/03/17/jardin-majorelle-a-marrakech/
http://reflets-du-monde.blogs-de-voyage.fr/archive/2006/12/28/2d7d46b95b4e4aa7c633f07fc3cb35cb.html

A carpet shop in the old town of Essaouira (Morocco).

Essaouira is located North of Agadir, on the Moroccan Atlantic coast. It is a very picturesque (albeit touristy) town.
The UNESCO lists its Medina as a world heritage site.

The souks of Marrakesh (Marrakech) are said to be the most extensive ones in Morocco. In the maze of alleyways and small streets, it is difficult to tell whether this is true, but I am sure that I could spend ages there and still discover new things all the time.
One of the most picturesque parts of the souks are the “dyer’s souks”. If you want to actually see the dying process, Fes is a far better place to go. However, in Marrakesh you come across brightly coloured leather, wool and cloth drying in the sun a truly beautiful sight!

More about Marrakesh (or Marrakech) at Wikipedia
Impressions by other bloggers: http://photosaroundtheworld.wordpress.com/tag/photos/africa/north-africa/morocco/
http://fcandi.com/1998/06/10_tage_marokko.html (in German, fascinating photos)
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/TheCasablancaMarrakechPhotoblog.aspx

Christmas dinner was dragging on in the otherwise good restaurant of the Tikida Garden Hotel (Marrakesh / Marrakech).
Obviously, there were far too many guests for the service, so I tried to kill some time looking at the pictures I had taken with my Lumix that day.
Then it occurred to me to point it at the flame of one of the candles.
As you can see in the above photo, the result was so bad, I immediately deleted it.
The next course still was not coming.
I unscrewed the lid of the salt dispenser, held it in front of my lens and took another shot.
This version was much better (below)
Thinking that I might share this, I retook the original version for comparison (above)

Note: no digital retouching other than a slight crop and resizing to a web-compatible size.
With digital cameras, such experiments cost nothing - and may be quite entertaining.

Very picturesque: the old granaries of Heri es Souani in Meknes.

Seen in Meknes, Morocco.

typical view of the markets of Meknes.