Marrakech, Morocco — Activities
Marrakech Culture
Music is at the heart of cultural life in Marrakech, as it is throughout Morocco. Marrakech is almost certainly the best place to enjoy the fusion of Moroccan music, as the city has been the host to Andalucian, Arab, Berber and African influences for up to 10 centuries.
Distinctions between public and private performance are practically non-existent, as many of the best performers in Marrakech are often to be found playing to all that want to listen at Jemaa el Fna. Performances combining music, dance and theater are extremely popular during the Festival of Popular Arts. You may notice posters around Marrakech advertising forthcoming theater and comedy events, although performances are in French or Arabic only.
Music
Jemaa el Fna
Anyone with even a passing interest in music should head straight for Jemaa el Fna. The best time to go for music is in the mid- to late evening, as the square gradually empties and the dedicated street musicians take over, playing their repetitive, rhythmic melodies on a mixture of banjos, lutes, guitars, flutes, drums and makeshift violins. The most enchanting of the styles on offer is Gnaoua trance music, best exemplified by the internationally-renowned band Nass Marrakech, which formed in the city. This music, a blend of African styles that derived from freed slaves' songs, combines repetitive rhythms and choric voices to create a trance-like awareness of the present moment in the listener.
Jemaa el Fna, Medina
Théâtre Royal
More formal cultural events take the form of festivals, although there are some performances of opera and dance in the open-air amphitheater of the Théâtre Royal in Guéliz.
40 Boulevard Mohammed VI
Tel: (0524) 431 516.
Marrakech Tours
Walking tours
It used to be common to step outside a hotel and find a 'guide' willing to give you a tour around Marrakech for a fee, but these days the tourist police have clamped down on the unlicensed escorts who inevitably guided you to a monument or two by way of a cousin's carpet shop. If you're short on time and exploring the souks solo holds no appeal, ask your hotel or riad to recommend a reliable, knowledgeable guide or get a list of licensed guides from the tourist office. As always, a fee should be negotiated in advance. Visitors shopping in the souks with a guide should be aware that they'll probably get better deals coming back later alone, since most guides have commission arrangements with specific shops. For small groups, MCI Tours can arrange various walking tours, such as exploring the medina.
Tel: (0524) 438 742.
Website: www.mcitours.ma
Other tours
Grands taxis can be hired for tours of the city and day excursions at the ranks in Guéliz by the Post Office or at Jemaa el Fna. It is also possible to hire a calèche (horse-drawn carriage) for a tour of the town. For both modes of transport the price should be negotiated in advance.
There is a growing market in adventurous excursions, such as desert camel journeys, Atlas trekking, and hunting, fishing and white-water rafting in the High Atlas Mountains, but not all companies offer experienced English-speaking guides. Mountain Voyage is a licensed British-owned company based in Marrakech that offers tailor-made tours inside the city and trekking excursions in the High Atlas Mountains. Another reliable company offering English-speaking guides is Atlas Sahara Trek.
Mountain Voyage
Tel: (0524) 421 996.
Website: www.mountain-voyage.com
Atlas Sahara Trek
Tel: (0524) 313 901.
Website: www.atlas-sahara-trek.com
