The Saint Martyrs Church (L’Eglise des Saints Martyrs)

Nestled in the heart of Gueliz you can find the first Church to be built in Marrakech, The Saint Martyrs Church (L’Eglise des Saints Martyrs). As seen in the photo above, The Saint Martyrs Church is located opposite an equally stunning Mosque on Rue el Iman Ali . The face to face, almost symmetrical configuration of these two places of worship is often seen by local Marrakchis as a symbol of inter-religous tolerance in modern Morocco.

This catholic church was built under the French protectorate in 1928; some historians claim that this church inspired the name of Marrakech’s new town, Gueliz. However, this is often disputed by others who claim that the origin of the word comes from the sandstone found in nearby quarries.

If you are visiting Marrakech and would like to attend a mass at the The Saint Martyrs Church, there is a mass every weekday at 6.30pm and a 10.30am mass and a  6.30pm vigil on Sundays. Our Riad staff would be more than happy to phone ahead to check these times are correct.