Category Archives: History and Culture
Chickens in Marrakech
It is surprisingly common to keep chickens in the Marrakech Medina, they are fed on scraps and kept mainly for eggs. When I first started visiting Marrakech regularly five years ago there were a particularly fine looking group of Andalusian hens that used to scratch around at the top of the well known Derb Semarine [...]
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The Marrakech Tanneries
The famous Marrakech Tanneries are located to the East of the Medina and offer a fascinating opportunity to see an ancient craft alive and well in the twenty first century. The tanners use their skill and judgement to progress animal hides through a succession of processes essentially unchanged from those used by their forbears centuries [...]
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Tuurda, a rustic dish served as a light lunch in our Marrakech Riads
Tuurda is a home cooked Marrakechi dish based on dried bread served with pulses onions and other vegetables as available and a tomato based sauce. This delicious dish is a kind of Moroccan bubble and squeek. Guests in our Marrakech Riads can enjoy freshly prepared Tuurda as a light lunch, best enjoyed with a mint tea.
Explore our [...]
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Bissara
Bissara is the Marrakech variant of Foul (pronounced ‘fool’) a puree based on fava beans. A wholesome entirely vegetarian food Bissara has a wonderful buttery flavour and makes an excellent and substantial breakfast.
At Marrakech Riad Papillon and Marrakech Riad Cinnamon Bissara is seasoned in the traditional Marrakechi way with salt, pepper and cumin. We serve it with olive oil and fresh [...]
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Baghrir and Mesman breakfast at Marrakech Riad Papillon
There are two types of crepes traditionally eaten as breakfast foods in Marrakech, Morocco, these are Baghrir and Mesman. Both are based on wheat flour with olive oil or butter and seasoning, Baghrir is cooked in a pan on one side only where Mesman is repeatedly folded over heat.
Both Baghrir and Mesman are freshly prepared [...]
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Marrakech Riad Dar
The terms Riad (literal meaning garden) and Dar (literal meaning house) are somewhat interchangeable in Marrakech. Strictly speaking a Riad is a garden house built around a courtyard or patio. Some would say that a true riad requires four trees in a formal setting.
The broader term Dar includes even the finest Riads but also dwellings that are more modest in scale and outlook.
Riad [...]
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Languages
A Red City, a Rainbow of dialects
Moroccans are by and large excellent linguists and natural communicators – what they lack in expertise they make up for with enthusiasm. Across Marrakech, and particularly in the souks, the visitor is best advised to put aside inhibitions and join in!
Classical and Moroccan Arabic
Arabic is the official language of [...]
Gnawa Music
Gnawa, or Gnaoua , trance music is a familiar sound in the place Jema al Fna, Marrakech. Visitors and locals alike gather around groups of musicians to share a unique experience. Gnawa is a mixture of African, Berber and Arabic religious songs and rhythms. The music is considered both a prayer and a celebration of life. [...]
Marrakech, Marrakesh
So good they named it twice!
Written in Arabic as مراكش foreigners use the French ‘Marrakech’ and English ‘Marrakesh’ interchangeably.
Marrakech sits at a strategic location on the trade route between sub Saharan Africa and the sea route to Europe. The early name was Marra Kouch, land of the Kouchmen a tribe that originated in Mauritania. The [...]
The Marrakech, Tea in Marrakesh