riad | Marrakech Riad

Hidden Mosaics

What’s incredible about Morocco (that perhaps people don’t realize) is that the stunning mosaics and expertly carved wall accents you find in many Riads aren’t just reserved for upper-class homes or tourist-y hotels. These incredibly detailed artworks cover the surfaces of everyday homes that people have lived in for millennia. Most homes, which look humble […]

The Caleches of Marrakech | Horse-Drawn Cart Tours

The word “Caleche” may not be familiar to you, if you’ve never spent a week or two in Morocco before. The word itself is a french, feminine noun which found it’s way to Morocco during the French Colonisation in the 1950’s. The term Caleche is now a commonly used name for what is formally known […]

Marrakech Jeweller Preserves Traditional Adornment

Morocco is a country with a rich and diverse history spanning several millennia. In it’s lifetime, Morocco has been home to an extensive variety of demographics; beginning with the indigenous Berber people in the first millennium BC, and continuing with colonisation and invasions by the Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantine Empire, Arabs, Moors(Spanish) & French. With each […]

Morocco Bans Plastic Bags In Effort To Become A Greener Country

The end of 2017 brought us a sequel to the award winning Planet Earth; and along with this visually stunning nature series came a general mass-awakening to the human responsibility of preserving the planet we live upon. A hot political topic in January 2018 has been the damaging effects of plastic waste on the ecology […]

Josephine Baker falls ill in Morocco 1941

In June 1941 Josephine Baker was at her home in Marrakech when she was struck with crippling abdominal pain. French captain Jacques Abtey borrowed a station wagon so that Josephine could lay down for the long ( 350 mile ) journey on uneven roads to the hospital in Casablanca. The date was June 1941, and […]

Moroccan Dance and Folklore – Guedra

Guedra represents several aspects of a form of dance which is particular to Southern Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria. The primary meaning of Guedra is cooking pot, when this pot is covered with a stretched leather skin to create a drum, the drum is also known as Guedra. When the drummer plays a beat representing a […]

Moroccan Dance and Folklore – Ahwash.

Ahwash dancing is from the areas around Ouarzazatte and the High Atlas mountains. Women in colourful dress stand motionless around a group of men who are in turn sitting around a fire. The men each have “bendir’s (simple wood and skin frame drums) A piercing cry breaks the silence, and the performance begins. The men […]

Immerse yourself in the culture of Marrakech

We all have different motivations to travel, and we all have different styles of doing so. To take a break from daily routine, to relax, to experience something new, to learn, to challenge our understandings of other places and other cultures, to step outside our daily norms and broaden our awareness of the world and […]

Traditional Moroccan Cookies

Ghoriba Bahla cookies are traditional or beldi biscuits, usually enjoyed with mint tea. At a glance, the recipe and the process of making these delicious treats is seemingly very simple. I can assure you that it takes practice to perfect the flavour, consistency and technique! In this article, our friend is making a batch of […]

Josephine Baker in Marrakech

Josephine Baker stayed in Casablanca for medical treatment following a prolonged illness. During her time in hospital in Casablanca she was visited regularly by the Pacha of Marrakech; Thami El Glaoui. Their close relationship was well known, and it was also rumoured that she had miscarried his child, leading to her illness and spell in hospital. […]

Visiting Morocco in the month of May

Lonely Planet and the Daily Express have voted Morocco as a perfect destination for the month of May. Their Darling buds of May selections urges travellers to visit in the spring. The Kingdom of Morocco made it to the listing thanks to its “ideal temperature”, marvelous landscapes and flower festival. Marrakech hovers in the high 20°C […]

Josephine Baker – The world’s best dressed Woman- Jet Magazine, November 29, 1951

In November 1951 Josephine Baker graced the cover of Jet Magazine. She is given the accolade of the World’s best dressed woman, with claims of a value of $250,000 for her wardrobe. Whether or not this claim regarding the astronomical value of her clothes is accurate, we do know that Josephine loved to dress up. […]

Flavours of Marrakech

Marrakech is a sensory delight, the city is well known for seducing it’s visitors with vivid colours, an exotic soundscape with calls to prayer, street musicians and the sounds of life within the medina and of course the tastes of exotic spices and local delicacies. One cannot fail to notice the daily rituals around food and […]

Ten top useful tips for visiting Marrakech

It’s always helpful to have some local info for your holidays, so here are a few top tips to make your stay in Marrakech simple. I have been travelling in Morocco for over 16 years, and here are a few very easy things which I always do which make my trip more comfortable. Bring the name and address of […]

The Jazz age in Paris

Transport yourself back to 1920’s Paris. Jazz music and the carefree style of dance which accompanied it were a boon in the French capital. Black musicians and performers arrived on the fashionable club scene and the Parisians loved them. It was this wave of acceptance and love of the genre that allowed Josephine Baker to […]

10 things must do and see if you are going to Marrakech for 3 nights

Marrakech has much to offer for everyone. If you plan a relaxed break with your partner or a super-summer family holiday, rest assured that Marrakech will surprise you. The best way to experience Marrakesh hospitality is by staying in a riad, fabulous boutique hotels spread across the Medina. Here are a few tips and tricks […]

An Engagement in La Medina

Walking down the street of Souikat market in the North West of the Marrakech Medina you see two men pulling an unwilling full sized ram towards you, it passes and you think nothing of it. An hour later, in the distance pipes and drums begin to play which gradually crescendo and from a distance you […]

Rais Elghanbaz, Ribab group

The arabic word Rais usually means ships captain, the berber language has borrowed this word to describe the leader of a group, like this one, that play with the traditional Ribab instrument. Recorded live in the Jemma al Fnaa square Marrakech at the time of the Marrakech Film festival 2011, note the giant outdoor screen […]

Marrakech iPhone App

Download our free iPhone App now available in iTunes. Marrakech Tourist information and an introduction to our Riad hotels. Coming soon for android.

Hassan the wood turner

Hassan the young wood turner works on a street corner near to the Ben Yussef Mosque in Central Marrakech just a few hundred yards from Riad Cinnmaon. His traditional North African lathe is powered by his right hand while his left hand and feet control his tools, this is in contrast to a European pole […]

January Sale! Unbeatable Offers

January is a fantastic time to visit Marrakech to escape the mid winter weather in the UK and continental Europe. Fly three hours South to Magical Marrakech which sits on the same latitude as the Canary Islands. Whats more the budget airlines have some fabulous deals on January flights, for example at the time of […]

Introducing Riad STAR

We are grateful to our guests at our Riad hotels who have been wonderfully supportive recommending us to family and friends. With so few rooms at each Riad we have, more often than we would have liked, had to explain that we were fully booked for returning guests preferred dates. It seems our Marrakech Riads are not […]

Supporting Local people.

Here at Riads Cinnamon and Papillon we buy as much as possible of our food from local suppliers. We shop daily visiting our regular stall and shop owners. Their personal relationships directly back to the farmer mean that we know where our food has been right from the minute that it has been picked till […]

Kouba Baroudiyine, the Almoravid koubba, a hidden gem in Central Marrakech

The oldest building in Marrakech is the Kouba Baroudiyine, the washrooms from the original Mosque built by, and named after Ben Yussef the second King of the Almoravid dynasty. Sadly this is the only remaining example of the highly decorated architecture of this period. It features some fantastic details which are echoed in later islamic […]

Donkey and cart

The donkey and cart is a common sight in the medina of Marrakech where the streets are too narrow for truck and vans. These docile and dependable creatures, known as ‘brill’ in arabic are essential to everyday life. A Riad hotel in the Medina is the perfect base from which to explore and experience this […]

New table and chairs for Riad Cinnamon

We are very proud of new table and chairs at Marrakech Riad Cinnamon. Made to measure by craftsmen in the Sidi Boukshish district of the Souks they feature distinctive local ‘Maichault’ metalwork as well as leather from the Marrakech tanneries. Perfect for your arrival meal or just to chill out and enjoy the ambiance of […]

Marrakech Pottery

There are an amazing variety of goods for sale in the Marrakech Souks, take your time to browse and you will find glazed pottery to fit any colour scheme! Our Riads in the Medina provide the perfect base for your holiday or short break in Magical Marrakech. Make contact today.