Marrakesh Off the Beaten Path Tips by angiebabe

I always ask for a window seat unless its a night flight as I just love being able to see what I can see from the air - flying over Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar and down the coastline with its white breakers and stretches of sand noticeable before the plane takes the flight path over Morocco countryside can be stunning and then the views over Marrakech....

Looking down over the olive orchards and mudbrick villages, the green meandering stretches of oases in the wide plateaus of dry brown with mudbrick villages are all sights Ive enjoyed looking down on from the air and being able to take photos of as well - also looking down to eagerly see if I can recognise familar....Telouet?, Ouarzazate? though usually not that far west.

Getting closer to Marrakech is the excitement of the sighting of the Atlas mountains sticking up from the vast areas of flatness - especially when they are snow covered! and the olive groves that grow prolifically around the city - and the scent of them often noted inside the plane - to seeing the rise of the mosque minarets and the new housing developments on the outskirts as the plane flies over - and to even the excitement of recognising the beautiful Menara gardens and its pavillion on the lake and the nearby palace.....

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Most people i think might miss the Palmeraie, unless they were on a carriage ride or read up and prepared beforehand of the recommended sights to see, or on a tour.

I was with a group of my friends friends who were visiting from Australia, i think if i hadnt asked and recommended that we get taken there as they had a car but with quite unmotivated moroccan driver we wouldnt have got there. in fact we had a fast straight through drive and then dropped off to amuse ourselves at the well known to me amazing Marjorelle gardens.

i got my moroccan friend to take me again later at a better pace, got some good shots and enjoyed the extravagance that could be seen behind the high walls around the residences in the palmeraie. i have excellent architecture books, especially those published by Taschen, including stunning homes in the palmeraie.
This June i had the privilige of taking my best friend around the palmeraie, which she enjoyed as an elite suburb of Marrakech, seeing the camels at hand for the tourists, seeing the very upmarket golf course and homes - and being able to buy the best postcards i have seen for sale in Morocco at cheaper than most other places!!

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Probably very unconventional but i and others after me have highly enjoyed it! Marjane is a supermarket chain around the cities in Morocco and are rather huge and with pretty much everything from food, drinks and alcohol to fresh and frozen foods, bread, and household goods and clothing - electrical goods and beauty products and stuff like camera film and music cds can all be useful reasons to shop there.

Weve found it particularly helpful when we are touring or travelling by car which allows us the ability to save andcarry with us supplies for along the way such as water, uht milk, diet coke, our red wine and vodka supply -and beer if you wish - and gift sort of stuff when visiting or staying with friends or family.
out in the small towns or remote areas where stuff like coffee is more expensive i reckon its handy to buy the 60g nescafe sachets they have in marjane for only 6 dirham!or good honey - out in the remoter areas its often only a honey concoction made of sugar or glucose and water added to honey that is available! so real honey can be a nice gift of thanks.

or if you want washing powder, shampoo, argane moisturiser or even some good quality cumin to travel with or take home. camera film eg 36 exp 200 asa fuji film is only 29 dirham - one hour processing here, including enlargements, is pretty cheap too.

and not a bad place to grab something for lunch, theres a fast food such as pizza department or grab some rolls or baguettes and add some cheese, salami, olives, and whatever else interesting you find. also canned food such as tuna, sardines, and peas might be tantalising to take travelling with you!?
anyway its all there and , along with the lovely airconditioning for some respite during the hot summer, its another off the beaten path place to check out the locals.

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Telouet was one of the principal residences of the Al Thami El-Glaoui, the pasha of Marrakech, who served the sultan, Mohammed V, but switched allegiances to the French in 1912, (because he and others like him knew that any independent Moroccan government would soon put an end to his unlimitless power and extravagance) which gave him power and lordship over a large area of Southern Morocco ie the Atlas and High Atlas.

His kasbah at Telouet he named the Kasbah of 1001 nights and it is said that he had workman there constantly building and decorating his palace into a place of opulence and grandeur that he and the Glaoui after him treasured.

His opposition to the King cost dearly as on his death his family were exiled and all possessions dispersed. This kasbah and town with such an illustrious past has been in neglect since 1956.

Of this opulent kasbah, commenced in the 19th century there is only access to one of the buildings built in the 20th century, in my opinion very beautiful but sadly still in neglect and still deteriorating so its time left is sadly running out.

In addition to visiting the kasbah in its lovely valley and mountain surrounds there is the attraction of the weekly Thursday souk bringing berber villagers from miles around, the salt mine on the road to Anmiter, the lovely route with kasbahs to Tasgha and the lovely road to Anmiter which is an unusually well preserved fortified town at the end of the road and start of the 4x4 route of the old pass down to Ait BenHaddou.
About 140 km from Marrakech in the direction of Ouarzazate, this road is a particularly scenic route taking you over two mountain passes, past berber villages built along rivers and up hillsides. In your own car it can be done in 2 hours depending on how many photo stops you make, 4-5 hours by daily bus leaving early afternoon from Marrakech or by grande taxi to the Telouet turnoff where you will need to meet the bus, another grande taxi or flag a lift for the final 21 kms of stunning scenery to the town centre.

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