Morocco for Beginners — DAVID YARBOROUGH

View of the bazaar and the famous Cafe Des Epices from the rooftop of NOMAD

Morocco has long held a spot on our list of places we just must get around to visiting. We created just an opportunity this fall and were generously rewarded. Allie and I arrived at the gleaming Marrakesh airport on a Saturday afternoon from our layover in Madrid. The drive in, along a “could-be-anywhere-in-the-world” golf resort, did not prepare us for the shock of entering the medina’s main square, Jemaa el Fna.

Jemaa el Fna is an all-out assault on the senses. The sights, sounds and smells border on overwhelming. Fruit and juice vendors share turf with snake charmers and palm-reading fortune tellers. The level of human activity at all hours is astounding. It is especially alive after sunset as dozens of food stalls appear and hawkers vie for customers. “Best couscous!” “Delicious skewered lamb!” “Number 16 is the best!” My personal favorite come-on: “Guaranteed no diarrhea!”

We chose to stay in one of the many beautiful riads—essentially residential mansions converted into inns—instead of one of the super-lux properties travelers are routinely guided to by agents and travel magazines. Our heirs will thank us, as we stayed in comfort and splendor for a fraction of what we would have spent at the Royal Mansour or La Mamounia.

The Riad Monceau is located inside one of the many souks, or markets, inside the medina (the old walled quarter of a town, usually defined by walls), necessitating a ten-minute walk across the square and through the narrow passages of the souk, following a porter and dodging donkey carts and motor scooters. A thrilling and fitting introduction.

Our two adult children and another family, close friends of many years, arrived to join us the following day. We passed on tempting digestive distress at the food stalls and enjoyed truly excellent food. A first-night dinner poolside at our Riad was a fine introduction to Moroccan specialties such a tagine of lamb. We enjoyed lunches at two very hip new places, Nomad and Café Shtatto. The absence of alcohol at these hot spots was more refreshing than off-putting. It allowed us to indulge in traditional mint tea and other smoothie-type concoctions that are offered everywhere in Morocco. On our final evening we splurged with a long dinner while being serenaded by local musicians in the beautiful La Maison Arabe. The rooftop bar at El Fenn was also a big hit.

The bazaar of the souks was pleasantly lacking the more aggressive sales tactics we have experienced in Turkey and Egypt. A simple “no” was accepted. The goods offered covered the gamut, from food to clothing, to household items, baskets, art, leather goods, you name it, you can find it. Latest iPhone models? Of course.

An exception must be noted for the snake charmers of Jemaa el Fna. They were vicious and aggressive—the handlers, not the snakes, which frankly appeared to have been sedated. These hustlers were pushy and generally unpleasant, luckily the only such group we encountered anywhere in Morocco.

Moroccan architecture proved eye-opening and instructive as well as simply beautiful. The buildings are all low- to mid-rise, given the requirement that the minaret of the main mosque remain the highest point. A close look at the top of this tower, as well as others, will reveal a device pointing out the direction of Mecca so that the Muslims know which way to face when praying. You will hear the calls to prayers five times each day broadcast over loudspeakers. Islamic culture has bred an inward-looking architecture, so that unadorned, windowless walls, often highlighted by ornate doors, hide dramatic interiors.

Riads feature elaborate interior courtyards with tiled pools and lush gardens. Simpler residences called dars also have rooms surrounding a smaller interior courtyard. Family life here takes place behind closed doors and blank walls so that the women cannot be seen. Homes in the mellah, or Jewish Quarter, at the south of the Marrakesh medina provide a stark contrast, with windows and balconies open to the outside world. A special feature of Moroccan architecture present in almost all structures is the use of mosaic tiles. The interiors are a riot of color and geometric patterns, again dictated by the Koran, which prohibits depictions of people or even animals.

A must-see stop for every visitor to Marrakesh is the Jardin Majorelle. The beautifully manicured grounds and the adjacent Berber Museum are both symbolic and tangible examples of the contributions to Morocco made by the French colonialists who controlled the country in the first half of the 20th century. The large population of expatriate Frenchmen who continued to make themselves at home here included architect Paul Sinoir, painter Jacques Majorelle and designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, all of whom contributed to the creation of this extraordinary place. It is very much worth the short trek and often long lines.

Acclimatized to the sounds, sights and pace of Morocco, we begin our adventure across the mountains and to the desert beyond to see the Morocco of the Berbers.

Stay tuned for more on Morocco!