Misplaced Pages

#560439

155-512: The city was founded circa 1070 by Abu Bakr ibn Umar as the capital of the Almoravid dynasty . The Almoravids established the first major structures in the city and shaped its layout for centuries to come. The red walls of the city , built by Ali ibn Yusuf in 1122–1123, and various buildings constructed in red sandstone afterwards, have given the city the nickname of the "Red City" or "Ochre City". Marrakesh grew rapidly and established itself as

310-466: A "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100, the climate of Marrakesh in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Bir Lehlou in Western Sahara . The annual temperature would increase by 2.9 °C (5.2 °F), and the temperature of the coldest month by 1.6 °C (2.9 °F), while the temperature of

465-556: A 17 hectares (42 acres) olive grove at La Palmeraie, the hotel has 252 rooms, 16 suites, six restaurants and a 535 square metres (5,760 sq ft) conference room. The Marrakech Museum , housed in the Dar Menebhi Palace in the old city centre, was built at the beginning of the 20th century by Mehdi Menebhi . The palace was carefully restored by the Omar Benjelloun Foundation and converted into

620-655: A Dari dialect. In the 19th century, under the Qajar dynasty , the dialect that is spoken in Tehran rose to prominence. There was still substantial Arabic vocabulary, but many of these words have been integrated into Persian phonology and grammar. In addition, under the Qajar rule, numerous Russian , French , and English terms entered the Persian language, especially vocabulary related to technology. The first official attentions to

775-480: A bridge between the past and the present, the place where (spectacularized) Moroccan tradition encounters modernity." It has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985. The square's name has several possible meanings; the most plausible etymology endorsed by historians is that it meant "ruined mosque" or "mosque of annihilation", referring to the construction of a mosque within the square in

930-767: A central courtyard, is in the Mellah. The Jewish cemetery here is the largest of its kind in Morocco. Characterized by white-washed tombs and sandy graves, the cemetery is within the Medina on land adjacent to the Mellah. According to the World Jewish Congress there were only 250 Moroccan Jews remaining in Marrakesh. As one of the principal tourist cities in Africa, Marrakesh has over 400 hotels. Mamounia Hotel

1085-545: A cultural, religious, and trading center for the Maghreb . After a period of decline, Marrakesh regained its status in the early 16th century as the capital of the Saadian dynasty , with sultans Abdallah al-Ghalib and Ahmad al-Mansur embellishing the city with an array of sumptuous monuments. Beginning in the 17th century, the city became popular among Sufi pilgrims for its seven patron saints who are buried here. In 1912,

1240-418: A dictionary called Words of Scientific Association ( لغت انجمن علمی ), which was completed in the future and renamed Katouzian Dictionary ( فرهنگ کاتوزیان ). The first academy for the Persian language was founded on 20 May 1935, under the name Academy of Iran . It was established by the initiative of Reza Shah Pahlavi , and mainly by Hekmat e Shirazi and Mohammad Ali Foroughi , all prominent names in

1395-413: A drop of 37 m (more than 2 m per year). According to the 2014 census, the population of Marrakesh was 928,850 against 843,575 in 2004. The number of households in 2014 was 217,245 against 173,603 in 2004. Marrakesh is a vital component of the economy and culture of Morocco. Improvements to the highways from Marrakesh to Casablanca, Agadir and the local airport have led to a dramatic increase in tourism in

1550-475: A former assistant to the local authority chief in Marrakesh, was elected the first female mayor of the city, defeating outgoing Mayor Omar Jazouli by 54 votes to 35 in a municipal council vote. Mansouri became the second woman in the history of Morocco to obtain a mayoral position, after Asma Chaabi , mayor of Essaouira and was elected to serve as Marrakech's mayor for a second term in September 2021. Since

1705-474: A garden enclosure. The most important graves are marked by horizontal tombstones of finely carved marble, while others are merely covered in colorful zellij tiles. Al-Mansur's mausoleum chamber is especially rich in decoration, with a roof of carved and painted cedar wood supported on twelve columns of carrara marble , and with walls decorated with geometric patterns in zellij tilework and vegetal motifs in carved stucco . The chamber next to it, originally

SECTION 10

#1732772273561

1860-505: A language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Farsi , which is the Persian word for the Persian language, has also been used widely in English in recent decades, more often to refer to Iran's standard Persian. However, the name Persian is still more widely used. The Academy of Persian Language and Literature has maintained that the endonym Farsi is to be avoided in foreign languages, and that Persian

2015-474: A large collection of plants from five continents including cacti , palms and bamboo. The Koutoubia Mosque is also flanked by another set of gardens, the Koutoubia Gardens. They feature orange and palm trees, and are frequented by storks. The Mamounia Gardens, more than 100 years old and named after Prince Moulay Mamoun, have olive and orange trees as well as a variety of floral displays. In 2016, at

2170-654: A large ornate street fountain known as the Mouassine Fountain , which still exists today. The Bab Doukkala Mosque , built around the same time further west, has a similar layout and style as the Mouassine Mosque. Both the Mouassine and Bab Doukkala mosques appear to have been originally designed to anchor the development of new neighbourhoods after the relocation of the Jewish district from this area to

2325-417: A literary language considerably different from the spoken Persian of the time. This became the basis of what is now known as "Contemporary Standard Persian". There are three standard varieties of modern Persian: All these three varieties are based on the classic Persian literature and its literary tradition. There are also several local dialects from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan which slightly differ from

2480-606: A location between the city and the Atlas Mountains, artist André Heller opened the ANIMA garden, which combines a diverse collection of plants with a display of works by famous artists such as Keith Haring and Pablo Picasso . In the same year, a large restored riad garden set within a historical mansion, located inside the medina, was opened to visitors as Le Jardin Secret ('The Secret Garden'). The historic wealth of

2635-412: A massive range of items from plastic sandals to Palestinian-style scarves imported from India or China. Local boutiques are adept at making western-style clothes using Moroccan materials. The Birmingham Post comments: "The souk offers an incredible shopping experience with a myriad of narrow winding streets that lead through a series of smaller markets clustered by trade. Through the squawking chaos of

2790-471: A museum in 1997. The museum holds exhibits of both modern and traditional Moroccan art together with fine examples of historical books, coins and pottery produced by Moroccan Arab, Berber, and Jewish peoples. The Dar Si Said Museum is to the north of the Bahia Palace. It was the mansion of Si Said, brother to Grand Vizier Ba Ahmad , and was constructed in the same era as Ahmad's own Bahia Palace . In

2945-536: A period of several centuries, Ottoman Turkish (which was highly Persianised itself) had developed toward a fully accepted language of literature, and which was even able to lexically satisfy the demands of a scientific presentation. However, the number of Persian and Arabic loanwords contained in those works increased at times up to 88%. In the Ottoman Empire, Persian was used at the royal court, for diplomacy, poetry, historiographical works, literary works, and

3100-525: A period when it was the seat of the Hintata emirs, it reestablished its status during the reigns of the Saadian sultans Abdallah al-Ghalib and Ahmad al-Mansur . Under the Saadian dynasty, Marrakesh experienced a new golden age. Thanks to the wealth amassed by the sultans, it was embellished with sumptuous palaces while its ruined monuments were restored. El Badi Palace , begun by Ahmad al-Mansur in 1578,

3255-684: A prayer room equipped with a mihrab , was later repurposed as a mausoleum for members of the Alawi dynasty . The city also holds the tombs of many Sufi figures. Of these, there are seven patron saints of the city , which are visited every year by pilgrims during the seven-day ziyara pilgrimage. During this time, pilgrims visit the tombs in the following order: Sidi Yusuf ibn Ali Sanhaji , Sidi al-Qadi Iyyad al-Yahsubi , Sidi Bel Abbas , Sidi Mohamed ibn Sulayman al-Jazouli , Sidi Abdellaziz Tabba'a , Sidi Abdellah al-Ghazwani , and lastly, Sidi Abderrahman al-Suhayli . Many of these mausoleums also serve as

SECTION 20

#1732772273561

3410-516: A public denunciation of Ibn Tumart's doctrines by the caliph from the pulpit of the Kasbah Mosque . After al-Ma'mun's death in 1232, his widow attempted to forcibly install her son, acquiring the support of the Almohad army chiefs and Spanish mercenaries with the promise to hand Marrakesh over to them for the sack . Hearing of the terms, the people of Marrakesh sought to make an agreement with

3565-545: A public square in front of the Almoravid palace gates, the Rahbat al-Ksar , and the major souks (markets) of the city developed roughly in the area between this square and the city's main mosque, where they remain today. The city developed the community into a trading centre for the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. It grew rapidly and established itself as a cultural and religious centre, supplanting Aghmat , which had long been

3720-781: A son of Sheikh Ma al-'Aynayn , who arrived from the Sahara accompanied by his nomadic Reguibat tribal warriors. On 30 March 1912, the French Protectorate in Morocco was established. After the Battle of Sidi Bou Othman , which saw the victory of the French Mangin column over the al-Hiba forces in September 1912, the French seized Marrakesh. The conquest was facilitated by the rallying of the Imzwarn tribes and their leaders from

3875-524: A sophisticated style and is an important indication of the art and architecture of the period . The Kasbah Mosque overlooks Place Moulay Yazid in the Kasbah district of Marrakesh, close to the El Badi Palace. It was built by the Almohad caliph Yaqub al-Mansour in the late 12th century to serve as the main mosque of the kasbah (citadel) where he and his high officials resided. It contended with

4030-599: A speaker of Persian. Persian is a member of the Western Iranian group of the Iranian languages , which make up a branch of the Indo-European languages in their Indo-Iranian subdivision . The Western Iranian languages themselves are divided into two subgroups: Southwestern Iranian languages, of which Persian is the most widely spoken, and Northwestern Iranian languages, of which Kurdish and Balochi are

4185-472: A specific order, as follows: Sidi Yusuf Ali Sanhaji (1196–97), a leper; Qadi Iyyad or qadi of Ceuta (1083–1149), a theologian and author of Ash-Shifa (treatises on the virtues of Muhammad ); Sidi Bel Abbas (1130–1204), known as the patron saint of the city and most revered in the region; Sidi Muhammad al-Jazuli (1465), a well known Sufi who founded the Jazuli brotherhood; Abdelaziz al-Tebaa (1508),

4340-401: A student of al-Jazuli; Abdallah al-Ghazwani (1528), known as Moulay al-Ksour; and Sidi Abu al-Qasim Al-Suhayli , (1185), also known as Imam al-Suhayli. Until 1867, European Christians were not authorized to enter the city unless they acquired special permission from the sultan; east European Jews were permitted. During the early 20th century, Marrakesh underwent several years of unrest. After

4495-471: A variety of dates for this event ranging between 1062 (454 in the Hijri calendar ), according to Ibn Abi Zar and Ibn Khaldun , and 1078 (470 AH), according to Muhammad al-Idrisi . The date most commonly used by modern historians is 1070, although 1062 is still cited by some writers. The Almoravids, a Berber dynasty seeking to reform Islamic society, ruled an emirate stretching from the edge of Senegal to

4650-553: Is merrākesh ( /mərra:kəʃ/ ) with stress on the second syllable. From medieval times until around the beginning of the 20th century, the entire country of Morocco was known as the "Kingdom of Marrakesh", as the kingdom's historic capital city was often Marrakesh. The name for Morocco is still "Marrakesh" to this day in Persian and Urdu as well as many other South Asian languages. Various European names for Morocco (Marruecos, Marrocos, Maroc, Marokko, etc.) are directly derived from

4805-615: Is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages . Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and used officially within Iran , Afghanistan , and Tajikistan in three mutually intelligible standard varieties , respectively Iranian Persian (officially known as Persian ), Dari Persian (officially known as Dari since 1964), and Tajiki Persian (officially known as Tajik since 1999). It

Marrakesh - Misplaced Pages Continue

4960-524: Is a 380 hectares (940 acres) resort under development in the suburbs and one of the world's first five star Equestrian Resorts. The resort is expected to make a significant contribution to the local and national economy, creating many jobs and attracting thousands of visitors annually; as of April 2012 it was about 45% complete. The Avenue Mohammed VI, formerly Avenue de France, is a major city thoroughfare. It has seen rapid development of residential complexes and many luxury hotels. Avenue Mohammed VI contains what

5115-664: Is a continuation of Middle Persian , an official language of the Sasanian Empire (224–651 CE), itself a continuation of Old Persian , which was used in the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE). It originated in the region of Fars ( Persia ) in southwestern Iran. Its grammar is similar to that of many European languages. Throughout history, Persian was considered prestigious by various empires centered in West Asia , Central Asia , and South Asia . Old Persian

5270-628: Is a direct descendant of Middle and Old Persian. Gernot Windfuhr considers new Persian as an evolution of the Old Persian language and the Middle Persian language but also states that none of the known Middle Persian dialects is the direct predecessor of Modern Persian. Ludwig Paul states: "The language of the Shahnameh should be seen as one instance of continuous historical development from Middle to New Persian." The known history of

5425-454: Is a five-star hotel in the Art Deco -Moroccan fusion style, built in 1925 by Henri Prost and A. Marchis. It is considered the most eminent hotel of the city and has been described as the "grand dame of Marrakesh hotels." The hotel has hosted numerous internationally renowned people including Winston Churchill , Prince Charles and Mick Jagger . Churchill used to relax within the gardens of

5580-796: Is also spoken natively in the Tajik variety by a significant population within Uzbekistan , as well as within other regions with a Persianate history in the cultural sphere of Greater Iran . It is written officially within Iran and Afghanistan in the Persian alphabet , a derivative of the Arabic script , and within Tajikistan in the Tajik alphabet , a derivative of the Cyrillic script . Modern Persian

5735-675: Is attested in Old Persian cuneiform on inscriptions from between the 6th and 4th century BC. Middle Persian is attested in Aramaic -derived scripts ( Pahlavi and Manichaean ) on inscriptions and in Zoroastrian and Manichaean scriptures from between the third to the tenth centuries (see Middle Persian literature ). New Persian literature was first recorded in the ninth century, after the Muslim conquest of Persia , since then adopting

5890-555: Is becoming a desirable stopover for the European jet set." However, despite the tourism boom, the majority of the city's inhabitants are still poor, and as of 2010, some 20,000 households still have no access to water or electricity. Many enterprises in the city are facing colossal debt problems. After the Great Recession and the 2007–2008 financial crisis , in 2011, investments in real estate progressed substantially both in

6045-452: Is claimed to be Africa's largest nightclub: Pacha Marrakech , a trendy club that plays house and electro house music. It also has two large cinema complexes, Le Colisée à Gueliz and Cinéma Rif, and a new shopping precinct, Al Mazar. Trade and crafts are extremely important to the local tourism-fueled economy. There are 18 souks in Marrakesh, employing over 40,000 people in pottery, copperware, leather and other crafts. The souks contain

6200-425: Is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian remains largely intelligible to speakers of Contemporary Persian, as the morphology and, to a lesser extent, the lexicon of the language have remained relatively stable. New Persian texts written in the Arabic script first appear in the 9th-century. The language is a direct descendant of Middle Persian, the official, religious, and literary language of

6355-457: Is located in the kasbah area of the city's medina, east of Place des Ferblantiers. It was created in 1558 by the Saadians at the site where the sultan's stables were. At the time, the Jewish community consisted of a large portion of the city's tailors, metalworkers, bankers, jewelers, and sugar traders. During the 16th century, the Mellah had its own fountains, gardens, synagogues and souks. Until

Marrakesh - Misplaced Pages Continue

6510-461: Is mainly composed of Jurassic limestone . The mountain range runs along the Atlantic coast, then rises to the east of Agadir and extends northeast into Algeria before disappearing into Tunisia . Marrakesh features a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSh ) with long, hot dry summers and brief, mild to cool winters. Average temperatures range from 12 °C (54 °F) in

6665-460: Is not actually attested until 600 years later when it appears in the Sassanid era (224–651 AD) inscriptions, so any form of the language before this date cannot be described with any degree of certainty. Moreover, as a literary language, Middle Persian is not attested until much later, in the 6th or 7th century. From the 8th century onward, Middle Persian gradually began yielding to New Persian, with

6820-475: Is one of Afghanistan's two official languages, together with Pashto . The term Dari , meaning "of the court", originally referred to the variety of Persian used in the court of the Sasanian Empire in capital Ctesiphon , which was spread to the northeast of the empire and gradually replaced the former Iranian dialects of Parthia ( Parthian ). Tajik Persian ( форси́и тоҷикӣ́ , forsi-i tojikī ),

6975-585: Is one of the earliest attested Indo-European languages. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in Southwestern Iran (where Achaemenids hailed from), Old Persian was originally spoken by a tribe called Parsuwash , who arrived in the Iranian Plateau early in the 1st millennium BCE and finally migrated down into the area of present-day Fārs province. Their language, Old Persian, became

7130-469: Is still a very important part of trade in the souks. The Medina is also famous for its street food. Mechoui Alley is particularly famous for selling slow-roasted lamb dishes. The Ensemble Artisanal , located near the Koutoubia Mosque, is a government-run complex of small arts and crafts which offers a range of leather goods, textiles and carpets. Young apprentices are taught a range of crafts in

7285-495: Is the appropriate designation of the language in English, as it has the longer tradition in western languages and better expresses the role of the language as a mark of cultural and national continuity. Iranian historian and linguist Ehsan Yarshater , founder of the Encyclopædia Iranica and Columbia University 's Center for Iranian Studies, mentions the same concern in an academic journal on Iranology , rejecting

7440-491: The Encyclopædia Iranica notes that the Iranian, Afghan, and Tajiki varieties comprise distinct branches of the Persian language, and within each branch a wide variety of local dialects exist. The following are some languages closely related to Persian, or in some cases are considered dialects: More distantly related branches of the Iranian language family include Kurdish and Balochi . The Glottolog database proposes

7595-506: The Kalila wa Dimna . The language spread geographically from the 11th century on and was the medium through which, among others, Central Asian Turks became familiar with Islam and urban culture. New Persian was widely used as a trans-regional lingua franca , a task aided due to its relatively simple morphology, and this situation persisted until at least the 19th century. In the late Middle Ages, new Islamic literary languages were created on

7750-476: The Agdal Gardens . Ya'qub al-Mansur (r. 1184–1199), possibly on the orders of his father Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, was responsible for building the Kasbah , a citadel and palace district on the south side of the city. The Kasbah housed the center of government and the residence of the caliph , a title borne by the Almohad rulers to rival the eastern Abbasid Caliphate . In part because of these various additions,

7905-531: The Almohad movement. This new faction, composed mainly of Masmuda tribesmen, followed a doctrine of radical reform with Ibn Tumart as the mahdi , a messianic figure. He preached against the Almoravids and influenced a revolt which succeeded in bringing about the fall of nearby Aghmat , but stopped short of bringing down Marrakesh following an unsuccessful siege in 1130. Ibn Tumart died shortly after in

SECTION 50

#1732772273561

8060-668: The British colonization , Persian was widely used as a second language in the Indian subcontinent . It took prominence as the language of culture and education in several Muslim courts on the subcontinent and became the sole "official language" under the Mughal emperors . The Bengal Sultanate witnessed an influx of Persian scholars, lawyers, teachers, and clerics. Thousands of Persian books and manuscripts were published in Bengal. The period of

8215-554: The French Protectorate in Morocco was established and T'hami El Glaoui became Pasha of Marrakesh and generally held this position until the independence of Morocco and the reestablishment of the monarchy in 1956. Marrakesh comprises an old fortified city packed with vendors and their stalls. This medina quarter is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains the Jemaa el-Fnaa square, a large number of souks (markets),

8370-509: The Kutubiyya Mosque , and many other historic and cultural sites. The city serves as a major economic center and tourist destination. Real estate and hotel development in Marrakesh have grown dramatically in the 21st century. Marrakesh is particularly popular with the French, and numerous French celebrities own property in the city. Marrakesh is served by Ménara International Airport and by Marrakesh railway station , which connects

8525-674: The Sultanate of Rum , Turkmen beyliks of Anatolia , Delhi Sultanate , the Shirvanshahs , Safavids , Afsharids , Zands , Qajars , Khanate of Bukhara , Khanate of Kokand , Emirate of Bukhara , Khanate of Khiva , Ottomans , and also many Mughal successors such as the Nizam of Hyderabad . Persian was the only non-European language known and used by Marco Polo at the Court of Kublai Khan and in his journeys through China. A branch of

8680-713: The Turkic , Armenian , Georgian , & Indo-Aryan languages . It also exerted some influence on Arabic, while borrowing a lot of vocabulary from it in the Middle Ages. Some of the world's most famous pieces of literature from the Middle Ages, such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi , the works of Rumi , the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám , the Panj Ganj of Nizami Ganjavi , The Divān of Hafez , The Conference of

8835-423: The ezāfe construction, expressed through ī (modern e/ye ), to indicate some of the relations between words that have been lost with the simplification of the earlier grammatical system. Although the "middle period" of the Iranian languages formally begins with the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, the transition from Old to Middle Persian had probably already begun before the 4th century BC. However, Middle Persian

8990-479: The " Persianized " Turko-Mongol dynasties during the 12th to 15th centuries, and under restored Persian rule during the 16th to 19th centuries. Persian during this time served as lingua franca of Greater Persia and of much of the Indian subcontinent . It was also the official and cultural language of many Islamic dynasties, including the Samanids, Buyids , Tahirids , Ziyarids , the Mughal Empire , Timurids , Ghaznavids , Karakhanids , Seljuqs , Khwarazmians ,

9145-484: The 12th century during the Almoravid period and many of them have been modified since. The city is home to a number of gardens, both historical and modern. The largest and oldest gardens in the city are the Menara Gardens to the west and the Agdal Gardens to the south. The Menara Gardens were established in 1157 by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min. They are centered around a large water reservoir surrounded by orchards and olive groves . A 19th-century pavilion stands at

9300-741: The 1930s, during the French Protectorate period, it was converted into a museum of Moroccan art and woodcraft. After recent renovations, the museum reopened in 2018 as the National Museum of Weaving and Carpets . Abu Bakr ibn Umar Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 548092750 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:37:53 GMT Persian language Russia Persian ( / ˈ p ɜːr ʒ ən , - ʃ ən / PUR -zhən, -⁠shən ), also known by its endonym Farsi ( فارسی , Fārsī [fɒːɾˈsiː] ),

9455-480: The 1990s very few foreigners lived in the city, and real estate developments have dramatically increased in the last 15 years; by 2005 over 3,000 foreigners had purchased properties in the city, lured by its culture and the relatively cheap house prices. It has been cited in French weekly magazine Le Point as the second St Tropez : "No longer simply a destination for a scattering of adventurous elites, bohemians or backpackers seeking Arabian Nights fantasies, Marrakech

SECTION 60

#1732772273561

9610-475: The 21st century, property and real estate development in the city has boomed, with a dramatic increase in new hotels and shopping centres, fuelled by the policies of Mohammed VI of Morocco , who aims to increase the number of tourists annually visiting Morocco to 20 million by 2020. In 2010, a major gas explosion occurred in the city. On 28 April 2011, a bomb attack took place in the Jemaa el-Fnaa square , killing 15 people, mainly foreigners. The blast destroyed

9765-400: The Administrative Court of Appeal. Numerous organizations of the region are based here, including the regional government administrative offices, the Regional Council of Tourism office, and regional public maintenance organisations such as the Governed Autonomous Water Supply and Electricity and Maroc Telecom . On 12 June 2009, Fatima-Zahra Mansouri , a then 33-year-old lawyer and daughter of

9920-428: The Almohad period and falling into ruin, it was rebuilt in the 1560s by Abdallah al-Ghalib and then completely rebuilt again Moulay Sliman at the beginning of the 19th century. The 16th-century Ben Youssef Madrasa is located next to it. Also next to it is the Almoravid Qubba , a rare architectural remnant of the Almoravid period which was excavated and restored in the 20th century. It is a domed kiosk that demonstrates

10075-434: The Almohad tribal sheikhs and the ahl ad-dar (descendants of Ibn Tumart ), who sought to claw power back from the ruling Almohad family. Marrakesh was taken, lost and retaken by force multiple times by a stream of caliphs and pretenders, such as during the brutal seizure of Marrakesh by the Sevillan caliph Abd al-Wahid II al-Ma'mun in 1226, which was followed by a massacre of the Almohad tribal sheikhs and their families and

10230-415: The Almohads also improved the water supply system and created water reservoirs to irrigate their gardens. Thanks to its economic, political, and cultural importance, Marrakesh hosted many writers, artists, and intellectuals, many of them from Al-Andalus , including the famous philosopher Averroes of Cordoba . The death of Yusuf II in 1224 began a period of instability. Marrakesh became the stronghold of

10385-572: The Birds by Attar of Nishapur , and the miscellanea of Gulistan and Bustan by Saadi Shirazi , are written in Persian. Some of the prominent modern Persian poets were Nima Yooshij , Ahmad Shamlou , Simin Behbahani , Sohrab Sepehri , Rahi Mo'ayyeri , Mehdi Akhavan-Sales , and Forugh Farrokhzad . There are approximately 130 million Persian speakers worldwide, including Persians , Lurs , Tajiks , Hazaras , Iranian Azeris , Iranian Kurds , Balochs , Tats , Afghan Pashtuns , and Aimaqs . The term Persophone might also be used to refer to

10540-443: The Guéliz Ennakhil constituency in October 2012, the PDJ under the leadership of Ahmed El Moutassadik was again declared the winner with 10,452 votes. The PAM, largely consisting of friends of King Mohammed VI , came in second place with 9,794 votes. The Jemaa el-Fnaa is one of the best-known squares in Africa and is the centre of city activity and trade. It has been described as a "world-famous square", "a metaphorical urban icon,

10695-440: The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group . The city is located in the Tensift River valley, with the Tensift River passing along the northern edge of the city. The Ourika River valley is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Marrakesh. The city has expanded north from the old centre with suburbs such as Daoudiat, Diour El Massakine, Sidi Abbad, Sakar and Amerchich, to the southeast with Sidi Youssef Ben Ali, to

10850-427: The Koutoubia Mosque for prestige and the decoration of its minaret was highly influential in subsequent Moroccan architecture. The mosque was repaired by the Saadi sultan Moulay Abdallah al-Ghalib following a devastating explosion at a nearby gunpowder reserve in the second half of the 16th century. Notably, the Saadian Tombs were built just outside its southern wall in this period. Among the other notable mosques of

11005-500: The Middle Ages, and is because of the lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The standard Persian of Iran has been called, apart from Persian and Farsi , by names such as Iranian Persian and Western Persian , exclusively. Officially, the official language of Iran is designated simply as Persian ( فارسی , fārsi ). The standard Persian of Afghanistan has been officially named Dari ( دری , dari ) since 1958. Also referred to as Afghan Persian in English, it

11160-543: The Ottoman Empire all spoke Persian, such as Sultan Selim I , despite being Safavid Iran's archrival and a staunch opposer of Shia Islam . It was a major literary language in the empire. Some of the noted earlier Persian works during the Ottoman rule are Idris Bidlisi 's Hasht Bihisht , which began in 1502 and covered the reign of the first eight Ottoman rulers, and the Salim-Namah , a glorification of Selim I. After

11315-530: The Persian language can be divided into the following three distinct periods: As a written language , Old Persian is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. The oldest known text written in Old Persian is from the Behistun Inscription , dating to the time of King Darius I (reigned 522–486 BC). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran , Romania ( Gherla ), Armenia , Bahrain , Iraq , Turkey, and Egypt . Old Persian

11470-481: The Persian language, a language historically called Dari, emerged in present-day Afghanistan. The first significant Persian poet was Rudaki . He flourished in the 10th century, when the Samanids were at the height of their power. His reputation as a court poet and as an accomplished musician and singer has survived, although little of his poetry has been preserved. Among his lost works are versified fables collected in

11625-401: The Persian model: Ottoman Turkish , Chagatai Turkic , Dobhashi Bengali , and Urdu, which are regarded as "structural daughter languages" of Persian. "Classical Persian" loosely refers to the standardized language of medieval Persia used in literature and poetry . This is the language of the 10th to 12th centuries, which continued to be used as literary language and lingua franca under

11780-886: The Perso-Arabic script. Persian was the first language to break through the monopoly of Arabic on writing in the Muslim world , with Persian poetry becoming a tradition in many eastern courts. It was used officially as a language of bureaucracy even by non-native speakers, such as the Ottomans in Anatolia , the Mughals in South Asia, and the Pashtuns in Afghanistan. It influenced languages spoken in neighboring regions and beyond, including other Iranian languages,

11935-484: The Sasanian Empire (224–651). However, it is not descended from the literary form of Middle Persian (known as pārsīk , commonly called Pahlavi), which was spoken by the people of Fars and used in Zoroastrian religious writings. Instead, it is descended from the dialect spoken by the court of the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon and the northeastern Iranian region of Khorasan , known as Dari. The region, which comprised

12090-588: The Sassanids (who were Persians, i.e. from the southwest) from the preceding Arsacids (who were Parthians, i.e. from the northeast). While Ibn al-Muqaffa' (eighth century) still distinguished between Pahlavi (i.e. Parthian) and Persian (in Arabic text: al-Farisiyah) (i.e. Middle Persian), this distinction is not evident in Arab commentaries written after that date. "New Persian" (also referred to as Modern Persian)

12245-462: The Seljuks, the Sultanate of Rum , took Persian language, art, and letters to Anatolia. They adopted the Persian language as the official language of the empire. The Ottomans , who can roughly be seen as their eventual successors, inherited this tradition. Persian was the official court language of the empire, and for some time, the official language of the empire. The educated and noble class of

12400-563: The Sultan's cousin, Ben Arafa . Glaoui, already known for his amorous adventures and lavish lifestyle, became a symbol of Morocco's colonial order. He could not, however, subdue the rise of nationalist sentiment, nor the hostility of a growing proportion of the inhabitants. Nor could he resist pressure from France, who agreed to terminate its Moroccan Protectorate in 1956 due to the launch of the Algerian War (1954–1962) immediately following

12555-498: The area of Lake Urmia in the records of Shalmaneser III . The exact identity of the Parsuwash is not known for certain, but from a linguistic viewpoint the word matches Old Persian pārsa itself coming directly from the older word * pārćwa . Also, as Old Persian contains many words from another extinct Iranian language, Median , according to P. O. Skjærvø it is probable that Old Persian had already been spoken before

12710-522: The area of tourist accommodation and social housing. The main developments have been in facilities for tourists including hotels and leisure centres such as golf courses and health spas, with investments of 10.9 billion dirham (US$ 1.28 billion) in 2011. The hotel infrastructure in recent years has experienced rapid growth. In 2012, alone, 19 new hotels were scheduled to open, a development boom often compared to Dubai . Royal Ranches Marrakech , one of Gulf Finance House 's flagship projects in Morocco,

12865-490: The arrival of the French in 1912, Jews could not own property outside of the Mellah; all growth was consequently contained within the limits of the neighborhood, resulting in narrow streets, small shops and higher residential buildings. The Mellah, today reconfigured as a mainly residential zone renamed Hay Essalam, currently occupies an area smaller than its historic limits and has an almost entirely Muslim population. The Slat al-Azama Synagogue (or Lazama Synagogue), built around

13020-519: The capital of Haouz . Andalusi craftsmen from Cordoba and Seville built and decorated numerous monuments, importing the Cordoban Umayyad style characterised by carved domes and cusped arches . This Andalusian influence merged with designs from the Sahara and West Africa, creating a unique style of architecture which was fully adapted to the Marrakesh environment. Yusuf ibn Tashfin built houses, minted coins, and brought gold and silver to

13175-469: The centre of Spain and from the Atlantic coast to Algiers . They used Marrakesh as their capital and established its first structures, including mosques and a fortified residence, the Ksar al-Hajjar, near the present-day Kutubiyya Mosque . These Almoravid foundations also influenced the layout and urban organization of the city for centuries to come. For example, the present-day Jemaa el-Fnaa originated from

13330-548: The city in caravans. His son and successor, Ali Ibn Yusuf , built the Ben Youssef Mosque , the city's main mosque, between 1120 and 1132. He also fortified the city with city walls for the first time in 1126–1127 and expanded its water supply by creating the underground water system known as the khettara . In 1125, the preacher Ibn Tumart settled in Tin Mal in the mountains to the south of Marrakesh, founding

13485-667: The city is centred in the neighbourhood of Sidi Ghanem Al Massar, containing large factories, workshops, storage depots and showrooms. Ciments Morocco, a subsidiary of a major Italian cement firm, has a factory in Marrakech. Marrakesh is one of North Africa's largest centers of wildlife trade, despite the illegality of most of this trade. Much of this trade can be found in the medina and adjacent squares. Tortoises are particularly popular for sale as pets, and Barbary macaques and snakes can also be seen. The majority of these animals suffer from poor welfare conditions in these stalls. Marrakesh,

13640-799: The city is manifested in palaces, mansions and other lavish residences. The best-known palaces today are the El Badi Palace and the Bahia Palace , as well as the main Royal Palace which is still in use as one of the official residences of the King of Morocco. Riads (Moroccan mansions, historically designating a type of garden) are common in Marrakesh. Based on the design of the Roman villa, they are characterized by an open central garden courtyard surrounded by high walls. This construction provided

13795-506: The city is the 14th-century Ben Salah Mosque , located east of the medina centre. It is one of the only major Marinid-era monuments in the city. The Mouassine Mosque (also known as the Al Ashraf Mosque) was built by the Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib between 1562–63 and 1572–73. It was part of a larger architectural complex which included a library, hammam (public bathhouse), and a madrasa (school). The complex also included

13950-516: The city to Casablanca and northern Morocco. Marrakesh has several universities and schools, including Cadi Ayyad University . A number of Moroccan football clubs are here, including Najm de Marrakech , KAC Marrakech , Mouloudia de Marrakech and Chez Ali Club de Marrakech . The Marrakesh Street Circuit hosts the World Touring Car Championship , Auto GP and FIA Formula Two Championship races. The exact meaning of

14105-598: The city's conquest, Abd al-Mu'min founded the Kutubiyya Mosque (or Koutoubia Mosque), next to the former Almoravid palace, to serve as the city's new main mosque. The Almoravid mosques were either demolished or abandoned as the Almohads enacted their religious reforms. Abd al-Mu'min was also responsible for establishing the Menara Gardens in 1157, while his successor Abu Ya'qub Yusuf (r. 1163–1184) began

14260-639: The city's gates, one of the best-known is Bab Agnaou , built in the late 12th century by the Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur as the main public entrance to the new Kasbah . The gate's carved floral ornamentation is framed by three panels marked with an inscription from the Quran in Maghrebi script using foliated Kufic letters. The medina has at least eight main historic gates: Bab Doukkala , Bab el-Khemis , Bab ad-Debbagh , Bab Aylan, Bab Aghmat , Bab er-Robb , Bab el-Makhzen and Bab el-'Arissa. These date back to

14415-415: The city, which now attracts over two million tourists annually. Because of the importance of tourism to Morocco's economy, King Mohammed VI vowed in 2012 to double the number of tourists, attracting 20 million a year to Morocco by 2020. The city is popular with the French, and many French celebrities have bought property in the city, including fashion moguls Yves St Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier . In

14570-478: The city; Laurent bought a property here and renovated the Majorelle Gardens. Expatriates, especially those from France, have invested heavily in Marrakesh since the 1960s and developed many of the riads and palaces. Over the following decades, the demographic importance of the historic medina declined, due to much of it being converted from residential housing to commercial properties as well as due to

14725-478: The climate, "The region of Marrakesh is frequently described as desert in character, but, to one familiar with the southwestern parts of the United States , the locality does not suggest the desert, rather an area of seasonal rainfall, where moisture moves underground rather than by surface streams, and where low brush takes the place of the forests of more heavily watered regions. The location of Marrakesh on

14880-457: The code fas for the dialects spoken across Iran and Afghanistan. This consists of the individual languages Dari ( prs ) and Iranian Persian ( pes ). It uses tgk for Tajik, separately. In general, the Iranian languages are known from three periods: namely Old, Middle, and New (Modern). These correspond to three historical eras of Iranian history ; Old era being sometime around the Achaemenid Empire (i.e., 400–300 BC), Middle era being

15035-512: The collapse of the Sassanid state, Parsik came to be applied exclusively to (either Middle or New) Persian that was written in the Arabic script . From about the 9th century onward, as Middle Persian was on the threshold of becoming New Persian, the older form of the language came to be erroneously called Pahlavi , which was actually but one of the writing systems used to render both Middle Persian as well as various other Middle Iranian languages. That writing system had previously been adopted by

15190-516: The country's return to independence, when Morocco officially became المملكة المغربية ( al-Mamlaka al-Maġribiyya , "The Maghreb Kingdom"), its name no longer referring to the city of Marrakesh. Marrakesh is known by a variety of nicknames, including the "Red City" (Arabic: المدينة الحمراء , romanized:  Al-madīnat al-ḥamrā' ), the "Ochre City" and "the Daughter of the Desert", and has been

15345-708: The cultural heritage of the city. In the 1980s, Patrick Guerand-Hermes purchased the 30 acres (12 ha) Ain el Quassimou , built by the family of Leo Tolstoy . On 15 April 1994, the Marrakesh Agreement was signed here to establish the World Trade Organisation , and in March 1997 Marrakesh served as the site of the World Water Council 's first World Water Forum, which was attended by over 500 international participants. In

15500-598: The edge of the reservoir. The Agdal Gardens were established during the reign of Abu Ya'qub Yusuf (r. 1163–1184) and extend over a larger area today, containing several water basins and palace structures. The Agdal Gardens cover about 340 hectares (1.3 sq mi) and are surrounded by a circuit of pisé walls, while the Menara Gardens cover around 96 hectares (0.37 sq mi). The water reservoirs for both gardens were supplied with water through an old hydraulic system known as khettara s, which conveyed water from

15655-629: The end of the war in Indochina (1946–1954), in which Moroccans had been conscripted to fight in Vietnam on behalf of the French Army. After two successive exiles to Corsica and Madagascar , Mohammed Ben Youssef was allowed to return to Morocco in November 1955, bringing an end to the despotic rule of Glaoui over Marrakesh and the surrounding region. A protocol giving independence to Morocco

15810-652: The extent of its influence on certain languages of the Indian subcontinent. Words borrowed from Persian are still quite commonly used in certain Indo-Aryan languages, especially Hindi - Urdu (also historically known as Hindustani ), Punjabi , Kashmiri , and Sindhi . There is also a small population of Zoroastrian Iranis in India, who migrated in the 19th century to escape religious execution in Qajar Iran and speak

15965-925: The feminine form tamurt . The same word "mur" appears in Mauretania , the North African kingdom from antiquity, although the link remains controversial as this name possibly originates from μαύρος mauros , the ancient Greek word for "dark". The common English spelling is "Marrakesh", although "Marrakech" (the French spelling) is also widely used. The name is spelled Mṛṛakc in the Berber Latin alphabet , Marraquexe in Portuguese , Marrakech in Spanish. A typical pronunciation in Moroccan Arabic

16120-439: The focus of poetic analogies such as one comparing the city to "a drum that beats an African identity into the complex soul of Morocco." The Marrakesh area was inhabited by Berber farmers from Neolithic times, and numerous stone implements have been unearthed in the area. Marrakesh was founded by Abu Bakr ibn Umar , chieftain and second cousin of the Almoravid king Yusuf ibn Tashfin (c. 1061–1106). Historical sources cite

16275-513: The focus of their own zawiyas ( Sufi religious complexes with mosques), including: the Zawiya and mosque of Sidi Bel Abbes (the most important of them), the Zawiya of al-Jazuli , the Zawiya of Sidi Abdellaziz , the Zawiya of Sidi Yusuf ibn Ali , and the Zawiya of Sidi al-Ghazwani (also known as Moulay el-Ksour). The Mellah of Marrakesh is the old Jewish Quarter ( Mellah ) of the city, and

16430-458: The foothills of the nearby Atlas Mountains. The Majorelle Garden , on Avenue Yacoub el Mansour, was at one time the home of the landscape painter Jacques Majorelle . Famed designer Yves Saint Laurent bought and restored the property, which features a stele erected in his memory, and the Museum of Islamic Art, which is housed in a dark blue building. The garden, open to the public since 1947, has

16585-577: The formation of many modern languages in West Asia, Europe, Central Asia , and South Asia . Following the Turko-Persian Ghaznavid conquest of South Asia , Persian was firstly introduced in the region by Turkic Central Asians. The basis in general for the introduction of Persian language into the subcontinent was set, from its earliest days, by various Persianized Central Asian Turkic and Afghan dynasties. For five centuries prior to

16740-476: The formation of the Achaemenid Empire and was spoken during most of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Xenophon , a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BCE, which is when Old Persian was still spoken and extensively used. He relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like

16895-435: The general expansion of the city beyond its traditional areas. In 1984, about 51% of the city's population lived in the medina, whereas only 22% did in 2004. United Nations agencies became active in Marrakesh beginning in the 1970s, and the city's international political presence has subsequently grown. In 1985, UNESCO declared the old town area of Marrakesh a UNESCO World Heritage Site , raising international awareness of

17050-552: The hotel and paint there. The 231-room hotel, which contains a casino, was refurbished in 1986 and again in 2007 by French designer Jacques Garcia . Other hotels include Eden Andalou Hotel, Hotel Marrakech, Sofitel Marrakech, Palm Plaza Hotel & Spa, Royal Mirage Hotel, Piscina del Hotel, and Palmeraie Palace at the Palmeraie Rotana Resort. In March 2012, Accor opened its first Pullman-branded hotel in Marrakech, Pullman Marrakech Palmeraie Resort & Spa. Set in

17205-466: The language of the Persians. Related to Old Persian, but from a different branch of the Iranian language family, was Avestan , the language of the Zoroastrian liturgical texts. The complex grammatical conjugation and declension of Old Persian yielded to the structure of Middle Persian in which the dual number disappeared, leaving only singular and plural, as did gender. Middle Persian developed

17360-460: The late 16th century that was left unfinished and fell into ruin. The square was originally an open space for markets located on the east side of the Ksar el-Hajjar , the main fortress and palace of the Almoravid dynasty who founded Marrakesh. Historically this square was used for public executions by rulers who sought to maintain their power by frightening the public. The square attracted dwellers from

17515-566: The legislative elections in November 2011, the ruling political party in Marrakesh has, for the first time, been the Justice and Development Party or PDJ which also rules at the national level. The party, which advocates Islamism and Islamic democracy , won five seats; the National Rally of Independents (RNI) took one seat, while the PAM won three. In the partial legislative elections for

17670-400: The legitimacy of his brother, Abd al-Aziz. It was also in 1907 that Dr. Mauchamp, a French doctor, was murdered in Marrakesh, suspected of spying for his country. France used the event as a pretext for sending its troops from the eastern Moroccan town of Oujda to the major metropolitan center of Casablanca in the west. The French colonial army encountered strong resistance from Ahmed al-Hiba ,

17825-432: The middle-period form only continuing in the texts of Zoroastrianism . Middle Persian is considered to be a later form of the same dialect as Old Persian. The native name of Middle Persian was Parsig or Parsik , after the name of the ethnic group of the southwest, that is, "of Pars ", Old Persian Parsa , New Persian Fars . This is the origin of the name Farsi as it is today used to signify New Persian. Following

17980-455: The military captains and saved the city from destruction with a sizable payoff of 500,000 dinars. In 1269, Marrakesh was conquered by the Marinids, a Zenata tribe who overran the Almohads in Morocco. While Marrakesh remained a major city, it lost its capital status to Fez and underwent a period of relative decline. In the early 16th century, Marrakesh again became the capital of Morocco. After

18135-536: The most widely spoken. The term Persian is an English derivation of Latin Persiānus , the adjectival form of Persia , itself deriving from Greek Persís ( Περσίς ), a Hellenized form of Old Persian Pārsa ( 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 ), which means " Persia " (a region in southwestern Iran, corresponding to modern-day Fars ). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the term Persian as

18290-504: The name Murrākush . Conversely, the city itself was in earlier times simply called Marocco City (or similar) by travelers from abroad. The name of the city and the country diverged after the Treaty of Fez divided Morocco into a French protectorate in Morocco and Spanish protectorate in Morocco , and the old interchangeable usage lasted widely until about the interregnum of Mohammed Ben Aarafa (1953–1955). The latter episode set in motion

18445-618: The name is debated. One possible origin of the name Marrakesh is from the Berber (Amazigh) words amur (n) akush , which means "Land of God". According to historian Susan Searight, however, the town's name was first documented in an 11th-century manuscript in the Qarawiyyin library in Fez , where its meaning was given as "country of the sons of Kush". The word mur is used now in Berber mostly in

18600-466: The nationalist movement of the time. The academy was a key institution in the struggle to re-build Iran as a nation-state after the collapse of the Qajar dynasty. During the 1930s and 1940s, the academy led massive campaigns to replace the many Arabic , Russian , French , and Greek loanwords whose widespread use in Persian during the centuries preceding the foundation of the Pahlavi dynasty had created

18755-538: The nearby Argana Cafe. Police sources arrested three suspects and claimed the chief suspect was loyal to Al-Qaeda , although Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb denied involvement. In November 2016 the city hosted the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference . In September 2023, the city was affected by a deadly earthquake . From October 9 to October 15, 2023, the city hosted the Annual Meetings of

18910-499: The necessity of protecting the Persian language against foreign words, and to the standardization of Persian orthography , were under the reign of Naser ed Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1871. After Naser ed Din Shah, Mozaffar ed Din Shah ordered the establishment of the first Persian association in 1903. This association officially declared that it used Persian and Arabic as acceptable sources for coining words. The ultimate goal

19065-763: The new mellah near the Kasbah. One of the most famous funerary monuments in the city is the Saadian Tombs , which were built in the 16th century as a royal necropolis for the Saadian Dynasty. It is located next to the south wall of the Kasbah Mosque. The necropolis contains the tombs of many Saadian rulers including Muhammad al-Shaykh , Abdallah al-Ghalib, and Ahmad al-Mansur , as well as various family members and later sultans. It consists of two main structures, each with several rooms, standing within

19220-414: The next period most officially around the Sasanian Empire , and New era being the period afterward down to present day. According to available documents, the Persian language is "the only Iranian language" for which close philological relationships between all of its three stages are established and so that Old, Middle, and New Persian represent one and the same language of Persian; that is, New Persian

19375-656: The north side of the Atlas , rather than the south, prevents it from being described as a desert city, and it remains the northern focus of the Saharan lines of communication, and its history, its types of dwellers, and its commerce and arts, are all related to the great south Atlas spaces that reach further into the Sahara desert ." A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 ,

19530-732: The northern part of Greece). Vardar Yenicesi differed from other localities in the Balkans insofar as that it was a town where Persian was also widely spoken. However, the Persian of Vardar Yenicesi and throughout the rest of the Ottoman-held Balkans was different from formal Persian both in accent and vocabulary. The difference was apparent to such a degree that the Ottomans referred to it as "Rumelian Persian" ( Rumili Farsisi ). As learned people such as students, scholars and literati often frequented Vardar Yenicesi, it soon became

19685-423: The occupants with privacy and lowered the temperature within the building. Numerous riads and historic residences exist through the old city, with the oldest documented examples dating back to the Saadian period (16th-17th centuries), while many others date from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Koutoubia Mosque is one of the largest and most famous mosques in the city, located southwest of Jemaa el-Fnaa. The mosque

19840-542: The official language of the Achaemenid kings. Assyrian records, which in fact appear to provide the earliest evidence for ancient Iranian (Persian and Median) presence on the Iranian Plateau, give a good chronology but only an approximate geographical indication of what seem to be ancient Persians. In these records of the 9th century BCE, Parsuwash (along with Matai , presumably Medians) are first mentioned in

19995-513: The poultry market, the gory fascination of the open-air butchers' shops and the uncountable number of small and specialist traders, just wandering around the streets can pass an entire day." Marrakesh has several supermarkets including Marjane Acima , Asswak Salam and Carrefour , and three major shopping centres, Al Mazar Mall, Plaza Marrakech and Marjane Square; a branch of Carrefour opened in Al Mazar Mall in 2010. Industrial production in

20150-574: The powerful Glaoui family, leading to a massacre of Marrakesh citizens in the resulting turmoil. T'hami El Glaoui , known as "Lord of the Atlas", became Pasha of Marrakesh, a post he held virtually throughout the 44-year duration of the Protectorate (1912–1956). Glaoui dominated the city and became famous for his collaboration with the general residence authorities, culminating in a plot to dethrone Mohammed Ben Youssef (Mohammed V) and replace him with

20305-399: The premature death in 1900 of the grand vizier Ba Ahmed , who had been designated regent until the designated sultan Abd al-Aziz became of age, the country was plagued by anarchy, tribal revolts, the plotting of feudal lords, and European intrigues. In 1907, Marrakesh caliph Moulay Abd al-Hafid was proclaimed sultan by the powerful tribes of the High Atlas and by Ulama scholars who denied

20460-524: The present territories of northwestern Afghanistan as well as parts of Central Asia, played a leading role in the rise of New Persian. Khorasan, which was the homeland of the Parthians, was Persianized under the Sasanians. Dari Persian thus supplanted Parthian language , which by the end of the Sasanian era had fallen out of use. New Persian has incorporated many foreign words, including from eastern northern and northern Iranian languages such as Sogdian and especially Parthian. The transition to New Persian

20615-477: The region during the following centuries. Persian continued to act as a courtly language for various empires in Punjab through the early 19th century serving finally as the official state language of the Sikh Empire , preceding British conquest and the decline of Persian in South Asia. Beginning in 1843, though, English and Hindustani gradually replaced Persian in importance on the subcontinent. Evidence of Persian's historical influence there can be seen in

20770-431: The regional capital, constitutes a prefecture-level administrative unit of Morocco, Marrakech Prefecture , forming part of the region of Marrakech-Safi . Marrakesh is a major centre for law and jurisdiction in Morocco and most of the major courts of the region are here. These include the regional Court of Appeal, the Commercial Court, the Administrative Court, the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal of Commerce, and

20925-441: The reign of Sultan Ghiyathuddin Azam Shah is described as the "golden age of Persian literature in Bengal". Its stature was illustrated by the Sultan's own correspondence and collaboration with the Persian poet Hafez ; a poem which can be found in the Divan of Hafez today. A Bengali dialect emerged among the common Bengali Muslim folk, based on a Persian model and known as Dobhashi ; meaning mixed language . Dobhashi Bengali

21080-402: The same year, but his successor Abd al-Mu'min took over the political leadership of the movement and captured Marrakesh in 1147 after a siege of several months. The Almohads purged the Almoravid population over three days and established the city as their new capital. They went on to take over much of the Almoravids' former territory in Africa and the Iberian Peninsula . In 1147, shortly after

21235-554: The site of a flourishing Persianate linguistic and literary culture. The 16th-century Ottoman Aşık Çelebi (died 1572), who hailed from Prizren in modern-day Kosovo , was galvanized by the abundant Persian-speaking and Persian-writing communities of Vardar Yenicesi, and he referred to the city as a "hotbed of Persian". Many Ottoman Persianists who established a career in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul ) pursued early Persian training in Saraybosna, amongst them Ahmed Sudi . The Persian language influenced

21390-462: The square. Marrakesh has the largest traditional market in Morocco and the image of the city is closely associated with its souks . Historically, the souks of Marrakesh were divided into retail areas for particular goods such as leather, carpets, metalwork and pottery. These divisions still roughly exist, though with significant overlap. Many of the souks sell items like carpets and rugs, traditional Muslim attire, leather bags, and lanterns. Haggling

21545-452: The standard Persian of Tajikistan, has been officially designated as Tajik ( тоҷикӣ , tojikī ) since the time of the Soviet Union . It is the name given to the varieties of Persian spoken in Central Asia in general. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa for the Persian language, as its coding system is mostly based on the native-language designations. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses

21700-458: The standard Persian. The Hazaragi dialect (in Central Afghanistan and Pakistan), Herati (in Western Afghanistan), Darwazi (in Afghanistan and Tajikistan), Basseri (in Southern Iran), and the Tehrani accent (in Iran, the basis of standard Iranian Persian) are examples of these dialects. Persian-speaking peoples of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan can understand one another with a relatively high degree of mutual intelligibility . Nevertheless,

21855-503: The surrounding desert and mountains to trade here, and stalls were raised in the square from early in its history. It drew tradesmen, snake charmers, dancing boys, and musicians playing pipes , tambourines and African drums . Today the square attracts people from diverse backgrounds and tourists from all around the world. Snake charmers, acrobats, magicians, mystics, musicians, monkey trainers, herb sellers, story-tellers, dentists, pickpockets, and entertainers in medieval garb still populate

22010-427: The tallest in the city at 77 metres (253 ft) in height, is considered an important landmark and symbol of Marrakesh. It likely influenced other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat . Ben Youssef Mosque is named after the Almoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf, who built the original mosque in the 12th century to serve as the city's main Friday mosque . After being abandoned during

22165-422: The use of Farsi in foreign languages. Etymologically, the Persian term Farsi derives from its earlier form Pārsi ( Pārsik in Middle Persian ), which in turn comes from the same root as the English term Persian . In the same process, the Middle Persian toponym Pārs ("Persia") evolved into the modern name Fars. The phonemic shift from /p/ to /f/ is due to the influence of Arabic in

22320-535: The warmest month would increase by 7 °C (13 °F). According to Climate Action Tracker , the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5. Marrakesh's water supply relies partly on groundwater resources, which have lowered gradually over the last 40 years, attaining an acute decline in the early 2000s. Since 2002, groundwater levels have dropped by an average of 0.9 m per year in 80% of Marrakesh and its surrounding area. The most affected area experienced

22475-451: The west with Massira and Targa, and southwest to M'hamid beyond the airport. On the P2017 road leading south out of the city are large villages such as Douar Lahna , Touggana , Lagouassem , and Lahebichate , leading eventually through desert to the town of Tahnaout at the edge of the High Atlas , the highest mountainous barrier in North Africa. The average elevation of the snow-covered High Atlas lies above 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). It

22630-456: The winter to 26–30 °C (79–86 °F) in the summer. The relatively wet winter and dry summer precipitation pattern of Marrakesh mirrors precipitation patterns found in Mediterranean climates . However, the city receives less rain than is typically found in a Mediterranean climate, resulting in a semi-arid climate classification. Between 1961 and 1990 the city averaged 281.3 millimetres (11.1 in) of precipitation annually. Barrows says of

22785-431: The workshop at the back of this complex. The ramparts of Marrakesh, which stretch for some 19 kilometres (12 mi) around the medina of the city, were built by the Almoravids in the 12th century as protective fortifications. The walls are made of a distinct orange-red clay and chalk, giving the city its nickname as the "red city"; they stand up to 19 feet (5.8 m) high and have 20 gates and 200 towers along them. Of

22940-416: Was already complete by the era of the three princely dynasties of Iranian origin, the Tahirid dynasty (820–872), Saffarid dynasty (860–903), and Samanid Empire (874–999). Abbas of Merv is mentioned as being the earliest minstrel to chant verse in the New Persian tongue and after him the poems of Hanzala Badghisi were among the most famous between the Persian-speakers of the time. The first poems of

23095-410: Was at the height of its popularity during the late 17th-century reign of Moulay Ismail , the festival of these saints was founded by Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi at the request of the sultan. The tombs of several renowned figures were moved to Marrakesh to attract pilgrims, and the pilgrimage associated with the seven saints is now a firmly established institution. Pilgrims visit the tombs of the saints in

23250-409: Was founded in 1147 by the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min. A second version of the mosque was entirely rebuilt by Abd al-Mu'min around 1158, with Ya'qub al-Mansur possibly finalizing construction of the minaret around 1195. This second mosque is the structure that stands today. It is considered a major example of Almohad architecture and of Moroccan mosque architecture generally. Its minaret tower,

23405-442: Was made with costly materials including marble from Italy. The palace was intended primarily for hosting lavish receptions for ambassadors from Spain, England, and the Ottoman Empire, showcasing Saadian Morocco as a nation whose power and influence reached as far as the borders of Niger and Mali . For centuries Marrakesh has been known as the location of the tombs of Morocco's seven patron saints ( sebaatou rizjel ). When sufism

23560-484: Was patronised and given official status under the Sultans of Bengal , and was a popular literary form used by Bengalis during the pre-colonial period, irrespective of their religion. Following the defeat of the Hindu Shahi dynasty, classical Persian was established as a courtly language in the region during the late 10th century under Ghaznavid rule over the northwestern frontier of the subcontinent . Employed by Punjabis in literature, Persian achieved prominence in

23715-488: Was taught in state schools, and was also offered as an elective course or recommended for study in some madrasas . Persian learning was also widespread in the Ottoman-held Balkans ( Rumelia ), with a range of cities being famed for their long-standing traditions in the study of Persian and its classics, amongst them Saraybosna (modern Sarajevo , Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mostar (also in Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Vardar Yenicesi (or Yenice-i Vardar, now Giannitsa , in

23870-560: Was then signed on 2 March 1956 between French Foreign Minister Christian Pineau and M’Barek Ben Bakkai. Since the independence of Morocco, Marrakesh has thrived as a tourist destination. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the city became a trendy " hippie mecca". It attracted numerous western rock stars and musicians, artists, film directors and actors, models, and fashion divas, leading tourism revenues to double in Morocco between 1965 and 1970. Yves Saint Laurent , The Beatles , The Rolling Stones and Jean-Paul Getty all spent significant time in

24025-425: Was to prevent books from being printed with wrong use of words. According to the executive guarantee of this association, the government was responsible for wrongfully printed books. Words coined by this association, such as rāh-āhan ( راه‌آهن ) for "railway", were printed in Soltani Newspaper ; but the association was eventually closed due to inattention. A scientific association was founded in 1911, resulting in

#560439