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127-686: The Marrakesh Agreement , manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration , was an agreement signed in Marrakesh , Morocco , by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, marking the culmination of the 8-year-long Uruguay Round and establishing the World Trade Organization , which officially came into being on 1 January 1995. The agreement developed out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), supplemented by

254-595: A madrasa (school). The complex also included 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

381-466: 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

508-559: 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

635-490: A branch of the Afroasiatic language family . They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who are indigenous to North Africa . The languages are primarily spoken and not typically written. Historically, they have been written with the ancient Libyco-Berber script, which now exists in the form of Tifinagh . Today, they may also be written in

762-482: 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

889-771: 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

1016-545: 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,

1143-417: 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

1270-479: A few million speakers of Berber languages in Western Europe . Tashlhiyt , Kabyle , Central Atlas Tamazight , Tarifit , and Shawiya are some of the most commonly spoken Berber languages. Exact numbers are impossible to ascertain as there are few modern North African censuses that include questions on language use, and what censuses do exist have known flaws. Following independence in the 20th century,

1397-479: 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

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1524-474: 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

1651-478: 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

1778-608: 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

1905-413: 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

2032-476: 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

2159-612: A number of key loanwords related to pastoralism that are of Berber origin, including the terms for sheep and water/ Nile . This in turn suggests that the C-Group population—which, along with the Kerma culture , inhabited the Nile valley immediately before the arrival of the first Nubian speakers—spoke Afroasiatic languages. Berber languages are primarily oral languages without a major written component. Historically, they were written with

2286-605: A number of other agreements on issues including trade in services , sanitary and phytosanitary measures , trade-related aspects of intellectual property and technical barriers to trade . It also established a new, more efficient and legally binding means of dispute resolution . The various agreements which make up the Marrakesh Agreement combine as an indivisible whole; no entity can be party to any one agreement without being party to them all. [REDACTED] World portal Marrakesh The city

2413-529: 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,

2540-541: A policy of Arabisation, which, after the imposition of the Circular of July 1976, encompassed the spheres of education, public administration, public signage, print publication, and the judiciary. While primarily directed towards the erasure of French in Algerian society, these policies also targeted Berber languages, leading to dissatisfaction and unrest amongst speakers of Berber languages, who made up about one quarter of

2667-688: 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

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2794-663: A prospective new constitution, it does not have official status in Libya as in Morocco and Algeria. As areas of Libya south and west of Tripoli such as the Nafusa Mountains were taken from the control of Gaddafi government forces in early summer 2011, Berber workshops and exhibitions sprang up to share and spread the Berber culture and language. In Mali and Niger, some Tuareg languages have been recognized as national languages and have been part of school curriculums since

2921-549: 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

3048-782: 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

3175-582: 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

3302-472: 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),

3429-404: 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

3556-474: 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

3683-556: 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

3810-526: 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

3937-458: 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

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4064-559: 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

4191-455: 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

4318-1437: Is listed as negligible, and the last Sokna speaker is thought to have died in the 1950s. There are an estimated 50,000 Djerbi speakers in Tunisia , based on figures from 2004. Sened is likely extinct, with the last speaker having died in the 1970s. Ghadamés, though not indigenous to Tunisia, is estimated to have 3,100 speakers throughout the country. Chenini is one of the rare remaining Berber-speaking villages in Tunisia. There are an estimated 20,000 Siwi speakers in Egypt , based on figures from 2013. As of 2018 and 2017 respectively, there were an estimated 200 speakers of Zenaga and 117,000 of Tamasheq in Mauritania . As of 2009, there were an estimated 122,000 Tamasheq speakers in Burkina Faso. There are an estimated 1.5 million speakers of various Berber languages in France. A small number of Tawellemmet speakers live in Nigeria. In total, there are an estimated 3.6 million speakers of Berber languages in countries outside of Morocco and Algeria, summarized as follows: After independence, all

4445-511: 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

4572-419: Is often included as an Eastern Berber language alongside Siwa, Sokna, and El Foqaha. These approaches divide the Berber languages into Northern, Southern (Tuareg), Eastern, and Western varieties. The vast majority of speakers of Berber languages are concentrated in Morocco and Algeria. The exact population of speakers has been historically difficult to ascertain due to lack of official recognition. Morocco

4699-549: Is sometimes used to refer to a specific subset of Berber languages, such as Central Tashlhiyt. "Tamazight" can also be used to refer to Standard Moroccan Tamazight or Standard Algerian Tamazight , as in the Moroccan and Algerian constitutions respectively. In Morocco, besides referring to all Berber languages or to Standard Moroccan Tamazight, "Tamazight" is often used in contrast to Tashelhit and Tarifit to refer to Central Atlas Tamazight . The use of Berber has been

4826-471: 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

4953-600: Is the country with the greatest number of speakers of Berber languages. As of 2022, Ethnologue estimates there to be 13.8 million speakers of Berber languages in Morocco, based on figures from 2016 and 2017. In 1960, the first census after Moroccan independence was held. It claimed that 32 percent of Moroccans spoke a Berber language, including bi-, tri- and quadrilingual people. The 2004 census found that 3,894,805 Moroccans over five years of age spoke Tashelhit, 2,343,937 spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 1,270,986 spoke Tarifit, representing 14.6%, 8.8%, and 4.8% respectively of

5080-480: 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,

5207-532: 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

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5334-598: The Berber Latin alphabet or the Arabic script , with Latin being the most pervasive. The Berber languages have a similar level of variety to the Romance languages , although they are sometimes referred to as a single collective language, often as "Berber", "Tamazight", or "Amazigh". The languages, with a few exceptions, form a dialect continuum . There is a debate as to how to best sub-categorize languages within

5461-554: 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),

5588-719: The Kabyles use the term "Leqbayel" to refer to their own people, while the Chaouis identified themselves as "Ishawiyen" instead of Berber/Amazigh. Since modern Berber languages are relatively homogeneous, the date of the Proto-Berber language from which the modern group is derived was probably comparatively recent, comparable to the age of the Germanic or Romance subfamilies of the Indo-European family. In contrast,

5715-509: 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

5842-594: The Libyco-Berber script . Early uses of the script have been found on rock art and in various sepulchres; the oldest known variations of the script dates to inscriptions in Dugga from 600 BC. Usage of this script, in the form of Tifinagh , has continued into the present day among the Tuareg people . Following the spread of Islam , some Berber scholars also utilized the Arabic script . The Berber Latin alphabet

5969-416: The Maghreb countries to varying degrees pursued a policy of Arabisation , aimed partly at displacing French from its colonial position as the dominant language of education and literacy. Under this policy the use of the Berber languages was suppressed or even banned. This state of affairs has been contested by Berbers in Morocco and Algeria—especially Kabylie —and was addressed in both countries by affording

6096-551: 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

6223-556: 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 . Berber language Northern Berber Kabyle Atlas Zenati Western Berber Eastern Berber Tuareg The Berber languages , also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight , are

6350-481: 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

6477-527: 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

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6604-629: 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

6731-555: 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

6858-512: The Almohad tribal sheikhs and their families and 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

6985-456: 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

7112-524: The Berber branch. Berber languages typically follow verb–subject–object word order . Their phonological inventories are diverse. Millions of people in Morocco and Algeria natively speak a Berber language, as do smaller populations of Libya , Tunisia , northern Mali , western and northern Niger , northern Burkina Faso and Mauritania and the Siwa Oasis of Egypt . There are also probably

7239-543: The Berber languages have been suppressed and suffered from low prestige in North Africa . Recognition of the Berber languages has been growing in the 21st century, with Morocco and Algeria adding Tamazight as an official language to their constitutions in 2011 and 2016 respectively. Most Berber languages have a high percentage of borrowing and influence from the Arabic language , as well as from other languages. For example, Arabic loanwords represent 35% to 46% of

7366-613: 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,

7493-400: 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

7620-401: 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

7747-451: 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

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7874-525: 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,

8001-490: 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

8128-455: 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

8255-486: The case of Zenaga and Tuareg. Kossmann roughly groups the Berber languages into seven blocks: The Zenatic block is typically divided into the Zenati and Eastern Berber branches, due to the marked difference in features at each end of the continuum. Otherwise, subclassifications by different linguists typically combine various blocks into different branches. Western Moroccan languages, Zenati languages, Kabyle, and Ghadames may be grouped under Northern Berber ; Awjila

8382-420: 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

8509-431: 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

8636-615: 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,

8763-514: 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

8890-432: 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

9017-414: 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

9144-642: 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

9271-417: 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

9398-481: 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

9525-478: 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

9652-516: 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

9779-712: 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

9906-601: 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

10033-629: 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

10160-632: The exception of Zenaga, Tetserret, and Tuareg, the Berber languages form a dialect continuum . Different linguists take different approaches towards drawing boundaries between languages in this continuum. Maarten Kossmann notes that it is difficult to apply the classic tree model of historical linguistics towards the Berber languages: [The Berber language family]'s continuous history of convergence and differentiation along new lines makes an definition of branches arbitrary. Moreover, mutual intelligibility and mutual influence render notions such as "split" or "branching" rather difficult to apply except, maybe, in

10287-870: 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

10414-499: 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

10541-515: 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

10668-462: 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

10795-436: 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

10922-614: 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

11049-461: The inclusion of Tamazight as an official language. The 2000 Charter for Education Reform marked a change in policy, with its statement of "openness to Tamazight." Planning for a public Tamazight-language TV network began in 2006; in 2010, the Moroccan government launched Tamazight TV . On July 29, 2011, Tamazight was added as an official language to the Moroccan constitution. After gaining independence from France in 1962, Algeria committed to

11176-527: The language official status and introducing it in some schools. After gaining independence from France in 1956, Morocco began a period of Arabisation through 1981, with primary and secondary school education gradually being changed to Arabic instruction, and with the aim of having administration done in Arabic, rather than French. During this time, there were riots amongst the Amazigh population, which called for

11303-465: 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

11430-567: 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

11557-402: 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 ,

11684-457: 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

11811-505: 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

11938-569: 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

12065-542: 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

12192-657: 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 ,

12319-426: 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

12446-489: The other notable mosques of 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

12573-594: The population. After the 1994-1995 general school boycott in Kabylia, Tamazight was recognized for the first time as a national language. In 2002, following the riots of the Black Spring , Tamazight was recognized for the second time as a national language , though not as an official one. This was done on April 8, 2003. Tamazight has been taught for three hours a week through the first three years of Algerian middle schools since 2005. On January 5, 2016, it

12700-516: 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

12827-576: 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

12954-458: 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

13081-550: 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

13208-823: The relocation of the Jewish district from this area to 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

13335-471: 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

13462-534: The snow-covered High Atlas lies above 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). It 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

13589-596: The southeast with Sidi Youssef Ben Ali, to 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

13716-577: The split of the group from the other Afroasiatic sub-phyla is much earlier, and is therefore sometimes associated with the local Mesolithic Capsian culture . A number of extinct populations are believed to have spoken Afroasiatic languages of the Berber branch. According to Peter Behrens and Marianne Bechaus-Gerst, linguistic evidence suggests that the peoples of the C-Group culture in present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan spoke Berber languages. The Nilo-Saharan Nobiin language today contains

13843-465: 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

13970-458: The stronghold of 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

14097-549: The subject of debate due to its historical background as an exonym and present equivalence with the Arabic word for "barbarian." One group, the Linguasphere Observatory , has attempted to introduce the neologism "Tamazic languages" to refer to the Berber languages. Amazigh people typically use "Tamazight" when speaking English. Historically, Berbers did not refer to themselves as Berbers/Amazigh but had their own terms to refer to themselves. For example,

14224-504: 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

14351-452: The surveyed population, or roughly 28.2% of the surveyed population combined. The 2014 census found that 14.1% of the population spoke Tashelhit, 7.9% spoke Central Atlas Tamazight, and 4% spoke Tarifit, or about 26% of the population combined. These estimates, as well as the estimates from various academic sources, are summarized as follows: Algeria is the country with the second greatest number of speakers of Berber languages. In 1906,

14478-600: 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

14605-468: The total population speaking Berber languages in Algeria, excluding the thinly populated Sahara region, was estimated at 1,305,730 out of 4,447,149, or 29%. Secondary sources disagree on the percentage of self-declared native Berber speakers in the 1966 census, the last Algerian census containing a question about the mother tongue. Some give 17.9% while other report 19%. Kabyle speakers account for

14732-666: The total vocabulary of the Kabyle language and represent 51.7% of the total vocabulary of Tarifit . Almost all Berber languages took from Arabic the pharyngeal fricatives /ʕ/ and /ħ/, the (nongeminated) uvular stop /q/, and the voiceless pharyngealized consonant /ṣ/. Unlike the Chadic , Cushitic , and Omotic languages of the Afro-Asiatic phylum, Berber languages are not tonal languages. "Tamazight" and "Berber languages" are often used interchangeably. However, "Tamazight"

14859-1211: The vast majority of speakers of Berber languages in Algeria. Shawiya is the second most commonly spoken Berber language in Algeria. Other Berber languages spoken in Algeria include: Shenwa , with 76,300 speakers; Tashelhit, with 6,000 speakers; Ouargli , with 20,000 speakers; Tamahaq , with 71,400 speakers; Tugurt , with 8,100 speakers; Tidikelt , with 1,000 speakers; Gurara , with 11,000 speakers; and Mozabite , with 150,000 speakers. Population estimates are summarized as follows: As of 1998, there were an estimated 450,000 Tawellemmet speakers, 250,000 Air Tamajeq speakers, and 20,000 Tamahaq speakers in Niger . As of 2018 and 2014 respectively, there were an estimated 420,000 speakers of Tawellemmet and 378,000 of Tamasheq in Mali . As of 2022, based on figures from 2020, Ethnologue estimates there to be 285,890 speakers of Berber languages in Libya : 247,000 speakers of Nafusi , 22,800 speakers of Tamahaq, 13,400 speakers of Ghadamés , and 2,690 speakers of Awjila . The number of Siwi speakers in Libya

14986-538: 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

15113-520: 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

15240-433: 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

15367-536: Was announced that Tamazight had been added as a national and official language in a draft amendment to the Algerian constitution; it was added to the constitution as a national and official language on February 7, 2016. Although regional councils in Libya's Nafusa Mountains affiliated with the National Transitional Council reportedly use the Berber language of Nafusi and have called for it to be granted co-official status with Arabic in

15494-411: 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

15621-538: Was developed following the introduction of the Latin script in the nineteenth century by the West. The nineteenth century also saw the development of Neo-Tifinagh, an adaptation of Tuareg Tifinagh for use with other Berber languages. There are now three writing systems in use for Berber languages: Tifinagh, the Arabic script, and the Berber Latin alphabet , with the Latin alphabet being the most widely used today. With

15748-447: 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

15875-411: 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,

16002-509: 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

16129-563: 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

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