Medinas & Mosques in Morocco

Shopping & bargaining in the medina.

Taking a tour of the back streets & old palaces.

Staying in beautifully restored old riads.

Eating at fantastic restaurants.

Visiting the surrounding gardens.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

You''re very glad when you reach it - enter it''s inner sanctum & shut out the frenetic background noise! Riad Enija is a small privately owned riad (about 4 suites). It is absolutely amazingly restored - the bathrooms & bedrooms are covered in original mosaic tiles in beautiful vibrant colours & the rooms are decorated with Moroccan artifacts - it is truly a great place to stay. Every room has its own outside seating area (where a sumptuous dinner is served) which looks inward to a common internal courtyard - overflowing with orange trees, pretty flowers, birds, fountains & tortoises!

The ''pavillion'' rooms are domed to replicate huge tents - with sky lights & each room has a lovely private courtyard complete with remote control fountain. The swimming pool is Aman sized - i.e. HUGE (maybe a little too warm?) One of the highlights is the hammam (steam room) - where you can get scrubbed & polished with black salt by one of the locals - it''s a great way to relax after a hard day in the medina!

They range from cheap tat through to high end antiques, rugs & furniture. I would say the first time you go preferably go with a guide so you can get orientated.

Feel free to barter - cash is usually a better bet for bargains than credit cards - although even some of the smallest places accept credit cards.

Also be warned shipping seems to be very expensive & complicated - plan to hand carry your new souvenirs if possible - the souks (& even some of the better shops) don't seem to handle the concept of shipping very well & will instantly put your hard bargained price back up & over if you even suggest it!

Also regarding excess baggage: the Moroccan airlines charge by number of items rather than weight - so if you are taking things back & want to check them in - get the shop to wrap them in one big parcel - we didn't do this & it cost a small fortune - so be warned.

I suggest seeing it from 2 angles - firstly down in the thick of it & secondly looking down on it from above from one of the many restaurant terraces that surround it.

It's a great place to take pictures - but expect to tip performers/snake charmers if you take their picture.

If you have the time experience the square both before sunset & after - while it's still light it's good to wander over to Koutoubia mosque & then have a look at all the weird & wonderful food being cooked by skilled chefs on makeshift grills. After dark the fire eaters & other performers seem even more surreal!

Try & hit one of the terraces early - everybody - tourists & locals want a ringside seat at sunset & the terraces get very busy. Get there half an hour before sundown & sip a traditional mint tea - a great soothing contrast to the fray below.

I particularly liked the courtyards & gardens which gave an air of informality to the austere interior. Men will probably find the tales of concubines quite appealing while women will not!

Unfortunately little remains of the 16th century wonder - just an empty shell. You can still get a sense of the scale of the building & the storks nesting in the ramparts add a quirky touch!