20 great things to do in Marrakech

1. Circle the Koutoubia Mosque

The minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous symbol – built in a traditional Almohad style and topped with four copper globes – is visible from near and far. It is not really that high (77 metres), but thanks to local topography and a local ordinance that forbids any other building in the Medina to be higher than a palm tree, it towers majestically over its surroundings. Still an active place of worship, non-Muslims may not enter. But it’s possible to get a good view of the exterior by walking around either side.

Happy hitchin to Marrakech

According to an AA poll, it's 'the end of the road for hitchhiking'. Well, not for me it isn't. I've hitchhiked every decade of my life (except the first), on four continents, and I don't intend to stop just because I'm 70 and no one does it any more'. 

Actually, it's got easier as I've got older -though 1 must admit to a niggle of guilt when a car stops and the driver anxiously asks this elderly woman if he can help. It must be disconcerting to find that I merely want to get to such-and-such, and there's no bus. The last time 1 hitched was a couple of years ago when I was researching my Slow Devon and Exmoor book and missed the bus into Dartmoor.

Marrakech brings An Ode to Sahara 2

From Marrakech, the 70-km climb to the Tiz n Tichka Pass in the High Atlas Mountains is a clutch-grinding series of switchbacks offering fantastic views. The first stop is a wind-blasted pass poised somewhere between the two worlds of the High Atlas Mountains and the sub-Sahara. We head towards the Dades, Draa and Ziz Valleys, blessed in this arid land with life-giving rivers. They are indescribably beautiful, lined with palmeraies, ancient kasbahs (defensive forts constructed of red baked clay) and towns that have changed little in centuries. Historically, tribal feuding and banditry were a way of life for the Berbers of the region, and as a result, hundreds of kasbahs were built throughout these valleys.

Marrakech Brings An Ode To Sahara

A journey to and beyond the exotic town of Marrakech leads to a love affair with the desert sun, ancient kasbahs, rippling sands and mouthwatering food.

IT'S LATE AFTERNOON in the centre of exotic Marrakech, with its Andalusia-inspired arches, ochre ramparts, souk marketplaces and distinctive skyline of mosques set against the majestic snow-capped High Atlas Mountains. I find myself thoroughly lost in the medina, where narrow passageways seethe with human activity. Covered bazaars are crammed with spice stalls and workshops of every kind, with artisans at work fashioning slippers, weaving rugs, dyeing textiles and hammering metals.

Marrakech Wallops The Senses Part 2

GRILLED MEATS GALORE
Once a popular hole-in-the-wall, (7) Plats Haj Boujema (65 Mohamed ElBeqal; 212-524/421-862; lunch for two MAD163) retains its cheap prices and populist spirit despite the (almost) spiffy new digs in Gucliz. Beauties with kohl-rimmed eyes tend to order panini and pizza, but you should opt for the smoky carnivorous offerings. Succulent minced lamb kofte precede perfect beef brochettes, then flash-charred lamb chops and, for the adventurous, skewers of plush liver or brains. No tasting, please, without the taktuka, a zesty, garlicky tomato-and-grccn-pcppcr relish.

ULTIMATE COUSCOUS
Few restaurants in town bother with the proper raking, swelling and multiple steamings of Morocco's signature semolina grains. (8) Dar Moha (81 Rue Dar el Bacha, Medina; 212-524/386-264; MAD1J00) bills itself as nouvelle marocaine, but its charismatic celebrity chef-owner MohaFedal happily takes an ancien approach to couscous. Start with a mosaic of Moroccan salads at your candlelit poolside table on the patio of French designer Pierre Balmain's former riad. Midway through the degustation menu, a duo of couscous dishes invites you to compare earthier Berber-style barley pellets with the more familiar durum wheat, here as light and fluffy as snowflakes. And near the end of your meal don't forget, the dessert pastilla, made with apples and saffron, dcliciously contrasts cream and crunch. »