Marrakech For Two

A Secret Riad & Berber Culture

The Berber city is an explosion of colours, sounds and smells. Behind the ochre walls, the medina is a world within a world - a maze of passages, staircases and galleries. In Djemaa el-Fna Square - part market, part open air theatre - snake charmers, water carriers, musicians and shopkeepers perform day and night. Outside the city, forgotten hamlets in the Ourika Valley make you forget the hustle and bustle, revealing a deep green panorama with the Atlas mountains as a backdrop.



Your riad - It's in the heart of the medina, where the narrow alleys allow a glimpse a real city life. Walk between small shops, market garden stalls and secret architectural treasures, such as the Zaouia de Sidi Bel Abbes. Push open a thick nailed wooden door and, suddenly, Marrakech's bustle is almost completely left behind. The riad is one of those places where everything is determined by a certain way of life, a beautiful tranquillity. The refinement of the stucco lace detailing, the sweet taste of oriental pastries soaked in honey, the sensation of essential oils on the skin, the sound of birds on the patio and the smell of orange blossom - all part of the magic of staying in a riad. Inside, an intimate atmosphere - rose petals and candles await you in your room.

INCLUDED IN THE ITINERARY

Traditional treatments. Start with a hammam session, black soap and body scrub, before fully relaxing for an argan and essential oils massage. This interlude is followed by a Moroccan lunch or dinner at the riad, depending on the time. This oriental experience culminates in a dinner in the Agafay Desert, around twenty miles from Marrakech. There is a camp in a hollow in the scrub desert with a dizzying view over the wide-open spaces. Some comfortably furnished tents are pitched for a dinner prepared in the Moroccan tradition, under the stars.

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