Djemaa el-Fna, the Medina & the Souks — Marrakech's Living UNESCO Heritage
Marrakech (the 'Red City' — the ochre-walled imperial city in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, population approximately 1 million, founded 1062 by the Almoravid dynasty): Marrakech is the most visited city in Africa and the most internationally recognized Moroccan destination, its medina (the historic walled city, UNESCO World Heritage since 1985) a living medieval urban organism of souks, mosques, palaces, and riads centred on the spectacular Djemaa el-Fna square.
Gnawa Music, Sufi Culture & the Spiritual Heart of Marrakech
Marrakech is the spiritual capital of Moroccan musical culture, the city where the Gnawa tradition (the music of the descendants of sub-Saharan African enslaved people, recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019) is most alive, and where Sufi brotherhoods (tariqas) continue the devotional musical traditions of the Islamic world.
Essaouira — Marrakech's Atlantic Escape
Essaouira (the Atlantic coastal city 180 km west of Marrakech (2.5-3 hours by bus or private transfer) — the wind-swept fortified city on the Atlantic coast, UNESCO World Heritage since 2001): Essaouira (the name means 'the well-designed' in Amazigh) was built as a new city in 1765 by the Alaouite Sultan Mohammed III, designed by the French military architect Théodore Cornut, creating a European-designed medina with wide straight streets within a Moroccan context — unique in Morocco; Essaouira was the most important port in Morocco from the 18th to the early 20th century, a cosmopolitan city of Jewish, European, Arab, and Amazigh communities.