Details

Today was lovely. We wandered about by ourselves, exploring on foot, getting lost in the souks and alleyways.

The very beautiful Secret Garden was our first real stop. It’s a pretty garden in what was once a princely Riad, but the jewel is the views from the tower – the second highest spot in the Medina, after the tower of the mosque – over the rooftops to the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. A fresh juice in the Sun on the terrace was a bonus.

More twisting souks followed as we made our way to the Madrassa Ben Yousef. The souks are just bursting with colour and noise, even now in the off-season. It’s really a joy just wandering about soaking it all in.

The madrassa is an ancient, in effect university, and is an absolutely stunning building. Both in detail and more broadly it is easily the most beautiful we have seen in Marrakech.

We had lunch at the Cafe des Epices watching the bustling activity in the market at its doorstep. Blur your eyes and you’re in the Middle Ages.

After lunch we walked out to the old Medina walls. The walls were never defensive they were there simply to channel people through gates where they would have to pay taxes.

Our final stop for the day was the ruined El Badi Palace. There’s not a lot left inside the towering walls, but the pools and orange groves are very calming after the bustle of the Medina. Today has been a reminder of how much better everything seems when you’re not shivering with cold. A sunny mid-teens has been lovely.

In the late afternoon Jennifer went to the hammam (Moroccan Bath) while I had a beer in the courtyard – each to their own.

Jennifer: The hammam was a complete scrub and wash in a lovely little atmospheric room with its own star studded dome ceiling. Luckily I had enough French to understand the simple instructions. After a couple of weeks of winter the almost too hot water was lovely and I feel very fresh and clean.