Back in Marrakech and this time with a local tour guide who showed us the top highlights of historic excellence in craftsmanship! The tombs were so beautiful, mosaics from Fes, stone carvings and cedar wood work – incredible!

Both Palaces we visited had similar exquisitely detailed artwork. Bahia Palace had also an interesting background: Bahia was one of the four wife’s of Si Moussa, the minister of Sultan Mohammed. But she was not only one of them, she was by far the most important one, the one who gave him his first son! Another 20+ concubines also lived at the palace and you start wondering when the minister had time to work?

“Stay healthy, wealthy and wise” is carved in stone (in Arabic of course) 

Did I mention that the minister had a man cave as well? For those times he needed a break from all his wives and mistresses? One room of the man cave was to take naps, another one to sleep. So when exactly did he work?

After the palaces and the pomp we walked to Koutoubia, the highest tower in Marrakech. The mosque is the second approach after the first one turned out to be built not facing exactly east. So it was torn down and rebuilt, this time with a compass involved; It was the year 1147 and it should be the biggest mosques of the western world!

Atlas Film Studios is the largest film studio in the world. Covering more than 322,000 square feet of desert, Atlas Film is located just five miles outside of Ouarzazate on the road to Marrakech and is a popular tourist destination, in part because the grounds are littered with old movie sets that are decaying in the harsh environment.

Ait Ben Haddou (a ksar not a kasbah) has been fortified since the 11th century during the Almoravid period. None of the current buildings are believed to date from before the 17th century, but they were likely built with the same construction methods and designs as had been used for centuries before. The site’s strategic importance was due to its location in the Ounila Valley along one of the main trans-Saharan trade routes. The Tichka pass, which was reached via this route, was one of the few routes across the Atlas Mountains, crossing between Marrakech and the Dra’a Valley on the edge of the Sahara.  Other kasbahs and ksour were located all along this route.

At the top of the hill, overlooking the ksar, are the remains of a large fortified granary… which as soon as Ted saw it …. had to hike up there!!

We had a fabulous dinner and some music entertainment before we fell asleep. It seemed like all the stars were gathering above our campsite – wonderful! I wish we’d had more time to enjoy!