31 Best Riad – The Best Riad-Marrakech Travel Guide to Riads, Guest Houses, Hotels and Tours in Morocco.

31 Best Riad

Here is a look at why this blog was nominated for the 2011 Bombies.

31 Best Riad Marrakesh features a wide variety of Guest Houses and information to travel in Morocco. Since December 2006, 31 Best has empowered travelers to get detailed information about where to stay in Marrakesh & Fez, Essaouira and Ouarzazate. 31 Best‘s original emphasis and it’s current strength is showcasing a variety of Riad’s – traditional residences for Morocco’s old-elite or renovated houses inside Marrakech Medina, Essaouira, Fez and Ouarzazate.

To nominate a blog for the Best of Morocco Blogs, just make sure it fits the criteria at this post and then let us know about it!

Air Arabia offers a no frills flight from Casablanca to Istanbul for just about 750 dirham each way! If you’re a Moroccan national, you don’t even need to have a visa, they stamp you on arrival. Those from the UK, US, Australia, and other countries will need to get a visa upon arrival which ends up costing about $20 U.S.

Once you arrive in Istanbul, you can visit famous sites such as the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya in Sultanahmet and enjoy yourself in a culture that is different from Morocco’s but still familiar enough to make it a great travel destination for both first time travelers and old salts alike.

Our recommendation is to book a room at the Hotel Ayasofya. The owner Gaye Reeves has Moroccan family in Fez and comes to Morocco several times each year to visit. It’s a great place and is close enough to all of the major attractions that you can walk with ease.

So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a post Ramadan treat and visit Istanbul for a weekend or longer! The price is right and the timing is perfect!

For airline tickets go to AirArabia.com
To book a room go to http://ayasofyahotel.com/

Morocco Blogs is proud to be working in concert with Rough Guides to bring you the best Moroccan travel and tourist advice available anywhere. Look forward to more great Morocco travel information in the future from Rough Guides and Morocco Blogs!

Morocco: things not to miss in Marrakesh

For Westerners, Morocco’s perceived foreignness gives it an immediate and enduring
fascination – even though it’s just an hour’s ride on the ferry from Spain. And visiting Marrakesh, or Morocco City as early travellers called it, is a good way of getting a taste of the country. This pleasure city, a marketplace where the southern tribesmen and Berber villagers bring in their goods, spend their money and find entertainment, is packed with things to do. So we’re taking the hassle out of trip planning and bringing you the places not to miss in Marrakesh – taken from The Rough Guide to Morocco and The Rough Guide Marrakesh.

The Majorelle Garden

The Majorelle Garden, or Jardin Bou Saf, is a meticulously planned twelve-acre botanical
garden, created in the 1920s and 1930s by French painter Jacques Majorelle, and now
owned by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. The feeling of tranquillity in the garden is
enhanced by verdant groves of bamboo, dwarf palm and agave, the cactus garden and
the various lily-covered pools. Don’t miss the pavilion – Majorelle’s former studio is now a
museum of Islamic arts exhibiting Saint Laurent’s fine personal collection of North African
carpets, pottery, furniture and doors.

The Koutoubia Mosque

The symbol of Marrakesh, the Koutoubia’s twelfth-century minaret is a dramatic
landmark in the otherwise architecturally sparse Djemaa el Fna square. At nearly seventy
metres high, the minaret is visible for miles on a clear morning and is the oldest and most
complete of the three great Almohad towers. Work on the minaret probably began shortly
after the Almohad conquest of the city, around 1150 – you’ll see in it many of the features
that were to become widespread in Moroccan architecture.

The Bahia

By far the most ambitious and costly of the mansions north of the Mellah was the Bahia
Palace, originally built in 1866–7 for Si Moussa, a former slave who had risen to become
grand vizier. Visitors enter the palace from the west, through an arcaded courtyard which
leads to a small riad (enclosed garden), part of Bou Ahmed’s extension. The riad is decorated
with beautiful carved stucco and cedarwood, with salons leading off it on three sides. The
eastern salon leads through to the council room and then through a vestibule – where it’s
worth pausing to look up at the lovely painted ceiling – to the great courtyard of Si Moussa’s
original palace.

The Djemaa el Fna

There’s nowhere in Morocco like the Djemaa el Fna – no place that so effortlessly
involves you and keeps you coming back for more. You’ll be fascinated by the remedies
of the herb doctors, with their bizarre concoctions spread out before them. Or for a more
traditional entertainment there are performers, too – the square’s acrobats have for years
supplied the European circuses, though they are perhaps never as spectacular as here,
thrust forward into multiple somersaults and contortions in the late afternoon heat.

2) Stroll through Chefchauen. The funky town of Chefchauen is painted blue because it has always been a refuge for those who move to the beat of a different drum. In this case Jewish refugees from Europe. It’s like being in a different world.

3) Ait Benhaddhu in the Draa Valley is a desert fortress that will make you think of Hollywood films, mainly because it has been in so many of them and yet this set is the real thing. There’s a reason Hollywood loves it so much.

4) Eat couscous with a Moroccan family. Sure, you can get couscous in a restaurant but it’s not until you are sitting around the table on a Friday watching the old folks make couscous balls that the experience truly has any meaning.

5) Get lost in the Fes Medina. Sure, everyone does it, but that doesn’t change the fact that almost getting run over by a donkey in a three foot wide stone alleyway that was built in 700 AD is an experience you’ll never forget.

6) Listen to the Call to Prayer at Sunset from a mountaintop looking over a fair sized city. One call to prayer is magical, but when you hear fifty all coming at slightly different times, it is otherworldly.

7) Wander around Tangier and imagine what it was like when the likes of William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and others were drugged out of their minds there back in the days when the ‘interzone’ drew desperados, drug addicts, homosexuals, and pedophiles.

8) Haggle good naturedly. Too many visitors don’t get the point that haggling can be fun. Pick a price you will be happy with and then see if you can get it for less. If you can’t, just don’t go over your target price. One thing is certain, keep smiling and never let them see you sweat.

9) Sit on the street somewhere eating chicken and fries and watch the locals wander past. We know, you would rather have a tajine and pay 100 dirhams for it, but give it a try. A chicken meal with fries and a drink can usually be had for between 15 and 40 dirhams and you will get to see what real life is like in Morocco. Plus, the roast chicken is almost always better than street tajines.

10) Have dessert for breakfast. This one is especially aimed at North Americans. Did you know that it’s fairly normal to have a piece of cake for breakfast? Step into a Moroccan boulangerie and order yourself a big piece of chocolate cake and an avocado milkshake for breakfast. While the average American might be surprised at using avocados in a milkshake, the average Moroccan would be just as surprised to see avocado in a sandwich with cheese…we’re not saying who is the odder of the two.

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Of course, not all of them had wonderful things to say….

Dear Visitor,

I’m very happy you are going to visit Fez. As you know, it is the oldest city in Morocco and one of the fourth biggest cities here. It’s a wonderful place and you have to visit the old Medina. It’s an interesting sight to see.

Take pictures of this exciting place and the nice people who live here. Of course, you should visit the many great Moroccan restaurants if you want to try great Moroccan food like bastila, couscous, tajine, rfissa, and harira. They are very delicious.

You don’t need to bring a lot of cash with you because everything is cheap here. There isn’t enough public transportation in Fes so you are probably going to walk a lot. You might also want to bring a gun or a knife because there are really a lot of thieves.

When you finish your visit to Fez, I hope you will tell me how you found it. Then, maybe I can come visit you in your country or city. Have a nice trip.

Mehdi
15 years old

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Of course, not all of them had wonderful things to say….

Dear Visitor,

I don’t recommend you visit my city of Fes, Morocco. As you know it doesn’t have many view points and the night life is sooooo boring. However, if you want to come, you shouldn’t miss a tour in the old Medina and tasting some local Moroccan dishes.

One nice thing about Fes is that it has a very nice countryside around it. It’s located right in the middle of the Morocco and it is beautiful.

Mourad
Age 19

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

So, you’re going to travel to Fes! Don’t foret to bring your camera so you can take lots of pictures because there are museums and other places you won’t want to miss.

You’d better make a hotel reservation before you travel because sometimes the hotels are too crowded with tourists to find a room.

You won’t have to buy a map. We have lots of news shops here and they have maps for you. Also, don’t pack warm clothes because this month it will be warm. Don’t forget your passport, visa, money, and credit card.

I’m sure you will enjoy Fes a lot.

Yasmine
14 years old

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I’m excited that you will visit my city. It is the fourth largest city in Morocco, but in my opinion it is the nicest.

In Fez, you must have a camera. I think it may be the law for tourists because there are so many beautiful places to visit. You’ll want to take your memories home with you.

When you visit the old medina, you will discover historic monuments and also don’t forget that Fez is surrounded by some simple and beautiful towns. You shouldn’t miss the countryside sight-seeing. You will enjoy it.

The weather in Fez can vary, you will come in summer so you have to know that it’s too hot, but you shouldn’t worry about it because there are many swimming pools and the neighboring cities are less hot.

I suggest you come in Spring since it’s better then than in the other seasons. I promise you that you will never regret visiting Fes.

Zineb
24 years old

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I want to tell you about the amazing sight-seeing in my city of Fez. As you know, Fez is a wonderful city so I’m sure you will bring your camera.

You won’t regret it. Also, don’t forget to bring good shoes for walking since you will probably visit the old medina and a lot of museums. In the Medina there is the al-Karaouiyine and of course the famous blue gate Bab Boujloud, Bauananiya.

I think you’d better bring your credit cards for buying the wonderful Moroccan gifts and memories. the Moroccan foods such as Chhiwat, Couscous, Tajine, and our most famous, pastilla.

I advise you to bring your swimsuit for the pools at the hotels, but don’t worry about medicines or a first aid kit since we have a lot of pharmacies. The spacious riads of Fes have big gardens, exciting parks and lots of huge rooms with fantastic architecture.

You will find Fassi people to be very friendly and honest, just please don’t be arrogant with us!

I think this will be the best place you have ever seen. Don’t miss Fez. Believe me, you’re going to enjoy it.

Salma
Age 15

This series will showcase their advice to visitors of their city in Fes, Morocco. All work is published with the permission and consent of the authors.

Dear Visitor,

I’m so glad you’re going to visit Fes. Fes is more than just the Spiritual Capital of Morocco, it is our home! It’s a very beautiful city, perhaps the most beautiful in the world.

Fes is filled with museums such as Moulay Idriss, the Batha Museum, and al-Karaouyine. the most amazing place in Fes is the old medina. Fes has the most famous of Moroccan foods such as our couscous, tajines, and harira. You should try them …

The weather in spring is the most delightful and I recommend (of course) that you should bring your camera. Fes is a very nice city. I love it so much and am so happy you want to visit my hometown! I hope you love it too.

Imane
age 17