Heart of the Medina

The Koutoubia Minaret is recognizable by its seventy-seven-meter height and the distinctive band of green-glazed tiles circling the top of its sandstone tower. As the tallest structure in the medina, it serves as an urban beacon that is…

Bab Lakssour is a prominent drop-off point and gateway within the medina of Marrakesh, marking the transition from the city’s outer thoroughfares into the dense, winding streets of the Mouassine district. While the massive stone gates of…

The Mouassine Fountain is a wide, rectangular structure spanning over eighteen meters, identifiable by its row of three arched bays sheltered beneath a green-tiled roof and carved cedar wood lintels. Built between fifteen sixty-two and…

Le Jardin Secret is a complex of two courtyard gardens hidden behind high red walls in the Mouassine district of the Marrakech medina. Its most distinct feature is a tall, slender tower that rises above the surrounding rooftops, providing…

Souk Semmarine is the primary shopping artery of the Marrakech medina, identifiable by the overhead wooden slats that create a shifting pattern of sunlight and shadow across its wide, covered path. Running north from the Jemaa el-Fna…

Rahba Kedima, also known as the Old Square, is a triangular open space in the heart of the Marrakesh medina characterized by its dense collection of stalls displaying colorful, high-piled mounds of spices. It has served as a center for…

Jemaa el-Fnaa is a sprawling, triangular public square that anchors the entrance to the old city of Marrakesh. Since the city's founding in the eleventh century, the square has acted as a persistent center of trade and daily life. It is…

The Hôtel Restaurant Café de France is a multi-story building located at the northwestern corner of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square. It is distinguished by its expansive rooftop terraces, which overlook the entirety of the open-air market and…