6th of May 2025 – Bahia Palace and Jardin Majorelle

Surrounding the city are impressive ramparts stretching 19 miles long, still largely intact with imposing forts at various intervals.  I have not had the chance to take a photo of these ramparts.

We walked past a trading area on our way to visit the Bahia Palace.

 

The Bahia Palace is a mid to late 19th-century palace, once acclaimed as the world’s most beautiful palace.  The main palace complex today covers almost five acres and comprises a number of inner courtyards and riad gardens (interior gardens with a symmetrical four-part division).  Various rooms and chambers are arranged around these riad gardens.

There is much restoration work being done to the Bahia Palace after recent earthquakes.  The plants in the riad gardens are covered by netting to protect them from the resulting dust.

Our next stop was the beautiful Jardin Majorelle founded by the French painter Jacques Majorelle including the Islamic garden and the Spanish-Hispano-Moorish garden.  Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé discovered the beautiful Jardin Majorelle in 1966 during their first stay in Marrakech and bought it in 1980.

There is a memorial to Yves Saint Laurent in the Jardin Majorelle.

The Palmeraie is a palm oasis of several hundred thousand trees outside of Marrakesh, Morocco.  Some of the trees are leafless due to disease.  Five of our number experienced a brief camel ride.

Traffic in Marrakech is something to behold with motorbikes whizzing around the other vehicles or even driving on the pavements.  One of the motorbikes scratched our coach.  Gridlock takes on a new meaning in rush hour Marrakech.