I’ve been taking trips around the world again, this time to Morocco, which was a totally new experience for me and my husband. It’s an ideal location to catch some sun and experience a totally different culture with just over a 3 hour flight, depending on where you are in the UK.
We stayed in Marrakech for 7 days in a traditional Riad in the heart of the city which was lovely and run by the most professional and friendly people, it was called Riad Al Badia, which we would highly recommend. The Souks were amazing and not as frightening as I had anticipated and as the temperature was in the 40’s it was good to be under the tented shade. I really felt for the metal workers making beautiful wrought iron artefacts and decorative light fittings using welding torches in searing temperatures. By contrast a visit to Jardin Majorelle, the garden developed by the fashion icon Yves St Laurent, was a refreshingly wonderful space and a ‘must see’ especially if you are interested in Cacti and similar excotic plants. The Berber museum set within the garden is well worth a visit as it contains some beautiful traditional objects and Berber ceremonial jewellery.
Of course we had to visit places which had timber doors (see photos) and Morocco offers these in abundance, especially in the old religious buildings of Marrakech. Traditional doors here display the importance of entrances and also define the areas within a building’s interiors, I suppose due to the Islamic tradition requiring the separation of men and women. It was great to see the humble timber door raised to the decorative heights we at Doorsan believe they should be. We saw beautiful carved doors in the Bahia Palace along with the very grand carved and coloured ceilings. The Medersa Ben Youssef was a school and now another interesting building open to the public.
After 7 hectic days in Marrakech we travelled approx 25 miles South East to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains where we stayed in a beautiful small hotel, classed as a Chambre D'hote with a Spa. Again, as in the Riad, the owners and staff at Kasbah Agounsane were excellent. The hotel was contemporary chic with many traditional objects. The panelled doors in the rooms were painted black making a stunning contrast to the polished concrete walls. The main front door (see photo) was based on a traditional timber door, reinforced with studs and similar in style to the heavy duty cottage doors found in some traditional properties in the UK.
