When you awaken tomorrow, possibly to the call of the muezzin from the beautiful, towering Koutoubia Mosque, with the sun rising in all its splendour over the ancient ramparts against a magnificent backdrop of the towering snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains, you'll know a very different day has begun. Until a few decades ago, Morocco was known as the Kingdom of Marrakech by Arabs, Persians and Europeans. Marrakech, pronounced Marrakch...Marrakouch - the land of the sons of Kouch, black African warriors from Mauritania or, as some would have it, from the Amazigh (Berber)) words mur ‘n akush, which means "Land of God" and known as ‘The Red City’. Prior to the advent of the Almoravid Saharan Sultan Abou Bakr Ibn Umar way back in 1062 when his army of black-skinned warriors from the south set up camp in the heart of the Haouz Plain at Aghmat an important medieval Berber town which today is an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat" some 30 km to the east from which the area was then ruled by Laqūt, leader of the nomadic Aït Maghrawa tribe of Zanata Berbers, one of the first Berber tribes to submit to Islam in the 7th century A.D., who were predominantly allied with the Caliphate of Cordoba, and who were constantly fighting for control of Morocco with the Fatimids, the fourth and final Arab Caliphate who had established Cairo as their capital.
Having defeated Laqūt in 1058, he decided Aghmat was getting too crowded and decided to build a new fortified city in the Haouz Plains near the River Tensift in a neutral territory between two vying tribes (Aït) so better to control the caravan trade north-south of salt, slaves and gold. Laqūt's widow, Zaynab an-Nafzaouiat, married Abou Bakr and placed her considerable wealth at his disposal..The first construction began in 1070, but Abou Bakr was recalled south to put down a rebellion in 1071 there to die in 1087 after a skirmish as result of a poison arrow. The city was completed by his deputy and eventual successor, the seasoned veteran and savvy politician General Yusuf Ibn Tachfin whom Zaynab married after the death of Abou Bakr. The city experienced its greatest period under the leadership of Yacoub el Mansour, the third Almohad sultan. A number of poets and scholars entered the safety of the city during his reign and he began the construction of the Koutoubia Mosque and a new Kasbah.

An important and former Imperial City set near the foothills of the mighty High Atlas Mountains, it was once the capital of an empire stretching from Senegal to Toledo. The very name itself conjures up visions of colourful and aromatic souks bustling with people, of the Djmaâ el Fnaâ Square packed with fortune-tellers, snake charmers, street acrobats, jugglers, colourful guerrab (water sellers), snake charmers, singers and dancers and peddlers to a background of drums and the tingling aromas of a multitude of spices. It is all here, surrounded by ancient reddish-brown ramparts and palm trees with the soaring peaks of the High Atlas Mountains towering through the summer haze. Marrakech is still one of the truly magical, mysterious and exotic places left in the world. The second largest city in Morocco after Casablanca, it comprises both an old fortified city - the Medina and Kasbah - and the adjacent modern part called Gueliz of wide avenue filled with luxury shops and the residential area of 3 star hotels to quiet pleasant mid-range hotels to 5 star modern hotels with wonderful pools and interior design, whereas the Medina has the main concentration of riads. It is served by Menara International Airport and a rail link to Casablanca and the north. With its labyrinth of alleyways in the ancient Medina; secluded palaces, riads, museums, mosques, mosaics and a veritable Ali Baba’s cave of vibrant markets (souqs) offering every possible variation of carpet, traditional and modern jewellery, leather, wrought iron and inlaid wood, all amidst the pungent aromas of spices, herbs and oils. - and those beautiful gardens and nearby championship golf courses.