a city that pulls you in every direction all at once.
People, motorcycles, bicycles and cars simultaneously seek passage through narrow market streets; it’s organized chaos, electric and all-enveloping.
Walk through the 950-year-old Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and take in the hypnotic beating of drums coming from the Jemaa El-Fnaa square at sunset, the aroma of spiced, grilled meats and the geometric designs of hand-woven tapestries all vying for your attention.
By Mary Luz Mejia
Soothe the Senses at the Bar à Parfum
Just when you think its frenetic energy might swallow you whole, Marrakech reveals a calmer side. In a quiet, 19th-century riad, you’ll find Benchaâbane Parfumeur. Founded by Abderrazzak Benchaâbane, an ethnobotanist-turned-perfumier who created the “Jardin Majorelle” perfume in 2001 for Yves Saint Laurent, guests can explore the fragrance museum and create their signature scent at the bar à parfum.
Benchaâbane Parfumeur, where artistry infuses every fragrance.
Amina, our perfume facilitator, gathers us around a table surrounded by glass bottles, beakers and straws. For fragrance lovers, this is a Willy Wonka-esque experience for the senses. Amina asks us to choose five to six scents that appeal from over 50 pure distillations. On offer: everything from amber, tonka bean and oud to red forest berries.
Amina takes notes among rows of fragrance bottles at the Musée du Parfum in Marrakech.
I narrow down eight picks to five, which include green tea, fig and orange blossom. Next, we determine the top, heart and base notes. The top note is what you smell first and dissipates fastest, giving way to the heart (the next layer of scent) and ending with the longer-lasting base notes. I enlist Amina’s help in selecting which scents to place where, as this will determine the final formulation for my fragrance.
Selecting five to six favorites from over 50 pure distillations.
The final product is elegant and fresh, with some staying power that’s not heavy or sweet, yet has enough mystery to be alluring. I call it, “L’Air du Majorelle,” after our visit to the fabled gardens created by painter Jacques Majorelle and later revived by YSL himself. Amina notes our fragrance formula in a book kept at the perfumery should you ever want a refill later.
Crossing the Sahara
A visit to Morocco would be incomplete without experiencing the Sahara. We drive the many hours to get there, stopping to buy Majorelle blue scarves or “chèches” to wear as the Tuareg people do. Once in the desert, we meet Mohammed, who guides our dromedaries to our campsite. You don’t realize how tall these creatures are until you get on one. Once they stand with you sitting on them, you’re offered a bird’s eye view of the golden horizon. The dunes, with the setting sun casting shadows against almost ochre talcum-like sand, are spectacular.
Camel trekking across the sweeping dunes of the Sahara Desert.
Just before sunset, we stop to take in the quiet beauty of this sun-soaked place. Miles of deep blue sky above us and miles of gently undulating rippled dunes with perfect ridges lie before us. It’s 360 degrees of breathtaking views as we watch the rose-gold sun dip behind the dunes.
We arrive at our glamping campsite, Erg Chebbi, for the night: a welcoming and illuminated oasis. Our rooms are luxe, with an ensuite bathroom, shower and comfy beds. Moroccan rugs, blankets and hammered tin lights that bathe the room in a golden glow, complete the look. After a quick change, we walk to the dining tent. Our table is laden with veg-based hot and cold ‘salads,’ followed by a variety of tagines served family-style on harvest tables.
Lantern-lit pathways create a warm glow at a desert campsite after dark.
Later that night, the campsite staff drum around a bonfire. They play and sing as we dance under a starlit night, partially obscured by clouds that look like puffs of cotton candy.
The Flavour of Morocco
Each workbench at the city’s beautiful Musee de L’Art Culinaire Marocain is set with mini tagines heaped with spices and a larger clay tagine we’ll soon be filling. Bringing home a taste of this trip is on the menu with a preserved lemon chicken tagine, two sides and dessert. We chop, dice and sauté our way through the dishes, instructions translated by a staff interpreter from Arabic to English.
Table set in a café, ready for a feast of flavours.
We watch the head chef turn a humble garden tomato into a decorative rosette with ease. We try our luck with varying results. As our tajine bubbles away, we’re rewarded by the chef coming around, lifting the lids and declaring, “This smells like Morocco!”
Layers of crisp warka pastry, cream, and almonds create a classic Moroccan dessert.
We finish by using paper-thin warka pastry leaves (made by dabbing a ball of dough onto a hot, convex pan in thin layers until a crisp layer forms) as part of our dessert. An orange blossom, water-infused custard gets spooned between each warka leaf along with toasted almond slivers for a delicious end to our meal.
We sit at the café downstairs, where passersby can enjoy tea and Moroccan pastries (the Gazelle Horns—almond-filled, shatteringly crisp cookies—are must-tries) and enjoy our lunch.
The Medina outside is abuzz with activity, but here, in the geometric-tiled dining room of the school, we breathe in the spices of our meal and enjoy the flavours of this generous, enigmatic place.
Your jet is ready when you are.
Photos courtesy of Mary Luz Mejia