The medina here is no preserved museum it is busy, dirty and noisy and it is here that it’s massive charm can be found. The whole place feels completely alive, especially the main square Djema-El-Fna. This was the highlight of the city for me; it was so busy and on the whole it seemed that the entertainment was directed at the locals and not at the tourists. It was fascinating to see this happen, and at night (picture) it turns into a huge open air restaurant, unfortunately a bout of travellers stomach, picked up elsewhere, stopped us on our last night from giving the food a try but our travelling companions ate their and really enjoyed it. The square is not much to look at, however it is really a great place to experience, and you will be hard pressed to find a better bargain than the freshly squeezed juice for 3dh (€0.30) at many of the stalls.

The alleys leading north from Djema-El-Fna are the souqs and are really the central aspect of the city. Marakesh is a real trading city as a destination of the caravans arriving from the Sahara; this is shown by many of the wares on sale from Berber, Toureg and even Dogon communities. The things that are not brought in from the dessert are made with-in the city; it is great to see production happening on such a human scale. You can see the things for sale being handcrafted in stalls and courtyards all through the souqs, it is great to know that they are not just cheap imitations imported from the far east. (A quick note in reply to Paul Tanner’s review of Fez, you may be happy to know that the art of turning old car tyre’s into slippers and decorations is still alive and well here). I think the souqs were where I had the most fun, I really quite enjoy bartering and I did plenty of that here.

Although the highlights of Marrakesh are the human activities, it also possess’ some great sights as well, the minaret of the Katoubia Mosque is a real symbol of the city. The Ben Youssef Medersa is one of the few religious buildings open to non-Muslims and is well worth a visit, the decoration with Quranic script is brilliant. The Saadian Tombs and remains of Palace El Badi are also worthy excursions into the Kasbah.

Marrakesh is a fantastic city that buzzes with life, and unlike many other destinations it is not solely for the entertainment of tourists, it is the way that the people of the city live and have lived since its founding. A real gem and worth a weekend of any ones time.