Live Blogging Marrakesh, Morocco-- Riads... And Miswak Toothpaste

Several people have e-mailed asking me what a riad is. It actually describes the type of building. A riad to my understanding is a building featuring a central open courtyard that includes a garden, usually a water feature, like a fountain or pool, with rooms surrounding it. In Marrakesh the last decade or so has seen a rush to buy up dilapidated old riads, fix them up and use them as either homes or as a kind of bed-and-breakfast. In either case, they're an alternative to hotel living.

We rented a whole home (described here), while our friends, Toon and Mieke from Amsterdam, first rented a room in a large riad (for 22 guests) and have now moved into a smaller, more homey riad in our neighborhood that takes 5 guests.

Another Restaurant We Tried

Terrasse des épices is a chic restaurant in the souk Cherifia (#15), with a cool vibe and decent food, mixed European and Moroccan but without the overdone Moroccan feast aspect. The prices are moderate and the setting-- on the roof-- is very pleasant and relaxed.

To be honest, I'm always drawn back to Al Fassia, clearly the best food and most convivial vibe in the city. We ate there again tonight and it was as delicious as ever. And since they all know us there now, they send over extra goodies. We made another reservation for next week to when our last two friends to arrive, Helen and Michael, will be here.

Tip For The Day

Down the street (Avenue el-Fetouaki) from Toon and Mieke's first riad, Bahia Salam, there's a kind of health food store at #91-- Marrakesh Bio Diététique-- selling a variety on decent products. Now that governments and airlines have decided the key to our safety is to make sure we don't carry enough toothpaste for more than a week, it's important to know where to get the Moroccan equivalent of Tom's of Maine type products. This is the place. I found some great herbal toothpaste, about as good as anything Whole Foods carries and very inexpensive. Actually the toothpaste, Miswak, is made in the United Arab Emirates. I've been liking it so much that I looked it up on wikipedia. It's made from the teeth cleaning twig (miswak) of the Salvadora persica tree, also known as the arak tree or the peelu tree and features in Islamic hygienical jurisprudence.

A 2003 scientific study comparing the use of miswak with ordinary toothbrushes concluded that the results clearly were in favor of the users who had been using the miswaak... Studies indicate that Salvadora persica extract is somewhat comparable to other oral disinfectants and anti-plaque agents like Triclosan and Chlorhexidine Gluconate if used at a very high concentration... In addition to strengthening the gums, preventing tooth decay and eliminating toothaches, the miswak is also said to halt further increase in decay that has already set in. Furthermore, it is said to create a fragrance in the mouth, eliminate bad breath, improve the sense of taste and cause the teeth to glow and shine.

In addition, benefits not related to the teeth and gums include sharpening memory, curing headaches, creating a glow on the face of the one who continually uses it, strengthening the eyesight, assisting in digestion and clearing the voice.

Sybaritic Night Life? Here?

The other day Roland was trolling around his Lonely Planet and mentioned there's a disco in Guerliz (the new town) that's supposed to be the biggest disco in North Africa. And I'm sure that's an attraction for someone... somewhere. I think today's NY Times must have thought so too. They did one of their 36 Hours In Marrakesh features. It barely sounds like the city I've been to a dozen or so times since 1969 or the one I've been living in for the past couple weeks.

In 1939, George Orwell wrote of Westerners flocking to Marrakesh in search of “camels, castles, palm-trees, Foreign Legionnaires, brass trays and bandits.” Ever since, the city has been ravishing visitors with its teeming souks, ornate palaces and sybaritic night life. In recent years, a succession of high-end openings and restorations-- most notably, the lavish reopening of the hotel La Mamounia-- has transformed the city into an obligatory stop for jet-setters. Yet despite Marrakesh’s new cachet, the true treasures of the enigmatic city still hide down dusty side streets and behind sagging storefronts.

The Jemaa scene usually starts packing up by 10 or 11pm and, unless I'm blogging, I'm in bed by midnight. So maybe I'm just sleeping through the sybaritic nightlife and really missing out on what draws at certain set of people to Marrakesh.

Another Side Of Riad Livin' In Marrakesh

Adrienne's riad

I'm a big proponent of breaking free from hotel travel and, where possible, renting a villa or an apartment when visiting foreign destinations. It worked out mostly well in Buenos Aires, fabulously well in Phuket, Bali, Rome, San Miguel de Allende...

There are several reasons I prefer to rent my own place rather than stay in a hotel. Three years ago I wrote about it (in the first link on this post).

Aside from getting a sense of belonging to a culture that most hotel guests can never experience, there are some tangible reasons I like to get my own place. I don't eat junk food and I take breakfast seriously. Even in NYC, where I do stay in a hotel, I always get one with a kitchenette. That way I can stock up on healthy goodies (fruits, nuts, etc) and on breakfast goods (blueberries, melons, papayas, lemons...) and have a place to store them and prepare them conveniently. It is virtually always much less expensive to rent your own place than to stay in a hotel. And it's far more personal.

Marrakesh is a perfect place for renting a house-- a riad-- and they have a whole tourism sector around the idea. Scores of beautiful old town houses have been renovated and updated either as beds-and-breakfasts or as houses rentable by a single party. I'm writing today, in fact, from the sitting room of the 4 bedroom riad I rented for most of December here in Marrakesh. I wrote a bit about the specific details of this place last week when I first got here.

But there's another side of the coin as well, which makes this style of travel not appropriate for everyone. I certainly love the feeling on being integrated, even if just a little, into the rhythm of life in a small neighborhood. After a week, everyone I pass in the alleyways says hello to me and I'm already friends with all the small children. That's the good part. But my Arabic is not great and my French isn't that much better so it isn't easy to communicate beyond the basics. And in an old place like this... well, things can go wrong.

Las night the electricity went down. It was an all night drama and it didn't get fixed 'til late this morning. If something like that happened in a hotel, the hotel management would take care of it. The housekeeper and her son were very helpful in this case, but I had to oversee the whole thing myself.

As I mentioned when I was in a villa on Bali, a friend felt our luxurious place was like "camping out" and she checked into a 5-star hotel after a few days. She almost came along on this trip. I think she'd be around the corner at the Mamounia by now-- even if it does cost around $700/day for the most modest accommodation they have. There's nothing of the real world they have to worry about in a place like that; everything gets taken care of and you're just there to have a vacation. I like to travel to live my life in different environments. It's somewhat different from a vacation. But not for everybody.

Today's Tip:

The best place I've found to change cash is the money-changer booth at the front of the Hotel Ali. It's right off the Jemaa el Fna. He consistently has a slightly better rate than anyone else in town and charges no commission. It's a much better deal than you'll get at any banks, although perhaps an ATM is better yet. (I don't know.) My friend Melody arrived with travelers checks and the rate for them isn't great and most places don't want them. Hotel Ali will take 'em but only if you have a receipt. The bank next door wouldn't take them at all but they recommended another hotel money changer- Taza-- and they gave her a so-so rate and charged a 15 dirham commission per check. Better to bring cash.It wasn't a great difference. $500 in cash dollars at the Hotel Ali brought just over 4,150 dirhams. The same amount in 5 travelers checks at Taza brought 4,025 dirhams-- a difference of 125 dirhams ($15.60).

Marrakesh, Day 6

Where does the time go? Sorry about the inattentiveness. Let me see if I can catchup a little. First off, for everyone who has been e-mailing about how to rent the riad we're staying in, I met an Englishwoman online, Adrienne, who lives here in Marrakesh and rents out riads, her own (one of which is pictured above) and riads owned by other Europeans who just use them from time to time for vacations. Adrienne's website is www.le-riad-a-marrakech.com/ and you can contact her through that. I started talking about this place with her last May and she was very attentive all the way through. In fact, she was just up here-- she lives up the road across from the riad owned by Bernard-Henri Lévy and just beyond that of IMF head (and perhaps the next President of France), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, another Obama-like Conservative Consensus candidate posing as a champion of ordinary families. She gave us some great tips on some specialized souks outside of the grand souk area where we might be able to get better buys on some stuff. Anyway... she'll take good care of you.

It's funny being here in Marrakesh with a woman, Lisa, instead of just me and Roland (who arrives next week). The first time I came to Morocco was with my girlfriend and it was a very different Morocco in terms of women-- very backward in attitude and not really a pleasant or even safe place for women. Forty years ago Moroccan men were still not entirely used to seeing uncovered women wandering around and awkward situations were very common. That's pretty much over, especially in cosmopolitan Marrakesh, where government policies to drag the traditional culture into the modern worked-- on top of the overflow of tourism and globalization-- and have helped cause a noticeable change in attitude among Moroccans towards women-- their own and those from overseas. It's way more comfortable being a woman in Morocco that it used to be-- and more comfortable and relaxed traveling with a woman.

But what I was getting at was something else entirely. I find myself doing different things with Lisa than I would be normally doing, especially with Roland, Example: two days ago we spent the afternoon at the beautiful urban park Yves Saint Laurent found and revamped, Jardin Majorelle. It was very peaceful, very tranquil... but not something guys usually do unless a woman drags them in that direction. Eveyone there was a woman or men with women. I didn't go quite as far as accompanying her inside the museum dedicated to Yves Saint Laurent's designs, but just sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air and the beautiful juxtaposition of bamboo and cactus gardens.


And yesterday we did something even more markedly "feminine," a morning at the baths. Actually, Roland and I once went to the hammam at the then fabulous, now... well, now it's a dreadful, pretentious and impersonal Sofitel... Palais Jamaï. We went for the hammam experience of being rubbed all over with a brillo-like glove, a very manly thing.

A person taking a Turkish bath first relaxes in a room (known as the warm room) that is heated by a continuous flow of hot, dry air allowing the bather to perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an even hotter room (known as the hot room) before splashing themselves with cold water. After performing a full body wash and receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the cooling-room for a period of relaxation.

I just found an English website that proposes readers create the Moroccan hamman experience in their homes:

• Moroccan black soap-- this soap is made from the kernel of the olive nut and has wonderful exfoliating properties.

• A Moroccan scrubbing mitt called a gome-- this course mitt will effectively remove all your dead skin cells, and increase the circulation in your arms and legs, helping to reduce cellulite.  A very handy glove!

• A Moroccan foot scrub (optional)-- this little terracotta foot scrub will remove hard skin from your heels faster than anything I know.

• Rhassoul-- this wonder clay, mined from deep within the Atlas Mountains, has a list of benefits as long as your arm.  See our article on rhassoul.

• Rose water (optional)-- will make you feel like a Moroccan princess.

• Mint tea

I skipped the princess part but we did while away the hours yesterday at what is reputed to be the most luxurious and pamper-oriented hammam in town, the one at La Sultana, a small gem-like hotel right near the Saadien tombs, which we were planning on visiting anyway. The hamman/spa at La Sultana was really amazing, not inexpensive, but amazing. The bath itself is just shockingly beautiful: a large jacuzzi under 3 vaulted ceilings supported by 8 marble columns with 13 traditional chandeliers. Off that main room are the actual hamman, massage rooms, a sauna, showers, and relaxing rooms. And I was surprised that the masseuse was very competent, well-trained and effective.

No really amazing restaurants to report on other than the wonderful one we had at Al Fassia in Gueliz (the new town), which is as good, if not better, than it was in 2006. Again, let me remind you that if you plan to go, it's essential to make reservations in advance. It's got the best food in town and it's always booked up. We're going back in a few days.

Other than that we ate at some mundane Moroccan restaurants, Le Tanjia for lunch yesterday and Le Marrakchi for dinner. These photos of Le Tanjia say a lot more about the skill of the p.r. firm than about the reality of the restaurant. Le Marrakchi has a great view of the Jemaa el Fna but that's the highlight. Again, nothing wrong with the place but... nothing really to recommend it either-- unless you crave lots of noisy, smoking European tourists squished up against you.

A couple days ago we visited a place I've passed by a dozen times but never went into (I'll blame Roland), the Ben Youssuf Merdera (Madrassa), a 14th century college that really is quite spectacular, one of the best sites in town. It's clustered with the Museum of Marrakech (very nice architecture housed in Dar Menebhi Palace, and less interesting displays, with the exception of two small paintings by Hassan Alaoui; another painting of his, similar in feel, is above, left) and the Almoravid Koubba (some not terribly impressive ruins, although they probably are to archeologists). Ben Youssuf's the play. "It is the largest Medrasa in all of Morocco... Its 130 student dormitory cells cluster around a courtyard richly carved in cedar, marble and stucco. The carvings contain no representation of humans or animals as required by Islam, and consist entirely of inscriptions and geometric patterns. This madrasa was one of the largest theological colleges in North Africa and may have housed as many as 900 students... Closed down in 1960, the building was refurbished and reopened to the public as an historical site in 1982."

A couple blocks away is a highly touted restaurant, Le Foundouk which was better than either Le Tanjia or Le Marrakechi-- and more expensive-- but far from the level of Al Fassia.



UPDATE: Are You Coming To Marrakesh?

Adrienne just told me to offer all AroundTheWorldBlog readers a 10% discount off her regular riad prices for 2011. The website is above and her phone number is 00 212 (0) 71 23 46 28. Just mention you heard about her riad from "Howie's blog."

Marrakesh, Day 2

It's nearly 11 AM now, the middle of our second day in Marrakech. Fatima came at 9 and made breakfast and we're just relaxing before going out for another arduous day of exploring the souks and hidden gardens of Marrakesh.

The riad is superb. Officially there are 4 bedrooms but actually there are 4 bedrooms plus 2 childrens' bedrooms. When you enter, you come to a central courtyard, which is covered by a retractable roof three stories up. The kitchen is there and it's kind of a sitting room/dinner room. Off that is Lisa's suite, the only bedroom on the first floor. The riad has been lovingly restored to a really incredible degree combining modern expectations with traditional North African fantasies. Beautiful tile work, beautiful iron work, incredible fixtures, doorways to die for... Every detail is just wonderful. The neighborhood, Sidi Mimoun, is pretty cool too. Our next door neighbor is Mohammed VI (the king). We were warned by the property manager to refrain from pointing cameras at the palace from our rooftop terrace. On the other side of our riad is Yves St Laurent's riad. To get to our riad off the main street of the neighborhood, you have to go down a couple of alleys where there are no cars. So it's pretty quiet here, other than when the neighborhood children get going with a drum circle.

Anyway, upstairs are the rest of the bedrooms plus a large living room, which I'm using as an office as well. It has a beautiful Moroccan style tiled and brick fireplace-- as well as a more traditional-- actual modern-- heater. It gets up into the 80s in the daytime but down to around 5o at night. The third flight up is the rooftop terrace, although halfway to the top is one of the childrens' bedrooms, the same as any of the other bedrooms except without an en suite bathroom.

Yesterday I took Lisa around to get a feel for the Medina. She loved it and basked in the foreignness and exotic feel. I told her Fes is 10 times more foreign and exotic but she probably thinks I'm exaggerating. I'm not. Marrakech may seem otherworldly but it's very cosmopolitan, with thousands of Europeans living here... and tourists everywhere, and very much being catered to in terms of restaurants and shops. There's even a vegetarian restaurant, Earth Cafe just off the Jemaa el Fna on Riad Zitoun el Kedim. We had a yummy-- albeit salty-- lunch there.

One thing we saw last night that really knocked me for a loop was a first. Morocco was formerly overrun with aggressive touts-- not just persistent pests insisting on being your guide; they still have some of that-- but threatening unemployed young men who made it more than unpleasant for tourists. Eventually-- by the 80s-- the bazaaris, who really run this country "got rid" of them. The very aggressive ones ceased to exist in city after city. It's even safe to walk around Fes now. Roland says it reminds him of Disneyland. Now that's an exaggeration. But last night in the Jemaa el Fna, the main square, we weren't just accosted by the regular assortment of young male touts but, for the first time (for me), two separate female touts! They weren't shy and it just isn't something you would ever expect to see in a Muslim country. You've come a long way, baby! A shopkeeper we met told us the government is even discouraging polygamy, probably more than the Morman cults do.

UPDATE: And Speaking Of The Changing Role Of Women In Moroccan Society

Al Fassia is one of Marrakesh's best restaurants and it's run as a woman's cooperative. We're going to have dinner there tonight. Last time I was in Marrakesh, almost 5 years ago this is what I had to say about it:

The only restaurant in Guéliz (the new city) we went to is the justifiably famous Al Fassia. The 2 unique things about it is that it is entirely run by women and that they revel in the concept of a la carte, never an easy thing for foreigners to find. The food was superb and expensive but not over the moon. And, like many Moroccan eateries, if you give them enough notice, they'll prepare things for you by order. The menu has all the best Moroccan standards and you can pick the ones you want and not have to bother with the ones you don't. It was sold out when we went and they said we'd have to come another time but begging and pleading helped and we were seated in an hour.

Tonight we have a reservation.