Booking fee
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* This tour requires at least one of the following per booking: Adult, Senior
Get a feel of Marrakech and enjoy this personalized door to door Marrakech city tour. Explore the ancient city walls, the splendid palaces with their Moorish iconic architecture!
You will have an expert guide will be at your entire service to assist you and to ensure you discover the best of Marrakech.
you will explore
1 bahia palace
2 Saadin Tombs
3 koutoubia mosque
4 the big square jemaa el-fna
5 The Souk OF Marrekech
6 Other Surprise Waiting For You
Professional guide
Ticket for entry to bahia palace
Saadian Tombs
Departure Point
Traveler pickup is offered
We Pick-up all our guest from the hotel or Riad
Palacio da Bahia, Marrakech, Morocco The Bahia Palace was built in the last years of the 19th century, the palace is a maze of patios planted with fruit trees, passageways and empty chambers with painted ceilings, the sunlights shines through wrought-iron bars creating beautiful patterns on the zellige tiles. 45 minutes
Saadian Tombs, Marrakech, Morocco the Saadian Tombs: a series of chambers around a small garden, decorated with carved and plaster, is the final, and ultimately rathe moving, resting place of the Saadian family. 45 minutes
Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech, Morocco The mosque was founded in 1147 by the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min right after he conquered Marrakesh from the Almoravids. A second version of the mosque was entirely rebuilt by Abd al-Mu'min around 1158, with Ya'qub al-Mansur possibly finalizing construction of the minaret around 1195.[4] This second mosque is the structure that stands today. It is considered a classic and important example of Almohad architecture and of Moroccan mosque architecture generally.[4] The minaret tower, 77 metres (253 ft) in height, is decorated with varying geometric arch motifs and topped by a spire and metal orbs. It likely inspired other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat, which were built shortly after in the same era.[5][6][7][8] The minaret is also considered an important landmark and symbol of Marrakesh. 30 minutes
Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech, Morocco The origin of its name is unclear: jamaa means "congregation" or "mosque" in Arabic, probably referring to a destroyed mosque on the site. Fnaʼ or fanâʼ can mean "death/extinction" or "a courtyard, space in front of a building". "finâʼ in Arabic commonly means "open area"; a straight translation would be "the gathering/congregation area". Other meanings could be "The assembly of death," or "The Mosque at the End of the World".[1] Another explanation is that it refers to a mosque with a distinctive courtyard or square in front of it.[2] A third translation is "assembly of the dead", referring to public executions on the plaza around 1050 CE.[3]
One specific explanation endorsed by some modern historians[4][5] comes from historical reports that the powerful Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (ruled 1578-1603) had embarked on the construction of a monumental Friday mosque in the middle of the square. However, due to a downturn in fortunes (probably outbreaks of the plague) the sultan was forced to abandon the project part-way through and the mosque remained unfinished and fell into ruins. The ruined outline of its walls was apparently still visible in the 19th century and corresponded roughly to the current site of the "Souk Jdid" (the "new souk" just north of the food-stalls).[4] In this way, "jamaa al-fna' " ostensibly refers to the place of the "ruined mosque". The name "Jamaa al-Fna' " appears in historical records for the first time in the 17th-century chronicle of the West African historian Abderrahman as-Sa'idi. As-Sa'idi claimed that the intended name of al-Mansour's unfinished mosque was jamaa al-hna, meaning "Mosque of Tranquility", but that after its abandonment it came to be known, by popular irony, as the "Mosque of ruination/annihilation", or jamaa al-fana'.[4][6] (The word fana' in this case meaning a state of being extinguished or totally ruined, etc.)
History
Marrakesh was founded by the Almoravid Dynasty in 1070 by Abu Bakr ibn Umar and subsequently developed by his successors. Initially, the city's two main monuments and focal points were the fortress known as Ksar el-Hajjar ("fortress of stone") and the city's first Friday mosque (the site of the future Ben Youssef Mosque). The Ksar el-Hajjar was located directly north of today's Koutoubia Mosque. The major souk (market) streets of the city thus developed along the roads linking these two important sites and still correspond to the main axis of souks today.[7] At one end of this axis, next to the Ksar el-Hajjar, a large open space existed for temporary and weekly markets. This space was initially known as Rahbat al-Ksar ("the place of the fortress").[6][8] Other historical records refer to it as as-Saha al-Kubra ("the grand square"), or simply as as-Saha or ar-Rahba.[4]
The Almoravid emir Ali ibn Yusuf (ruled 1106-1143) soon afterwards constructed a palace directly south of and adjacent to the Ksar el-Hajjar, on the actual site of the later Koutoubia Mosque. One part of this palace was a monumental stone gate on its east side which faced towards the Rahbat al-Ksar.[8] The gate likely played a symbolic role: it was the entrance to the palace for those seeking an audience with the sovereign, and it's possible the ruler himself would sit, enthroned, before the gate and publicly dispense justice on a weekly basis (a tradition which existed among other Moroccan and Andalusian ruling dynasties).[8] The importance of the great public square in front of the royal palace thus led it to become the place for public executions, military parades, festivals, and other public events until long afterwards.[9]
After a destructive struggle, Marrakech fell to the Almohads in 1147. Following this, Jamaa el-Fna was renovated along with much of the city. The city walls were also extended by Abu Yacoub Yusuf and particularly by Yacoub el Mansour from 1147–1158. The mosques, palace, hospital, parade ground and gardens around the edges of the marketplace were also overhauled, and a new royal kasbah (citadel) was erected further south. As the Almohad rulers moved to the new kasbah, the old Almoravid palace and fortress fell out of use and was eventually torn down (in part to make way for the new Koutoubia Mosque). Subsequently, with the fortunes of the city, the Jemaa el-Fna saw periods of decline and also renewal.[10]
Despite the encroachment of new constructions on the edge of the square over time, it never disappeared due to its role as an open market area and as the site of public events.[6] One attempt to fill a large part of the square is reported to have been made by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansour who attempted to build a monumental mosque in the square. The mosque would have likely followed the same model as the Bab Doukkala and Mouassine Mosques, being deliberately built in the midst of major traffic routes in the city, and would have been accompanied by a number of attendant civic and religious buildings.[4] The mosque was never finished, however, possibly due to disasters like the plague epidemics during al-Mansour's reign. Construction was abandoned part-way through and what had been built fell into ruin and was taken over by market stalls and other occupants. (It is probably also the site of a modern shop complex, Souk Jdid, just north of the food-stalls today, whose outline has the same compass orientation as the mosques of al-Mansour's time.) This ruined mosque may have given the square its current name, Jemaa el-Fna ("Mosque of Ruins") (see previous section above). 45 minutes
Marrakech Artisan Jewellery, Marrakech, Morocco You can visit the souk and explore our moroccan artisanat (craftsman) 30 minutes
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Public transportation options are available nearby
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Specialized infant seats are available
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
Travelleralex55
12 May 2022
Ayoub is a great guy who really looks out for his guests He changed the trip plan for us based on our interest and wish list! He also knows a lot about the places that we felt really good talking to him I would highly recommend this tour and tour guide as it was very relaxing and had no problems at all throughout the whole tour.
jimmyparker21
05 May 2022
"Ayoub knows everything"", It was a pleasure to walk around and explore the heart of the souks with our young family. ayoub does seem to know everything, and everyone"The personalized walking tour was superb, Ayoub was very professional and punctuation. He's very knowledgeable on the history, culture and architecture of Marrakesh. He was able to understand what type of sites we wanted to see
Melinda_K
15 Mar 2022
The guide did not show up at the appointed time. The hosts at the riad tried calling and I sent several messages with no success. Several hours later the tour company sent a message saying they could not find the location; however, you could easily find it on Google maps (which is how I located it) or they could have reached out to me via message, WhatsApp, or phone but they didn't even try. I understand that things can go wrong, but I don't think there is a good excuse for this treatment.
This tour in
Central Morocco
is organized by
marrakech Tours 2019
We always double-check the availability with our local partners for each booking. Even though this is usually a swift process, it can take up to 24 hours. Once this process is completed you will receive your voucher or ticket by email. If our local partner is not able to confirm your booking we will offer you the best possible alternative. If the new date and/or time doesn’t fit your itinerary, we will reimburse the full amount paid.
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