A peaceful haven in Marrakech

Dar Soukaina is a wonderfully cool and peaceful haven hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the streets of Marrakech. We arrived to a wall of heat and pouring rain. After a scary taxi ride, we were guided down backstreets by a friendly young lad (who became less friendly when he saw the size of his tip!) to a small studded wooden door in the wall. Stepping into this riad (guesthouse) is like entering an oasis of calm; white walls and a beautiful tiled courtyard filled with orange trees, palms with bunches of bananas, piped music and tortoises ambling round a small pool.
We were welcomed with glasses of fresh orange juice and then shown to our room; elegantly minimalistic with white walls, dark wooden shutters, a woven silk bedspread and lamps straight out of the Arabian Nights. We even have a divan window-seat that looks down over the courtyard. The only real noise is from the birds singing in the trees and the muezzin calling to prayer at the local mosque.

We've spent some of the day wandering through the souks (covered markets), avoiding the pleas to just look, which is always an attempt to make you buy something. There must be thousands of small shops and workshops selling Alladin's slippers, shoes, bags, lanterns and lamps, scarfs and bedcovers, herbs and spices, jewellery, pottery and anything else you can think of. There are some beautiful things, and owing to a drop in tourism after the bombings a couple of months ago, they are even more desperate to sell.

We have also been to see the Ben Youssef Medersa, once the largest koranic learning centre in North Africa. Dating from the 14th century, you can see the rooms that housed the students and the beautifully decorated courtyard and rooms where they studied. After stopping off for a look in the museum we refeshed ourselves in the shade with mint tea, before moving on southwards through the souks to the Bahia Palace. It is opulently decorated with intricate tile and stucco-work, cool corridors and courtyards filled with pools, plants and mirrors. Only the harem's quarters and state rooms are open, but who wants to see the kitchens anyway? By then the heat was getting to us, so we took a horse and carriage back to our own little haven to recuperate before hitting Djemma el-Fna, where all the action takes place, this evening.

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