Halfway between the Mediterranean and the equator,
Morocco includes among its treasures a huge variety of flora and fauna as evidenced by the wonderful gardens that can be visited in every city and by the delightful interior courtyards that are an ubiquitous feature of the riads, the traditional Moroccan houses.
Besides, venturing through the alleys of a Moroccan
Medina, among the souk shops and market stalls on a hot summer day can prove to be an extenuating experience; the torrid heat that envelops the Moroccan cities during the summer months is in fact able to overshadow all the artistic, cultural and economic fervor that makes these cities unique and the gardens, with their shaded corners, their big palms and the enveloping scents of the aromatic herbs and the lemon trees, are an oasis and the best places to calm, refresh and relax.
Here are a few of our favourites:
MENARA GARDENS
About three kilometers from the
Medina of
Marrakesh, are located the Menara Gardens, a large cultivation of olive trees of various species surrounded by a wall, with a large irrigation tank in the center.
This area was built in the 12th century at the behest of the Almohad, an ancient Berber dynasty that dominated the Maghreb between the 10th and 12th centuries. On the edge of the large basin there is an Arabian-style pavilion, the most recent architectural element, erected in 1870. The entire garden covers an area of about 90 hectares at the foot of the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas. It is also a place frequented by locals looking for some refreshment, so it is not uncommon to see families relaxing by the edge of the tub or in the shade of the trees.
MAJORELLE GARDEN
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| Majorelle Garden |
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The
Majorelle Garden is the most iconic park in
Marrakesh.
Originally created by the French artist
Jacques Majorelle after 40 years of hard work, choosing and planting beautiful species to create an inspiring space for his art, the garden was purchased by
Yves Saint Laurent in the late 1980s.
To date, the park is a real botanical garden in that it houses approximately 300 different plant varieties inside. It is now open to the public and hosts a very interesting
museum on the Berber culture.
The real peculiarity of this place, however, lies in the large liberty style villa located in the center, whose walls, painted in ultramarine blue, are the protagonists of the great play of colors that comes from the contrast with other elements of the garden such as the vases or the fountains of yellow color.
SECRET GARDEN
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| Secret Garden, Marrakesh |
The
Secret Garden, located in the Mouassine district of the Medina of
Marrakesh is a complex of two gardens, several buildings and one of the tallest towers in the Medina but it is also a place that tells a a sad history of oblivion and abandon.
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| Secret Garden, Marrakesh |
Indeed, the main palace was built over 400 years ago, but it was neglected and almost abandoned after various successions and divisions between heirs.But, most recently, the Italian project manager, the English gardener, the architect, site manager, Moroccan craftsmen and workers did an incredible job to restore the place to its former splendor.
The "Exotic Garden" brings together plants from all over the world such as Jaracondas from South America and various plants from Madagascar, while the "Islamic Garden" is a representation of paradise seen as a garden in the Koran. There is fragrant lavender in the middle of a bed of light, windswept herbs bordered with rosemary. Olive and orange trees shade the sofas pleasantly positioned on both sides of fountains as beautiful as they are refreshing.
JNAN SBIL GARDEN
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| Jnan Sbil Garden, Fez |
The Jnan Sbil garden, extending from the outskirts of the Medina to the royal palace in
Fez, is a free, public park placed under the patronage of the king, which guarantees the quality of the maintenance.
Created in the 18th century by Sultan Moulay Abdallah, the garden covers an area estimated at 7.5 hectares. It is the oldest public garden in the city of
Fez and it has become its green lung.
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| Jnan Sbil Garden, Fez |
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| Jnan Sbil Garden, Fez |
It is especially renowned for the variety of its botanical species and its hydraulic infrastructure (mill and water distributor, water jets). Today it has more than 3,000 plant species, some of which are very rare, hundred-year-old trees and ephemeral plants that scent the city of Fez every day.
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| Jnan Sbil Garden, Fez |
The vegetation is lush, the alleys are shaded, there is a small lake and river and an atmosphere of sweetness and peace; it is a lovely place to stroll and to blow the electric dust of the
Medina.
ANDALUSIAN GARDENS
In the heart of
Rabat, the capital of Morocco, this Andalusian-inspired garden was created by Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier at the beginning of the 20th century and conceived as an experimental garden, to recover and protect the plant species typical of Muslim Spain, by the National Institute of Agronomic Research of Morocco.
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| Andalusian Gardens, Rabat |
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Andalusian Gardens, Rabat
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The botanical garden is built on an area of 17 hectares and has been designed to acclimatize plant specimens: in total it houses over 650 species of economic interest for development of agronomy and gardening.
The project included the renovation of an ancient building neo-Moorish pavilion, intended for cultural activities.
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| Andalusian Gardens, Rabat |
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