Unlocking Gateway to Sahara

Just as the walls of this ancient city change color from ocher to shrimp to a soft mauve as the sun moves across the sky, life within the ramparts pulses with a varying tempo as the hours roll by.

Morning springs alive from the minaret of a mosque as a muezzin calls the faithful to the first of five daily prayers shortly before dawn, adding “prayer is better than sleep” to the simple litany that praises Allah and Muhammad throughout the day. The early hours also bring a mixed and heady, almost overpowering, bouquet of the roses and jasmine that blanket the town.

Mid-afternoon sees the labyrinthine alleyways and colorful souks of the old medina erupt with merchants, artisans, farmers and tradesmen, all hawking their wares with fierce determination and good humor.

Still later in the day, hordes converge on Djemaa el Fna, a gigantic square where jugglers and acrobats, Berber dancers and water sellers, snake charmers and storytellers entertain well into the balmy night.

Marrakech, southern gateway to the Sahara, is one of old Morocco’s four Imperial Cities and, like Fez, Meknes and Rabat, has served as the country’s capital at one time or another during three millennia of turbulent history.

It is a vibrant, mystical and unbelievably beautiful city lying amid palm groves before a backdrop of the snowcapped High Atlas mountains.

Getting here: Fly KLM, Iberia or Lufthansa to Casablanca, Royal Air Maroc on to Marrakech. Royal Air Maroc also flies nonstop New York-Casablanca.

How long/how much? Give yourself at least three days to see and feel all that Marrakech has to offer, perhaps another for forays to the desert and High Atlas towns to the south. Accommodation costs are moderate; so is dining on marvelous Moroccan food.

A few fast facts: Morocco’s dirham recently traded at 8.53 to the dollar, about 12 cents each. Come any time of year, and while mid-summer gets very warm, it’s a dry heat. Walk the medina, take a horse carriage for $6 an hour exploring the town, or grab a taxi after you’ve agreed on the fare for your destination.

Getting settled in: Hotel Tichka (Semlalia; $72 B&B; double) is a stunning study in Moroccan architecture inside and out, with a soaring lobby above marble floors and columns, magnificent public rooms adorned with local pottery and handicrafts, a gorgeous fireplace of intricate tile patterns in one lounge.

There’s a feeling of intimacy throughout, bedrooms beautifully done in native fabrics, some hand-painted furniture. A towering domed kiosk holds down one end of the pool, with tables set around it for outdoor dining.

Hotel N’Fis (Ave. de France; $57 double) is Moroccan-contemporary, having many bedrooms with balconies stacked in tiers around a central pool and outdoor dining terrace, scene of a formidable luncheon buffet. The cool marble lobby has a tile fountain at the center, lots of leather couches and ottomans about. The slight drawback at N’Fis is a full measure of tours.

Palais el Badia (Ave. de la Menara; $49 double) is pure contemporary outside, again built around a central pool-garden area, with vague overtones of Moroccan decor within. Bedrooms have two large double beds, many with a doorway to private gardens. There are Moroccan and international restaurants, a bright coffee shop with large still-life arrangements of fruit on each table, as well as three clay courts for tennis.

Regional food and drink: Moroccan meals usually start with a thick and nourishing soup, often made of beans (harira) or lentils and flavored with a piquant mixture of herbs and spices. You won’t find a menu without lamb, either barbecued whole, as kebabs or made into a heady stew in a tajine, a covered clay pot placed over a charcoal fire.

Couscous, a dish of steamed semolina mixed with lamb or chicken and vegetables, comes close to being the national dish. It is marvelous when flavored with raisins. Hot mint tea is the national drink, while a blanc de blanc wine (L’Oustalet and Coquillages are fine brands) goes well with everything at table.

Fine dining: Hotel La Mamounia has a Moroccan restaurant that’s a small pleasure dome of Moorish architecture, furnishings and food. Start with the harira Marrakechia, the traditional soup previously mentioned. Then perhaps a couscous, pigeon stuffed with almonds or a tajine of lamb in a tomato coulis. There’s also a nightly show of traditional music and belly dancers.

Chez Ali (just outside town) is a bit of a misnomer, as it’s really a desert camp of tents surrounding a huge corral where Berber horsemen perform after your meal. You dine in the tents while reclining on ottomans, the typical food served in great quantities and served beautifully.

After the meal there’s a troupe of dancers that moves from tent to tent with their musicians, at times involving guests in the dances. Then everyone moves outside to the corral where 26 Berber horsemen ride full tilt toward you on their Arabian steeds, traditional six-foot rifles raised high as they fire ear-splitting volleys. It’s a wonderful evening that no visitor should miss.

The dining room of Hotel Tichka, a riot of bright colors and Fez tiles, is one of the prettiest rooms in town. The menu is a mix of Moroccan and French dishes: tajines, stuffed pigeon, civet de lapin (a rabbit ragout), gigot d’agneau (leg of lamb) and pastries from both countries. The atmosphere is pleasant, a background of soft piano music at lunch and dinner.

Going first-class: Hotel La Mamounia (Ave. Bab Djedid; $185-$296 double) has been acclaimed one of the world’s finest hotels since a multi-million-dollar refurbishing. It’s set on 18 acres of gardens just within the old city walls. The Art Deco style in bedrooms, lounges, restaurants and bars reflects the hotel’s 1923 birth. The decor is given strong overtones of a sultan’s palace by exquisite tile work, fabrics, art and artifacts.

La Mamounia has six restaurants, four bars, a gigantic pool, tennis courts, casino and fitness center. But the opulence that oozes from every room, and the beauty of gardens with olive trees first planted in the 12th Century, are what take your breath away at one of Africa’s loveliest hotels.

On your own: Start in the cool of morning with a visit to La Bahia Palace with its tranquil patios and handsome courtyards. Reigning visirs (prime ministers) kept up to 40 of their favorite ladies here. At sundown the ladies would gather in the courtyard and wait for the visir to toss down his handkerchief. The catcher received the honor of sharing his bed that night.

Drive by the 12th-Century Koutoubia Mosque, its minaret the highest in the city, then on to the Menara Gardens and olive groves beside a huge reflecting pool.

The souks of Marrakech’s medina, like most in Africa, are almost impossible to visit without a guide. Bargaining is the order of the day, with no set rules for purchase price, which can be as low as 20% of the figure first asked. The best buys are carpets, ethnic jewelry, woodwork and rustic leather items.

Wander from the medina into Djemaa el Fna square and move from one group of performers to another, giving your camera a thorough workout. Then go up to the terrace balcony of Cafe Glace, have a cooling drink and look down on the moiling, throbbing crowds below as cymbals clang, drums thump, dervishes spin in ecstasy and cobras undulate to the wavering tones of a flute. There is surely no other place quite like Djemaa el Fna in the world.

For more information: Call the Moroccan National Tourist Office at (213) 271-8945, or write (421 N. Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills 90210) for a brochure on Marrakech with map and list of hotels and restaurants, another on all of Morocco. Ask for the Marrakech package.