Seven days in Marrakech: A birthday bash amidst the magic of the red city

Morocco is unquestionably an absolute powerhouse in African and global tourism; it ranks first on the continent and thirteenth globally, offering diverse experiences, such as vibrant culture and luxury in Marrakech, coastal resorts and business in Agadir and Casablanca, and deep history and multicultural architecture in Fez and Rabat. Nearly 20 million tourists visited Morocco […]

Morocco is unquestionably an absolute powerhouse in African and global tourism; it ranks first on the continent and thirteenth globally, offering diverse experiences, such as vibrant culture and luxury in Marrakech, coastal resorts and business in Agadir and Casablanca, and deep history and multicultural architecture in Fez and Rabat. Nearly 20 million tourists visited Morocco in 2025, with Marrakech accounting for about 40 per cent of the total.

I was thrilled, therefore, when we received an invitation to attend a friend’s 80th birthday celebration in Marrakech, a city known for its beautiful red ochre buildings. It was simply irresistible. I had been to Casablanca, the country’s industrial and business centre, for an academic conference in the late 2000s.

However, I had always wanted to visit the historic cities of Marrakech and Fez. As a high school student in Freetown, I had watched the British spy film Our Man in Marrakech in the 1960s. I marvelled at the skill of the lead actors in navigating the souks’ intricate and colourful 5,000 or more alleys as they tried to evade capture, as well as the winding roads of the arid Atlas Mountains in a high-speed car chase.

As is our custom when travelling to new cities or countries, we spent the days leading up to our departure immersing ourselves in YouTube videos and blogs to help shape our itinerary.

 

An unforgettable birthday celebration

I’ve attended many birthday parties, but the two-day celebration in Marrakech will live long in my memory for its exceptional style, organisation, setting, and merriment.

The party size, a little over fifty, from multiple countries was perfect. The celebrations kicked off with a “Meet and Greet” event at a stylish rooftop restaurant in the Medina on the eve of the birthday party. A soulful song in Arabic by Moroccan artists, which introduced the celebrant, kicked off the evening. It was wonderful to see the children, nine grandchildren, and a great-grandchild all dressed in purple, the birthday colour revelling on the floor with their vibrant and beautiful matriarch.

The birthday party the following day was held at the celebrated boutique hotel Jnane Tamsna, located in the exclusive Palmeraie district and owned by a designer of Senegalese and Guadeloupean descent. The hotel features nine acres of lush gardens filled with date palms, olive groves, and organic vegetable patches.

We were entertained across three different locations: an apéritif on a rooftop terrace, which offered a panoramic view of the lush gardens and clear blue sky; the banquet in a secluded section of the gardens; and the cake-cutting and dancing in the main hall. The children and grandchildren made touching speeches at the banquet, while friends and other family members spoke at the cake-cutting ceremony.

The highlight of the evening for me was the celebrant’s grand entry on the rooftop, where we were enjoying a variety of delicious finger food. The organisers used the back section of the rooftop to usher in the celebrant on a richly decorated Moroccan throne (the Amariya) carried by four men in white robes. In Moroccan culture, the Amariya is traditionally used to carry a bride during wedding ceremonies.

The volume of the music suddenly increased, and those at the back started singing and dancing to Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.” Because the sun was going down, I couldn’t quite see the four men holding the throne as they moved through the guests. I honestly thought for a few seconds that Yvette was descending from the sky! It was truly magical.

For over seven hours, we immersed ourselves in non-stop celebration: eating, drinking, chatting, and dancing to a mix of Western, Nigerian, and Sierra Leonean music. The entertainment was equally spectacular, featuring traditional Moroccan dances, belly dancing, and thrilling displays of fire eating and spitting.

 

Astonishing historical sites

We spent five extra days exploring Marrakech and its environs after the birthday celebrations. It was impossible to see everything Marrakech had to offer, so we developed a simple approach to choosing what to see and do. Most of the historical sites are in the Medina, or old city, and our hotel, which was in the new district of Guéliz, was a forty-minute walk from the Medina.

Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech’s most famous square, became our reference point. We either walked or hired a taxi to the square every day, and took a tuk-tuk (or keke, as they are known in Sierra Leone and Nigeria) on our return journey. Back home in Sierra Leone, we always avoided kekes because of their high accident rates. In Marrakech, they were not the primary way to get around the city; formal taxis and buses were. However, tuk-tuks and motorbikes (okadas) were the transport of choice within the narrow alleys of the Medina.

Our favourite restaurant, Chegrouni, which features a rooftop terrace where we ate tagine and couscous, was right on the Jemaa el-Fna square. The square truly comes alive in the evenings with traditional musical performances, snake charmers, vibrant fruit juice stalls, street food, and countless hawkers and hustlers trying to offer their services. The street restaurants were lively, but we made the mistake of ordering a seafood platter, which turned out to be incredibly bland. That experience completely ruined the street restaurants for us, even though we bought mixed vegetables and chicken pies one evening at the Medina.

The majestic 12th-century Koutoubia mosque, where two of us joined locals to pray on our second visit, was just a few metres from the square. It was easy to tour the Medina from the mosque and the square, making the Medina our go-to place for shopping almost every day.

Touring the Medina with my wife Kadie, and our friends, Monica and Gloria, who were staying at the same hotel, we spent considerable time in the intricate alleys of the souks sampling argan oils, medicinal herbs, spices, traditional perfumes, bracelets, and kaftans. I couldn’t resist the urge to also buy a kaftan and traditional herbs for the common cold, muscle pain, and snoring. The herbalist, who, along with his colleagues, donned long white coats like medical doctors, at the Merzouga Cooperative, was irresistibly persuasive in describing the healing and aesthetic powers of his products. I couldn’t believe that three of us spent more than USD1,000 in his shop!

With a small group of birthday guests, we also visited the magnificent El Bahia Palace, famous for its sprawling, late 19th-century Moroccan-Andalusian architecture and colourful ceiling designs. Our itinerary (with Monica and Gloria) included the beautiful Ben Youssef Madrasa—the oldest Islamic college in the Maghreb—as well as The Secret Garden, hidden deep inside the crowded Medina. We also stopped at the Culinary Arts Museum, where we observed Moroccan cooking classes and enjoyed a fabulous lunch on the rooftop.

Finally, we explored the 16th-century Saadian Tombs and marvelled at the breathtaking Chamber of the Twelve Columns. We concluded our tour of Marrakech by visiting El Badia Palace and Jardin Majorelle at the tail end of our holiday.

El Badia was an imposing ruin of a 16th-century royal palace, famous for its towering mud-brick walls and immense courtyards. Our first attempt to visit was unsuccessful because the site was closed for a festival. When we went back a few days later, a spice seller misinformed us that the palace was still closed—seemingly angry that we hadn’t stopped to patronise his shop. We ignored him and walked in to find the palace teeming with visitors.

The masterpiece Jardin Majorelle was created by the French artist Jacques Majorelle in the early 20th century. The legendary fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé later bought and refurbished it.

The 2.5-acre garden features lily ponds, towering bamboo groves and palm trees, as well as a rich collection of more than 300 species of cacti. Some of the cactus plants were truly extraordinary. It is one of the top tourist attractions in Marrakech. Visitors are required to book online a few days in advance and are given a specific time slot for entry.

Unfortunately, I mistakenly booked through an agency instead of the official website and ended up paying well over the actual ticket price. Despite the mishap, the experience was absolutely unforgettable.

Kadie, Monica, and Gloria later visited a hammam—a traditional steam bath and cleansing ritual that seemed to be in almost every neighbourhood. As they explained it, an attendant coat your body in black soap made from olive oil and crushed olives to soften the dead skin cells. After the soap is rinsed off, the attendant uses a coarse cloth called a kessa to vigorously scrub your entire body from head to toe. Kadie and Monica couldn’t stop talking about their experience of seeing rolls of dead skin being peeled away. The process ends with a cool bath.

We spent the last two days in the Agafay Desert and the Ourika Valley. At Agafay, we rode camels, watched the spectacular sunset, ate a sumptuous buffet, and were entertained by traditional Moroccan dancers and a fire-eater. Then, in the Ourika Valley, we hiked up the Atlas Mountains to marvel at a powerful waterfall. These two wonderful experiences easily deserve a separate blog post.

Culled:https://yusufbangura.substack.com/p/seven-days-in-marrakech-a-birthday?r=e47hg&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true