“To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines,” Edith Wharton wrote in 1927, and it holds true today. That rich embroidery of life and color is most intense, if not overwhelming, in Marrakech, just north of the High Atlas Mountains.
Back in the 17th century, Meknès was the largest fortified city in North Africa. Its powerful ruler, Moulay Ismail, had plenty of slave labor to build his vast palaces and gardens, as well as 25 miles of thick walls and monumental gates. History declares the sultan a ruthless tyrant, but he did guarantee peace and […]