Marrakech

Marrakech is a city in the grip of a delirious imagination. A feverish dreamscape of honeycombed alleys and minarets quivering in the moonlight and haunted by the restless creatures of a visionary carnival that has lasted for a thousand years and shows no sign of stopping now. Marrakech is one of the worlds enchanted places where time becomes suspended and, through its open door, you catch a glimpse of the past so rich and so remote and yet so palpable. You can sense the atavism propelling every trick and turn in the Djemaa el Fna, Marrakech's pulsating main square and one of the worlds great theatres. The Djemaa is a spectacular pageant of singers, tumblers, sorcerers, herbalists, raconteurs, impostors, preachers and snake charmers, all competing for your eye. There is nowhere else in Africa which so effortlessly involves you, blows aside travel cynicism and keeps you returning. If you get tired, observe the spectacle from one of the overlooking rooftop cafes.

Marrakech's setting is truly magical. A patchwork of ravishing green against the bare, brown plain of Haouz with the snowy High Atlas rearing up behind like an apocalyptic tidal wave towering through the haze. Focus of every approach to the city is the Koutoubia Mosques minaret, Marrakech's crowning centrepiece, the 203 feet high tower, the very synthesis of Moslem architecture. Other sights to visit are the Saadian tombs dating from 1557, over-lavish maybe, but sensational nevertheless.

By far the best way to visit these sights is to engage one of the 300 horse-drawn carriages (caleches). They will take you riding in comfort and style. But to see the marvels of Marrakech's Medina - all two square miles of it - you must go on foot. It is in the hurlyburly of the Medina where you will find the masterpieces of Marrakechi art. Each craft in the Medina has its own special quarter in one of the interminable passages that sprawls like some vast living organism, teeming with activity.