MOROCCO || Marrakesh & The Sahara - travel vlog (Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou) 15 Degrees North

15° North are travelling again! This time we are in Morocco, visiting the remarkable city of Marrakesh - Jemaa el-Fna Square, Saadian Tombs, Jardin Majorelle - before heading toward The Sahara Desert, via Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou, the Dadès Gorges and Merzouga.
Jérémy and Ben here again! We love to travel and to satisfy our wanderlust, we are on a European roadtrip exploring the best places for a city break on the continent. We love to escape Britain to experience the best culture, cuisine and attractions that the world has to offer. If you’re a tourist like us and just need a good itinerary for what to do and how to do it when you’re in Morocco, we will show you the best things to put on your itinerary.
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Marrakech is the tourism capital of Morocco and it’s easy to see why. We came directly from our tour of the north, but it’s clear that the real highlights of the country are in the south.
Marrakech is all about the souks. Its historic old town is a sprawling medina centred around the famous Jemaa el-Fna Square, which is officially the busiest square in Africa, as well as one of the largest. This is where you’ll start to find that market traders are really not shy about approaching passers-by.
Spreading in all directions from the square are the souks. Here you will find a vast array of local goods, including spices, jewellery, clothing, art, souvenirs, leather and plenty of sweet treats.
The city of Marrakech was founded in 1070 and was the imperial capital of the Almoravid Empire. The city walls were built in the twelfth century and these, like much of the city, are built of the red sandstone that has given Marrakech the nickname of “The Red City”. Historically, Marrakech has been one of the biggest trading centres of the Maghreb. It regularly passed the title of capital back and forth with Fes, before the country was split under the protectorates of Spain and France, with Fes being the capital of the former and Marrakech of the latter.
In most of Morocco’s key landmarks, it’s far more about the interiors rather than the exteriors of the buildings. This is the same in mosques, madrasahs, palaces and all the key landmarks, coming from the ancient Arabic tradition that displays of wealth should not be flaunted out on the street. The Saadian Tombs are a perfect example of this. The royal necropolis of the sultans of the Saadian dynasty, who ruled during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the complex is regarded by art historians as the high point of Moroccan architecture due to its luxurious decoration.
And then in the twentieth century, high fashion came to Morocco in the shape of the world famous couturier Yves Saint Laurent. The French Algerian fashion designer bought a villa - this villa - in Marrakech and developed this remarkable modern evolution of Moroccan style. He lived here for decades with his partner Pierre Berge and, following his death in 2008, his ashes were scattered here too.
From Marrakech we head onto the open road, heading inland toward the Sahara and across the Atlas Mountains.
A must-visit on your way is the ancient town of Ait ben Haddou. If you think that the town looks remarkably authentic and untouched since ancient times, then you’re not the only one, because Hollywood location-scouts have thought the same too.
And then, eventually, the Sahara is in sight. Merzouga is the end of the road, before you have to swap your vehicle for a 4x4 and head out into the dunes that form the border with Algeria. And the distinctive red sand rolls for mile after mile, far off into the distance.
The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest, covering 9.2 million square kilometres. From Morocco in the west, it crosses all of North Africa, ending in Egypt and the Sudan in the east. With very little rainfall whatsoever, barely anything can grow here at all. In fact, our guide told us that it had been three whole years since a single drop of rain had fallen here. Rolling dunes are known as sand seas and contrary to popular belief, these only cover a small portion of the Sahara. The world’s highest daily average temperature was recorded here, soaring to 47 degrees Celsius, matched only by Death Valley in the US. The Moroccan edge of the Sahara has become quite the tourist attraction, with people from all over the world flocking to stay in one of its many desert camps, just like we did. We were a little worried it would feel full of people, but with a desert this large, it’s very easy to be by yourself here. And in the camps, there’s plenty to do at night too, whether that’s dancing around the camp fire, or just gazing at the most stars you’ve ever seen in your life.

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Can u be my french teacher next year g