Jardin Bio-aromatique de l’Ourika

One of the most original gardens of Marrakesh is the Jardin Bio-Aromatique de l’Ourika.

It has been created by Professor Jalil Belkamel who is a passionate and sympathetic teacher, a consultant and a researcher specialized in the study of essential oils.

The garden is like no other one. It is a very natural and beautiful place. The one hectare area has been divided in areas planted with different species (more than 50) of aromatic and medicinal plants.

The garden has been above all designed to teach visitors how to look at plants, to distinguish them, to recognize their scent, to taste them infused or served in traditional Moroccan dishes…

Visitors can attend workshops, and take guided or non-guided tours, lasting from two hours to two days.

Botanists, nature-lovers, those with green thumbs, and those interested in aromatherapy or eco-tourism will never want to leave!

The Jardin Bio-aromatique de l’Ourika is located 35 kilometres south east from Marrakesh, in the Ourika valley. Fore more information about the visits:

http://www.nectarome.com/jardin/presentation.htm

The Vallée de l'Ourika is the setting of this one-hectare organic garden planted with aromatic and medicinal Moroccan plants, some of which are used to make essential oils. Visitors can attend workshops, and/or take guided or non-guided tours, lasting from two hours to two days (varying prices). Botanists, nature-lovers, those with green thumbs, and those interested in aromatherapy or eco-tourism will never want to leave! 

Marrakech autrement : Flood of Life in Marrakech

Mohamed Ezoubeiri est un jeune réalisateur marocain.

Il nous invite à regarder autrement la vie quotidienne de Marrakech, « une ville qui, comme Chicago, ne dort jamais vraiment », avec son apparente simplicité, sa cohue, son vacarme…

« Par Flood of Life, je voulais illustrer les limites de la réalité telle que nous la percevons. La réalité du monde est entre nos mains mais les gens autour de nous sont des inconnus. Parfois, la vie est comme une tortue se déplaçant lentement, parfois elle n’est qu’illusion, une illusion rapide comme la foudre, commes ces gouttes de pluie qui se transforment en inondations aveuglantes. Le tout n’est jamais aussi noir ou blanc que nous le voyons. » (Arts du Maroc n° 1)

Le court métrage de Flood of Life in Marrakech best visible sur le blog de Mohamed Ezoubeiri : http://www.medezoubeiri.blogspot.com/

Marrakech : la scène et les coulisses…

Ce mois-ci Marrakech est en couverture du magazine Géo.

« Tant d’exotisme à trois heures des grandes villes de France, c’est tentant. On comprend que les touristes se pressent pour franchir les monumentales portes hispano-mauresques de la Ville Rouge. »

Au-delà du folklore de carte postale, les reporters de Géo sont partis à la découverte de la ville, se sa région, de son histoire, de ses palmiers et ont exploré les coulisses de la Place Jemaa-el-Fna…

Et toujours de très belles photos…

http://www.geo.fr/en-kiosque/avril-2010-geo-n-374-special-marrakech-et-le-haut-atlas-67460

Grand Prix de Marrakech

La seconde édition du Grand Prix de Marrakech aura lieu du 30 avril au 2 mai 2010.

Après le succès de l’année dernière et le trophée de la meilleure organisation du sport automobile mondiale décerné par la Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, le Grand Prix accueillira de nouveau les stars du circuit World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) : Yvan Muller, Alessandro Zarnardi, Andy Priaulx et bien sûr l'enfant du pays, le jeune Mehdi Bennani.

Cette seconde édition verra l’apparition de la Formule 2. Au volant de ces monoplaces de 480 CV, de futurs grands noms du sport auto international viendront en découdre sur le nouveau tracé de Race of Morocco. Julien Jousse, star de cette discipline annonce déjà un spectacle grandiose à près de 300 km/h aux pieds des remparts.

http://www.marrakechgrandprix.com

Tadelakt

Tadelakt is a typically Moroccan bright and waterproof lime plaster. Its traditional application includes being polished with a river stone and treated with soft soap to acquire its final appearance and water resistance. It is the traditional coating of the parts of the buildings which are exposed to water: mainly the hammams (traditional Moorish baths) and some of the outside walls of the riyads of Marrakech.

In accordance with this tradition, we used tadelakt in Riyad el Mezouar in the bathrooms of the Kubba and Alaoui Rooms and Mezouar Junior Suite. We also used it for the pointing of the outside brick wall and for the acroter (the wall on the top of the façades which goes round the patio) as they both were originally.

Tadelakt has a luxurious, soft aspect with undulations due to the work of the artisans who finish it, which is inimitable…

International World Water Day

Established by the United Nations, International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The World Water Day 2010 is dedicated to the theme of water quality, reflecting its importance alongside quantity of the resource in water management.

We all know water is the basis of life on earth. The quality of life directly depends on water quality. Good water quality sustains healthy ecosystems and hence leads to improved human well-being. On the contrary, poor water quality affects the environment and human well-being.

The quality of water resources is increasingly threatened by pollution. Human activity over the past 50 years is responsible for unprecedented pollution of water resources in history. It is estimated that over 2.5 billion people globally live without adequate sanitation. Every day, 2 million tons of sewage and other effluents drain into the world’s waters. The problem is worse in developing countries where over 90% of raw sewage and 70% of untreated industrial wastes are dumped into surface waters.

Water carrier on Place Jemaa-el-Fna in Marrakesh

This International Water Day reminds us that protecting water sources from pollution is everyone’s responsibility since we all live downstream. It can not be left to public authorities alone. All sectors, public and private, must take appropriate and adequate action to prevent pollution. It demands the open engagement of all stakeholders, from individuals and local communities to international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and civil society.

For more information, visit : http://www.worldwaterday2010.info/

Garden and Paradise

A “riyad” is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden. The word “riyad” comes from the Arabian term for garden.

I found this interesting passage about Persian gardens in Susha Guppy’s captivating book, The Blindfold Horse, Memories of a Persian Childhood:

“In most European languages, the words “garden” and “paradise” are related to the ancient Persian word “paradaiza”, meaning ‘the Lord’s Enclosure’. In Persia, where rainfall is limited to a short season and water is always scarce, making a garden traditionally meant creating a personal paradise, a reflection on earth of the Garden of Eden. It expressed the soul’s aspiration to eternal peace and beauty. Persian rugs, with their stylised birds and plants, were originally a representation of Paradise, and even the Flying Carpet of fairy tales were related to the longing for return to Eden.
The Persian gardener’s aim was to produce an atmosphere of safa, which means “serenity”, but has connotations of coolness, relief and beauty …”

La fontaine du Riyad el Mezouar