MARRAKESH -MOROCCO- * MARVELS * : 2024

 

'' Islamic Architecture and Artisanship " : A haven of dazzling design. Morocco's one time capital offers a display of rare beauty as it recovers from a devastating earthquake.

The scars are still scattered around the medina of Marrakesh, the nearly millennium-old walled city and UNESCO World Heritage site that forms the heart of Morocco's onetime capital.

Scaffolding surrounds the top of the minaret of the medieval koutoubia Mosque and sections of the 16th-century EI Baldi Palace, while a collapsed building haunts Rue Riad Zitoun el Kdim, a popular shopping thoroughfare.

All recall the catastrophic earthquake that struck region last September, killing some 3,000 people, mainly in outlying villages and mountainous zones.

By visiting Marrakesh right now, you're not only experiencing a haven of Islamic architecture, dazzling traditional artisanship, cool contemporary design and perhaps North Africa's best restaurants and nightlife.

But also lending moral and economic support to a region in recovery.

The World Students Society thanks Seth Sherwood.