I was just reading several articles in online zines about how to celebrate the month of February, dedicated to ROMANCE.
Morocco as it turns out, is a location made for romance in the most exotic of ways. While the capital of Morocco is Rabat, does not the simple pronouncement of the name of the city, Casablanca, make one’s heart leap as we remember Humphry Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Her face is burnt into my memory as she looks at him, her huge eyes filling with unshed tears. Oh, Play it, Sam! How can Morocco be anything less than one of the most romantic places in the world!
Marrakesh offers a hypnotic, magical atmosphere that brings to mind the Arabian Nights (Thousand and One Arabian nights). There are lush groves of palm, palaces and ancient city walls, colorful bazaars and stories everywhere you turn about romantic (and not so romantic) events of the city. It is a city that will cast a magical spell and charm you with its seductive manner. Marrakesh receives about one-third of the country’s tourists. It is a fabled city, with lots of new resort development going on. The official language of Morocco is Arabic but French is the dominant business language in central and southern Morocco. Spanish is spoken in the North while English is fairly widely spoken.
Riads are traditional Moroccan houses with interior patios and water fountains. These riads are often intimate and romantic accommodations. They have become the rage for alternative romantic pied-à-terre. Recently the Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts opened the Angsana Riads Collection Marrakesh in the historic medina. All seven of the Angsana riads have been restored to their original historic beauty.
One really interesting property is the Design Hotels’ AnaYela, Marrakesh. Located in the heart of the Medina, or historic city, of Marrakesh, the AnaYela is surrounded on all sides by the bustling souks, cafes and nightclubs of the lively Red City. Housed in a 300-year-old palace, the hotel is named for a former occupant, a girl named Yela who left behindan intimate journal in one of its secret rooms. The hotel name translates literally to “I Am Yela” and everything in it references the life and times of that past dweller. One of Morocco’s most renowned calligraphers even hammered the girl’s story in silver onto the vast doors scattered throughout the premises so that guests can stroll through the house and “read” them like pages in a storybook. Visit the website for more information: http://www.designhotels.com/anayela
So if your “honey” wants to go somewhere romantic this month, maybe Morocco is your answer.
TopDawg's Travelogue 