Marrakesh, Morocco

Middle East & Africa

12 Mar

Written By Simon Campbell

Set in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, with the Sahara as its neighbour, Marrakesh is unlike any golfing destination in the world.

For a thousand years, the Medina of Marrakesh has been the heartbeat of the city in the desert. A tangle of ancient alleyways, brimming with life, from snake charmers and fortune tellers to soothsayers and musicians, the UNESCO World Heritage site is a place that tells a thousand stories – and counting. It’s one of the many reasons the Red City on the edge of the Sahara Desert, has drawn in visitors across the world for centuries. A trading point where continents meet, the spices and street food of the souks paint a picture of its many influences, while the buildings, monuments and beaten clay ‘red’ ramparts, are famed the world over. People come for the intricate, 450-year-old tombs of the Saadi Dynasty, the ruins of El Badi from 1578, or Bahia, once home to the vizier Ahmed Ben Moussa and his myrid concubines.

That the city’s backyard is the iconic Sahara, and the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, is a bonus, and when you add into the mix Championship golf courses framed by the landscape, but with the countless jewels of Marrakesh at hand, not to mention next-level luxury hotels, it’s little wonder people have been coming here for so long.