El Badi Palace
This magnificent palace was built by the Saadian king, Ahmed Al Mansour in 1578. It was one of the finest in the world, with 360 rooms sumptuously decorated in marble, gold, onyx, ivory, cedarwood and semi-precious stones, surrounding a vast central courtyard of pools, fountains and sunken gardens. It was the venue for parties of global extravagance. However, Alouite Sultan Moulay Ismael moved the capital to Méknes, stripping the palace of anything valuable and leaving the towering mud walls to decay. The palace retains an unspoilt charm and the nesting storks in its uppermost walls are testament to its serenity.

Saadian Tombs
One of the most visited sites in Morocco, the Saadian Tombs were only accessible via the mosque next door so survived in pristine condition until 'rediscovered' and opened to the public in 1917. The entrance is signposted down a thin passage surrounded by tourist stalls, a short walk from Jemaa-el-Fna. The enclosed garden inside is overlooked by two separate mausoleums, with over 100 mosaic-decorated graves scattered around. The principal structures of the tombs were built by Sultan Ahmed El Mansour for himself and his family and date from the late 16th century. There are 66 members of the Saadian royal family buried here altogether, along with a number of retainers and some much older graves whose identity has been lost. Within the mausoleum, the rooms are richly decorated, with magnificent domed ceilings and ornate stalactite.

Menara Gardens
Set slightly out of town, the Menara gardens offers not only a pleasant escape from roaming Marrakech, it also has one of the most photographed settings of Morocco, one which is most enjoyed the last hour just before the gates close. At this time of the day, the place is also cleared of the package tourists, running around with cameras and open remarks on everything they see. A walk around the menza must be good for love. They were designed as a summer escape from the oven heat through mid-summer Marrakech. The pavilion and the basin existed from earlier times, but the present structure was set up in the middle of the 19th century by Sultan Adu r-Rahman.

Koutoubia
The Koutuobia Minaret the largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. The minaret was completed under the reign of Almohad Caliph Yacoub el-Mansour in the end of the 12th century and was used as model for Giralda of Seville then for the Hassan Tower of Rabat. The name is derived from the Arabic al-Koutoubiyyin for librarian, since it used to be surrounded by sellers of manuscripts. It is considered the ultimate structure of its kind. The tower is 69 m (221 ft) in height and has a lateral length of 12.8 m (41 ft). Six rooms (one above the other) constitute the interior; leading around them is a ramp by way of which the muezzin could ride up to the balcony. It is built in a traditional Almohad style and the tower is adorned with four copper globes. According to legend, they were originally made of pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three. The fourth was donated by the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to fashion the fourth globe.

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