Just around the corner is Bahia, the ‘resplendent’, a late 19thcentury palace with finely decorated rooms set around a vast glistening courtyard. It took seven years to build and its cascading tiles, fountains and gardens seem to come straight out of Andalusia. The nearby Dar Si Said is now a museum where a dazzling interior matches a wealth of exhibits, carpets, jewels, weapons and others, dedicated to the history of Marrakech and its surroundings.

But on the edge of the desert, Marrakech could not have survived without water and the Almoravids knew it well, digging a network of underground conduits to connect the 350 wells found at the foot of the hills. They set up the first palm grove and according to legend, soldiers eating dates from the oases helped by spitting out stones in the sand. The Almohads and the Saadians were equally fond of gardens and today the ‘Palmeraie’ has over 1,00,000 trees and plants, offering an enviable setting to a growing number of exclusive dwellings.