Marrakech, the capital of southern Morocco, is one of the jewels in the country's crown. Sprawled across the plain of Haouz and surrounded by green palm groves, it is like a red pearl nestling beneath the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas Mountains. This illustrious city exerts a magic of its own even when viewed from afar. As you approach it from the north, the flat, dry, spreading plain is in stark contrast to the grandeur of the High Atlas Mountains, immense, massive, sheer, and apparently inaccessible. Then, the welcoming green fronds of palm trees offer a foretaste of the verdancy to come.

 Once you have crossed the Gued Tensift, the first gateway to Marrakech, you see the city itself, its deep orange-red walls providing a reminder that the desert is never very far away here. The impression that you are entering an oasis on the edge of a very different world from that of northern Morocco is heightened by the heat, for Marrakech has a drier and harsher climate than that of the north. This is a hot, energetic, bustling city.

 The long Avenue Mohamed V is the main link between the old city (with its great medina, the famous Djemaa el-Fna square, and its kasbah and palaces) and the new town, represented by the Gueliz district. The avenue is vibrant from morning to night, and typifies the tireless energy of Marrakech; being a major traffic route, it is clogged with cars, mopeds, bicycles, and traditional carriages wending their way in all directions. Also, it is an important meeting-place for the young people of Marrakech, who are very westernized. The young men and women who meet here, between the Place du 16 Novembre and the Place Abd el-Moumin Benali, discuss whatever comes to mind and flirt with one another in complete disregard of the Muslim ban on women flaunting themselves in this way. These pioneers of a new generation provide an opportunity to appreciate the extraordinary sensual beauty of the women of Marrakech. They have traditionally been compared to gazelles, and you can see why when you look at their oval faces, large, round black eyes, and prominent eyebrows.

 As they look at you, their gaze is penetrating, proud, and yet brief and fleeting as though the old admonitions about eye contact still have not worn off completely. Although they no longer bother to hide their beauty, you feel there is still a side to them that will remain forever enigmatic, hidden away like the faces of their mothers and grandmothers.

 This feeling of heady oriental sensuality is heightened as you continue along the Avenue Mohamed V to the Djemaa el-Fna. This square is the main focal point and palpitating heart of Marrakech. Glowing beneath a blue sky, it has many different faces at different times of day, but is particularly unforgettable in the early evening as the sun falls. Perhaps one of the best vantage points from which to watch the sunset is one of the balcony restaurants in the hotels overlooking the square. This magnificent spectacle bathes the sky and the city in fire, and the square gradually fills with people as the magic hour approaches.

 Eventually, it is seething with humanity as crowds of fifty to a hundred people form motionless circles around the musicians, dancers, and stallholders, lost in fascination as other people flow around them. Pedestrians, bicycles, mopeds, carts, and small taxis hurry in and out of the medina of which the Djemaa el-Fna is an extension, and there is a feeling of constant motion. The air is filled with the noise of trumpets, tambourines, the bells which water carriers use to attract attention, screeching birds, radios, car horns, hand-clapping, creating an extraordinary and unforgettable cacophony. The crowds from the souks in the medina overflow the square, and a battalion of orange-juice sellers divides it two separate halves. As evening descends, a brilliant yellow-orange halo forms around the sun, and a dazzling light starts to turn flat roofs of the city into an indistinguishable blur. Darkness begins to set in, and the first electric lights and oil lamps are lit. The blue of the sky is gradually replaced by a pink and yellow haze, and sun becomes an enormous ball of fire, which descends so rapidly you think you can almost see it moving.

 A few fleeting clouds form wispy patterns in the sky, emphasizing the intensity and variety of hues conjured up by the sunset. The luminous bright reds and oranges struggle to survive for a few more moments, before being swallowed up by the gloom; darkness descends on the city like an inky-black sandstorm, and the stars take up watch for the night again.

 After dark, on the western side of the Djemaa el-Fna, officers from the police headquarters keep a stern eye on the behavior of the "guides" - young unemployed men offering tours of the medina whether you want them or not. Several rows of food stalls put an appearance, offering a variety of dishes to whet the appetite; couscous, barbecued meat, vegetable salads, the soup known harira, and fried fish. The combination of the stallholders' blandishments and the aroma of their cooking is a difficult one to resist. All around them, other groups ply their various trades.

 Traditional singers, musicians, and dancers use their art to express aspects of Berber life; these are instantly understood and appreciated by the people of the medina, most of whom are Berbers themselves. Nearby, traveling entertainers perpetuate the tradition the gnaoua, the religious fraternity descended from black Sudane former slaves, who practice trance and ritual possession. Women fortune-tellers, traders from the Orika valley or the Sahara desert selling folk remedies, snake-charmers, and water-sellers all enhance the strong sense that everyone in this extraordinary square is part of one huge family. The Djemaa el-Fna is the social hub of the entire city, a chance for the local people to celebrate their membership of the community, earn a livelihood, or simply pass the time of day with friends and acquaintances.

 In the morning, as the temperature rises, the square wears a different face. During the day it is a market, buzzing with the same frenetic activity as the souks themselves. The legendary souks of Marrakech live up to their reputation for being very large and very crowded, but for all the apparent chaos there is a system to them. If you have never been into a souk before, entering one in Marrakech is an unforgettable rite of passage.

 Its long, narrow, winding streets are lined with small shops, divided into areas where particular craftspeople and merchants ply their trades. In one section, textile-makers sell brightly colored jellabas, veils, rolls of fabric, kaftans, and dresses, some distinctly gaudy and others in muted shades of a single color. The light in the souk has a very distinct quality of its own, soft, dappled, and filtered by ceilings of wooden trelliswork and reeds, so that one particular object may be dramatically lit and the others around it scarcely visible in the gloom. Carpenters and woodcarvers sell superb pieces sculpted from cedar, walnut, and olivewood, skillfully sawing, chiseling, and planning in the semi-darkness of their windowless shops. Further down the same street are areas devoted to the morocco-leather workers and shoemakers, who churn out vividly colored oriental-style pouffes, cushions, bags, and slippers, as well as traditional saddles and harnesses. Here, everything in the souk seems to have been imbued with the rich scent of leather since time immemorial. Elsewhere, gold and silversmiths and metalworkers deploy the same skills as their forebears have used for a thousand years or more, their designs combining flowing arabesque forms with strict geometric motifs.

 Another craft for which Morocco is renowned is carpet making. In the carpet quarter, every square inch of wall, floor, and shop front is draped in designs originating from all over the Arab world, full of warm, bright colors and intricate patterns. At its best, Moroccan craftsmanship follows the precepts of Islamic art, in which the harmony and equilibrium of the spiritual is reflected in everyday, temporal objects. The aesthetic codes and the accumulated wisdom which go into making these products are the expression of an entire way of life. The generous and hospitable welcome afforded by most of the craftspeople in the souk, who nevertheless drive a hard bargain, is a part of the same desire for happiness and harmony as that expressed in the beauty of their products.

 The Koutoubia Mosque, whose minaret towers 70 meters (230 ft) above the city, is an architectural masterpiece, living proof of the religious piety and extreme sophistication of the Almohad sultans who built it. The building is visible from all over Marrakech, a landmark for the people of the medina and the inhabitants of the new town.

 The Koutoubia is one of the leading examples of Hispano Moresque art. Its name means "place of the books", a reference to the manuscript market which once stood outside its walls, and it is a grand and uplifting building, its tall, narrow minaret covered in raised designs and painted decoration. Its rhythmic arabesques, lozenge-shaped tracery, and faience mosaics reflect the light and dazzle the eye, while the mosque's forest of pillars, large domes, and Andalusian-style trefoil arches increase the feeling of majesty and strength.

 To the north of this great building are the various districts of the Kasbah, including the Saadian Tombs, the Palais el-Badi, and the Dar el-Makhzen, the vast royal palace. The tombs are where the Saadian sultans were buried from 1557 onwards, and are a monument to the importance of this dynasty of sharifs, or descendants of Mohammed, whose two-century reign was a time of great prosperity for Marrakech. The Palais el-Badi is now in ruins, but it is easy to imagine it in its former splendor.

 The palace was built in 1578 by the great Saadian sultan Moulay Ahmed el-Mansour, who had just won an important battle against the Portuguese. It was a magnificent building designed to receive guests, but was ruined after the Alawi sultan Moulay Ismail ordered its demolition in 1696. Until then, it had been a dazzling composition in white marble, colored mosaics, stucco, precious woods, and gold. The austere beauty of this area contrasts wit the luxuriant greenery of the gardens in the new town, such a Menara, Majorelle, and Agdal, which provide their own little oases of tranquility and coolness in the heat of the noonday sun.