Marrakech, Morocco
Eclecticism and vibrancy in Marrakech: A Journey in Fashion, Color, and Artistry
Program Overview
Program Dates:
March 11-18, 2023
$3,900
Dive into design, color, and texture in Marrakech. Founded in the 11th century, Marrakech is known for its iconic architecture, literature, and style. The vibrant and energetic layers of the city will enliven your creativity.
We will stay in an elegant and traditional Moroccan accommodation structured with Moroccan customs. Our time will be spent touring local artist’s studios and galleries, attending authentic workshops, and ceramics classes. We visit Morocco to tune into the layers of culture and custom. We may venture outside of the city overnight to explore the desert and surrounding locations.
This immersive experience with a community of fellow receptive will captivate your spirit for adventure. All meals, classes, travel (excluding airfare), transfers, and local guides.
Highlights
– Stay at a boutique hotel and experience Moroccan customs
– Exclusive tours of local artist studios and galleries
– Authentic workshops with local artisan masters in various crafts
– Shopping excursions to evocative markets and boutiques
– Guided museums tours
– Exquisite dining experiences featuring local flavors of Marrakech
– Specially curated tours of homes, museums, workshops and galleries
Itinerary
Day 1
– Arrivals at leisure to hotel
– Welcome reception and dinner — everyone meets for welcome wine on the rooftop in the evening, walkthrough medina to dinner
– Included Meals: Dinner
Day 2
– Breakfast and relaxing morning
– Lunch at a local favorite spot
– Exclusive visits to local artisan studios
– Mosaic tile class just outside medina
– Guided walking tour of the medina/souk
– Evening at leisure
– Included Meals: Breakfast & lunch
Day 3
– Artisan workshops in pottery and local craft
– Explore shopping in various areas while learning about the history and meaning of creations
– Private visit to the home of artisans
– Included Meals: Breakfast & dinner
Day 4
– Visit the impressive YSL museum
– Guided tour of gardens and neighborhood of the YSL museum
– Relaxing lunch
– Backstage access to museums
– Included Meals: Breakfast
Day 5
– Explore the desert on a day trip
– Intimate visit to Berber Village
– Included Meals: Breakfast & lunch
Day 6
– Cooking class
– Tour the city focused on artist communities and other insider visits to locations that take you on a journey through time
– Included Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Day 7
– Stroll through Coop's for shopping and see artisan demonstrations
– Farewell dinner at a local specialty restaurant
– Included Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 8
– Departures at leisure
– Included Meals: Breakfast
Note: This schedule, including dates, is subject to change due to local weather, force majeure or new opportunities that better suit the needs of the group. This will help you get an accurate picture of what your experience will be like. AIP programs are non-refundable due to the advanced planning required to make trips possible. We plan every detail to make sure our stay is excellent in every way.
What's Included
– The AIP team: guides for your entire experience
– Travel logistics: private transfers, day trips
– Food and drink: all meals shared at the hotel and at our favorite local spots, always quintessentially Moroccan — we also provide arrival and final celebration dinners
– Accommodations: residence at a gorgeous historic property right in the center of Marrakech, high-speed wifi included
– Activities: creative presentations, lectures, critiques,s, and workshops by locals and AIP leaders
– Peace of mind: international health insurance is provided for all of our participants
Note: Flight not included in price.
Artistic Focus
Our Morocco journey will bring you local insight and a global perspective on the culinary, architectural and fashion history of Morocco. You’ll learn and grow through an eclectic mix of cultural and artistic experiences.
Cultural highlights include:
– Jardin Majorelle
– YSL Museum
– Berber Museum
– Dar El Bacha
– Medina and souk tour
– Visit to LRNCE Design Studio
– Pottery class in local clay studio
– Mosaic class with local artisans
– Tagine cooking course
– Rug weaving demonstration in village artisan coop
– Beldi glass blowing demonstration
– Traditional hammam.
You will have the opportunity to:
– Gain cultural insight with first hand experiences designed by locals
– Understand the historic context of Design, Art and Fashion in Morocco
– Engage in thought-provoking conversations sparked by creative and cultural experiences
– Create compositions in color
– Compose artisan works alongside local masters in traditional mediums including textiles, pottery, and glass
– Practice making Moroccan cuisine
– Photograph incredible surroundings
– Draw insight from local museums, curators and artists
– Visit museums and galleries
Trip Details and Pricing
“A little imagination goes a long way in Fes.”
― Tahir Shah, writer
Suggested Reading:
TRAVEL WRITING CLASSIC
In Morocco
by Edith Wharton
HISTORY
Lords of the Atlas: The Rise and Fall of the House of Glaoua, 1893-1956
by Gavin Maxwell
FICTION
The Spider’s House
by Paul Bowles
NON FICTION
A House in Fez
by Suzanna Clarke
“To visit Morocco is still like turning the pages of some illuminated Persian manuscript all embroidered with bright shapes and subtle lines.”
-Edith Wharton
Where we stay:
A riad provides a private oasis from the public street with a central garden or water feature. This is the perfect environment for our AIP immersion into the sights and sounds of this delightfully intricate city. You'll be close to markets and other cultural aspects of life in Marrakech.
What you will do and learn.
Learn from locals in Morocco while you delve into the variety of culinary delights and artisan crafts available, all while exploring the unique architecture and style of the city.
Other trip details:
Added points of interest:
The Dar Si Said Museum is the former home of the brother of Ba Ahmed, builder of the Bahia Palace, which now houses a collection of crafts and woodwork.
More engaging is the new Maison de la Photographie, displaying exhibits from a collection of 8,000 photographs spanning the period from 1870-1950. The museum’s top terrace is perfect for a post-visit drink or light lunch.
The new Douiria Mouassine showcases a restored, petite 17th-century reception apartment detailed with exquisite decorative plaster and wood work.
The Riad:
A riad is a traditional house in Morocco and is characterized by having an inner courtyard or a garden as the central element of the building. Following the Islamic idea of privacy and inward reflection, a riad doesn’t usually have large windows facing the outside. Instead, rooms in a riad will have windows facing the opened-ceiling inner courtyard or garden.
Travel Arrangements:
AIP will email you when it is time to get your ticket. We will allow much planning in advance and will email you ninety or more days before your trip. We will send more specific details once you sign up for the trip. You will be met at the airport, and we will all go to the hotel together.
Weather:
The average daily temperature during the month of September hovers around 27 degrees Celsius. This includes a potential low of 20 degrees Celsius at night, and a high of up to 33 degrees Celsius. These high temperatures will likely be during the early afternoon but check the latest forecast to double-check. An average of ten millimeters of rain falls on the area throughout the month, usually concentrated over two days.
