Memories of Tangier Part 1

If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier

- Bob Dylan - from 'Blood on the Tracks'

Ahhh, Tangier.  Ruled, shaped and formed by the Phoenicians,  Romans, Portuguese, Arabs, English and Spanish. Painted by Matisse and Delacroix. Home to eccentric British Ex Pats straight after the war. Made culturally hip and artistically fascinating by writers such as Burroughs, Kerouac and Bowles, with frequent visits from Tennessee Williams. All this international flavor and yet, at sunset when the calls to prayer begin, it couldn't be anywhere but Africa.

I had the extraordinary privilege of staying at one of Tangier's most beautiful properties on the 'Old Mountain'. Acres and acres of rambling gardens spread across the cliff, a bountiful pomegranate tree here, a lavender hedge there, an orchard elsewhere, and always a wondrous view over the Straits of Gibraltar. For someone who lives in the concrete jungle and yearns for green and silence, it couldn't have been more perfect.

Riad Kaiss

So I want to tell you about the Riad I stayed at in Marrakech.

There are so many divine places to choose from that I whipped myself into a frenzy researching the perfect place on Mr & Mrs Smith, i-escape, chic retreats, travel intelligence, tablet hotels.....you get the idea. In the end, I decided that I wanted quintessential Moroccan charm rather than modern dutch minimalism or southern African safari style.

I found it in the form of Riad Kaiss.  Blessed with the most central position, close to one of the most famous squares in the world - Djema el Fna - it was completely renovated some years ago by French interior designer Christian Ferre. Since he "passed", as the Americans say, the new owners have carried on the Riad exactly as Ferre left it.

A Riad by definition is a townhouse/mansion that wraps around a central courtyard, hidden from the mayhem of outside by wonderfully robust adobe walls. The only sound that drifts over the top of these walls is the sound of the muezzin calling all muslims to prayer 5 times a day.

Riad Kaiss is a glorious riot of moroccan lanterns, tiles and fountains, wrought iron and archways, sleepy corners to curl up in with a book on top of an old kilim, weathered cane armchairs on which to sip your mint tea, a teeny pool to cool off in after a stint in the souks and a courtyard garden full of Seville orange trees and other lush greenery.

At sunset, you can climb one of the myriad tiled staircases to the rooftop where you can listen to the prayer call whilst looking over the other Marrakech rooftops. It's as close to heaven as I have been for a while.