PUBLIC HAREM in marrakech

PUBLIC HAREM in marrakech


Riding a Moorish-Moroccan wave, young designers are modernizing Old World styles with contemporary Western touches. You’ll find many of their boutiques hidden in the Medina. Start at Original Design (231 Rue Riad Zitoun, Jedid; 212-24-38-22-76), where Ibtissam Ait Daoud sells her sleek ceramics — flying saucer ashtrays (120 dirhams), cylindrical vases (150) and volcano-shaped pitchers (120) — in tangerine, aubergine and silver hues. Owned by a French-Moroccan couple, Warda la Mouche (127 Rue Kennaria; 212-67-34-73-74) deals in prêt-à-porter, like psychedelic caftans (780), silver babouche slippers (40) and sailors’ blouses with Arabesque embroidery (320). Finally, for funky interpretations of North African housewares and fashion accessories, 

The sprawling 19th-century Bahia Palace (Rue Riad Zitoun el Jedid, Medina; 212-44-389-564) solves a design quandary that few architects today confront: How to build a house for a grand vizier’s 4 wives and 24 jealous concubines? The answer seems to be very stylishly and carefully, judging from the masterfully tiled, chiseled and carved details of the opulent palace. Admission is 10 dirhams to tour its intricate layout of rooms, gardens, courtyards and pavilions. Now a museum, the palace still periodically receives V.I.P.’s, including the hip-hop sultan Sean Combs, who flew in his entourage for a 2002 birthday bash.


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