Gueliz Marrakech

Marrakech comprises of two sections: the old town, or Medina, which goes back over a thousand years; and the new town, known as "Gueliz" (after a small mountain at the edge of it), which was designed and formed by the French as a planned city early in this century. When you look down the main street of Gueliz, Marrakech you can see the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque and further than that the High Atlas Mountains, covered with snow in winter.

The French occupied Morocco from 1912 to 1956 and they had a concept of space that was very different from the Moroccan. In the 1920s, when Gueliz, Marrakech was being planned and built, The French city-planners thought that the streets needed to be broad and houses separated from each other and clearly observable from the street. The centre of Gueliz is like a circle and the streets radiate out like spokes of a wheel. This place looks like a little of Paris, Place de l’Etoile and the avenues one of which is the Champs Elysee.

Gueliz, Marrakech is the modern business district in Marrakech, and it is completely different from the medina –the old historic town. This place is very much alike with a French city. For the visitor, it is the place where you find restaurants with airs and graces, pizzas and pasta joints, and bars.