Morocco

The Last Storytellers

Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton tracked down the last of Marrakech's renowned public storytellers before their tradition disappeared, recording tales passed down through generations in the city's squares. The result captures the mystery and beauty of the Maghreb through the voices of those who kept its oral history alive.

Islam: A Short History

Karen Armstrong

Karen Armstrong brings deep scholarship to this clear and vivid survey of Islam's history, from the life of Muhammad through the faith's expansion and its challenges in the present day. Her account offers essential context for the religious and cultural traditions that shape daily life across Morocco.

In Morocco

Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton, the Pulitzer Prize winning novelist best known for The Age of Innocence, traveled through Morocco in 1919 and recorded her observations of its courts, cities, and craftsmanship. Her account offers a revealing early portrait of the country's history, nobility, and architecture through a distinctly literary eye.

The Spider's House

Paul Bowles

Paul Bowles sets his richly descriptive novel in Fez during the 1954 nationalist uprising, capturing a city on the edge of profound change. Among the many works the American expatriate wrote from his adopted home, this may be the most evocative.

Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood

Fatima Mernissi

Fatima Mernissi opens her captivating memoir with the line, "I was born in a harem in 1940 in Fez, a 9th-century Moroccan city." From there she captures not only the spirit of that ancient place but also the hierarchy and decorum of a Muslim family compound as seen through a young girl's eyes.

Guide to Morocco

David Raezer and Jennifer Raezer

David and Jennifer Raezer guide readers through Morocco's four imperial cities, Fez, Marrakech, Meknes, and Rabat, each home to a magnificent collection of Islamic art and architecture. Their practical approach highlights the essential sights within each city without losing sight of the craftsmanship behind them.

A House in Fez

Suzanna Clarke

Suzanna Clarke recounts the poignant, richly illustrated story of restoring Riad Zany, a traditional courtyard house in the heart of Fez's ancient medina. Her account moves through the frustrations and rewards of preserving centuries-old craftsmanship for a new life.

The Caliph's House

Tahir Shah

Tahir Shah recounts his move from London to Casablanca, where he restores a crumbling house at the meeting point of Islamic tradition and African folklore. By turns hilarious and harrowing, his account reveals how little in Morocco unfolds as easily as it first appears.

Yves Saint Laurent

Farid Muller and Florence Chenoune

This comprehensive retrospective traces the life's work of one of the most distinctive and influential designers of the twentieth century. Yves Saint Laurent's ashes were scattered in Marrakech's Majorelle Garden, the residence and botanical garden he owned with Pierre Bergé and returned to often for inspiration.

In Arabian Nights

Tahir Shah

Inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, Tahir Shah winds his way through the labyrinthine medinas of Fez and Marrakesh and across the Sahara sands, tasting the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans along the way. He collects a dazzling treasury of traditional stories that reveal fragments of wisdom and a way of thinking both enthralling and fresh.

The Food of Morocco

Paula Wolfert

Paula Wolfert offers what may be the finest introduction to Morocco's unrivaled cuisine, filled with classic recipes gathered across the country. Her guide brings together the spices, techniques, and traditions that define Moroccan cooking at its best.