Marrakech "The City of Sin" !?

Marrakech "The City of Sin";

These words stirred a lot of emotions when in, 2012, the Minister of Justice Mustafa Ramid, of the Islamist PJD party, declared that Marrakech was becoming a city of sin.

After all these years and with the PJD still, at power, I ask myself the question:" Has Marrakech become a city of sin?". You will find the conclusion and the argumentation in the end.

Let us start with a definition that I found in Wikipedia.

According to Wikipedia :

A "Sin City "is an urban area (a city or part of) that caters to various vices. These vices may be legal (depending on area ) or illegal activities which are tolerated.

Examples of vices include sex-related services (prostitution, strip clubs, sex shops, etc.), gambling (casinos, betting shops, etc.), or drug use (alcohol, marijuana, etc. consumption).

Has Marrakech become a sin city? According to the same Wikipedia, the answer is clearly YES. Marrakech is the only city listed in Africa that has been stipulated as a "sin city" offering gambling, drinking, clubbing, and prostitution.

If this is the description, it seems that we have to plead guilty.

Let us investigate & conclude.

Gambling.

Yes, gambling exists.

Lottery winnings in Marrakech are not as high as in Europe or the United States. Maroc Loto and https://www.eloterie.ma/

Gambling offices exist, mostly they gamble on horses " Locally know as Tiercé".

In Marrakech, you have a gambling office in Gueliz centre, in the gallery opposite the Cinema Le Colisée.

By the way, you have a beautiful hippodrome in Marrakech to which we are going to dedicate a blog post in the future.

Officially you have also two casinos in Marrakech.

Es Saadi Gardens & Resort Marrakech is home to Casino de Marrakech run by The Bauchet-Bouhlal Family, the first casino in Morocco, established in 1952.

The elegant world-famous hotel la Mamounia is home to Grand Casino La Mamounia.

Both casinos offer slots & table games.

Drinking.

I like to refer you to my post" Marrakech & Booze."

I summarise briefly.

In Marrakech, people like to drink and enjoy drinking alcohol.

Not a problem for non-Muslims. For Morrocan and Muslims, however, there is legislation banning the consumption of alcohol linked to jail sentence when caught red-handed.

Clubbing

Marrakech is the perfect location for going out and counts with several nightclubs with international fame. The real fun in a club starts at about 1 a.m. A reason, therefore, might be that bars close between 1 and 2 a.m. where nightclubs close at 4 -5 a.m. When you are an insider, you might even get invited to further afterparties.

Does this mean that you have to wait until 1 a.m. in your hotel room? Not a chance. Marrakech offers a great choice in trendy restaurants, sky bars and lounges to kill time. :). When they close the real party starts.

Where Gueliz has become the place to be for a hip restaurant or bar with a sizzling atmosphere at night. The golden party triangle of the Hivernage has not stood still. Several lounges and clubs have opened during the last years. Just outside the centre, you will find some more clubs and cabarets, that you should not leave out of your todo list if you are a clubber. I will certainly talk about the infamous Cabarets during another post.

Usually, I don't add lists of names because you have websites that distribute points which I don't do or only in exceptional cases.

But I think it might be useful to make an exception here and point out several clubs where I have, not only spent, a tremendous night myself but also a place where a great night out is usually guaranteed.

A club for me is defined by space, resident and international DJ's life & shows, and closing hours.

• THEATRO opened in 2003 must be on that list and is located in the pure centre of sin city with casino bar and club fraternally next to each other. (Hivernage)

• RASPUTIN opened in 2016 under the Jad Mahal where Silver used to be, for the old ones among us, gives international flair to Marrakech with a tried and tested concept that has proved its worth in Paris and Rome (Hivernage).

• 555 MARRAKECH Opened in 2014 and was a hit from the first day. I still remember very well the great spectacle with Snoop Dog or rather DJ SNOOPADELIC.555 Marrakech is situated on Avenue Mohammed VI, 5 minutes from the Medina and Gueliz. (Agdal).

• Le W Club Marrakech opened in 2016 and is one of the so-called newcomers. Le W club is situated next to the hotel Savoy Avenue de la Menara. (Hivernage)

• VIPROOM MARRAKECH was opened in March 2017 and after Paris, Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Dubaï, Monaco and Cannes. VIPROOM Marrakech , with three party levels, is the 8th establishment for Jean-Roch. (Hivernage)

Prostitution in Marrakech.

If I deny that there is prostitution in Marrakech, I might as well deny that the world is round.

Prostitution is a forbidden activity in Morocco and therefore also in Marrakech. I think everyone agrees that exploitation in any way is a "NO GO." When last year,tougher measures, were taken and harsher sentences were imposed it became clear that a wind of change was blowing in Marrakech. Not only for those who practised prostitution but also on all those who granted facilities.

Conclusion.

I have now examined the definition of 'sin city 'point by point and could conclude that everything that defines a city as "sin city" is available in Marrakech.

However, I think that this definition is very unfair to Marrakech, because Marrakech is so much more than that.

Marrakech is a multi-faceted city that appeals to an immense number of people for a variety of reasons.

You can wander through the medina in the morning, drink a coffee on one of the many terraces, visit a museum or practise your favourite sport and in the evening after a good dinner, you can dive into the nightlife if you like.

For me, Marrakech is a pocket-sized metropolis where there is room for everyone and where everyone can feel at home.

The fact that there are downsides is precisely a confirmation of this theory.

Time for a coffee.

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Corona update.

More and more activities are opening up in Marrakech, but I strongly recommend that you always check whether the activity you have planned has already been reopened.