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Showing posts from January, 2009

Zamzam Riad Boutique Hotel Marrakech - First Press

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How exciting we have just had our first write up in a top British media. We had a group of travel writers come to dinner at Zamzam Riad and they loved it so much one of them decided to do a small piece on us, which of course is fantastic. We have also been invited to the Guild of Travel Writers cocktail party in February in London, so all great news and may it continue. I have also been asked if I would be a case study for WOW ( well being of women), the charity we support for women in the UK and around the world. I hate having my photo taken so after Marcus taking about 40 of me the other night, I have not yet got a photo over to them. It terrorfies me that I might see myself in some journal! Equally exciting the article mentioned my blog too. I'm just starting to get the marketing cogs rolling so any ideas or contacts would be gratefully received and don't forget my wonderful collection of Beni Ouarain carpets that are for sale at the Zamzam Boutique! I'm d

The Mandarin Harvest - Citrus season Marrakech Morocco

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Two of these baskets from one little tree. We have had a bumper crop of Mandarins, oranges and lemons. I adore this season of citrus fruits in Marrakech it is so exciting and special as it coincides with Christmas and brightens up a winter garden. I had some lovely red peppers too which sadly have now finished. However with the help of my dad who i have to say has done all the seed planting and Hassan who has tilled the earth and made wonderful seed beds, the new Zamzam veggie garden is planted. We are now waiting patiently for the Moroccan spring to arrive where we will have more excitement spotting the little seedlings. I had a number of tiny mandarins which we have preserved in a secret sirop. They are wonderful with deserts and even better in a chicken tagine. Make sure you order this when you visit the riad. I will keep you up to date with the vegetable garden and post photos as and when the excitement starts!

The Moroccan Coast

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We were all packed up to go to the coast on our family trip after being so busy at Christmas, when we got a call from the UK to say that Marcus father was very ill and that he must come home at once. We couldn't go too far in case we were needed on the telephone so we decided to go to Essaouira on a coast and buying trip. The buying I will show you later. We stayed at the wonderful Villa De L'O which is our partner riad in Essaouira . Celine is a fantastic hostess and our room had a raised bath overlooking the bay! It decided to rain for two days but my daughter and I were quite happy in the Opium suite, reading the paper and watching DVDs . I hope to post more often sorry for the delay we have just been rather hectic. The wonderful roof put on the riad at Christmas has blown off, so we are sorting that out today. I'm off skiing tomorrow with everyone to the stunning ski resort of Oukaimenden .

Going to the Desert - Morocco

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Our guests have left and we have a little window of time before the new ones arrive, so we are all off to the desert! It has been very cold today with grey skies so I hope things clear up. My good friend left this morning and phoned her husband at lunch time to say the road across the top of the Atlas Mountains to Quarzazate was closed due to snow. He called me tonight 7 hours later saying when was the last time you spoke to her?! hope she is ok. We are desperate to stay in tents, but it will just be too cold. I crossed the Sahara 10 years ago in February in sleeping bags and it was freezing. I didn't take my woolly hat off for two weeks. Will update you on our trip as and when. We are off to find wonderful Zamzam experiences for people!

Stunning vintage Azilal at the Zamzam Boutique

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A gentleman wanted to buy an Azilal from Zamzam this week and when I arrived at the Riad to pick it up Marcus had sold it. Hating to disappoint I got out and about made some calls and these beauties are some of what I found. Luckily the gentleman has happily chosen one. If you are interested in these beautiful Berber creations click on the Zamzam Boutique link to view the current stock. Payment is by paypal . I love the rich brown in this one. These carpets are finer and more velvety than the Beni Ouarain which tend to be woolly and chunky. By the way I forgot to tell you all that not only did I have flu over Christmas, but when my mother kindly offered to cook the Christmas dinner it was discovered that our helpful housekeeper had chopped up my special rib of beef joint and made a tagine !! Ba Humbug. When I finally got over this incident a few days later we did eat the tagine and it was exceptional. The bizarre thing is that Fatiya never usually cooks for us??

Zamzam gets a bache - Moroccan Riad Roof

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It seems like ages since I have done a post, I'm so sorry but Christmas and New Year at Zamzam has been busy busy. Just before Christmas we had a very cold patch for Marrakech , with a thick frost in the mornings. I think you can see how cold and clear it is in these photos. As we had a full Riad for Christmas we decided we had to get a roof on the riad , which involved making a little color for the palm tree. These temporary roofs that most guesthouses have in the winter are brilliant at keeping in the warmth, they totally transform the Riad in the winter into a cosy house. I had great intentions of Happy Christmas to you all but I picked up my parents from the airport on 23 December and then spent the rest of Christmas in bed with the flu! Anyhow HAPPY NEW YEAR - I hope you all have a great 2009. My wonderful Christmas decorations are somewhat trapped but it was worth it. Attaching the roof.