The wind has faded away and moved to the gates of the city. The drumming tambourines have subsided – long after the wind’s retreat. They could be heard throughout half the night, rhythmic and thunderous sounds. And the smell in the air was dominated by the petroleum used by the fire-eaters, even hundreds of meters away from it all. None of this felt irritating, all of it belongs here. And when the tambourines and bells eventually wore off, not to be heard through the open room window any longer, it felt like something was missing – it gets so quiet that you wake up because of it.

It is incredible to think that one starts to long for all that made it barely possible to fall asleep in the first place: everything that made the royal city of Marrakesh become the most mystical spot ahead of any other metropolis in North Africa. Even when streets, houses and hidden gardens lie between the center with the market place and one’s own hotel room with the open window, the magic of Marrakesh does not fade. What a mesmerizing city! And those fantastic hotels, from the famous La Mamounia to the hidden riads. When are you going?