Jardin Majorelle

No visit to Marrakech is considered complete without a visit to at least one of its gardens. I'm not entirely sure why this is so -- perhaps the contrast of greenery against the bustle of the city, or greenery against the reddish stone of the medina -- but there are several famous gardens in Marrakech. I chose to visit the Jardin Majorelle. It's a newish garden for Marrakech, designed by French painter Jacques Majorelle around 1924. The brochure I picked up heralds it as "a place of rare individual expression and mystical force."

Riiiight.

The garden is pretty, though I think the botanical gardens at UC Riverside are more interesting. The Riverside gardens, however, lack the cachet of being located in Marrakech, designed by a French orientalist painter, and managed by a famous fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent. They also lack an expensive gift shop.

On the other hand, Pirhanna Women and the Avocado Jungle of Death was filmed at the Riverside gardens.

It's a tough call.