In the days before hotels, Marrakesh had foundouks, or caravanserais – accommodation for travelling merchants.

Back then, merchants from as far afield as Timbuktu would regularly turn up in Marrakesh. They needed to stay a while, sell their goods, and buy more to take home. And they had horses, donkeys and camels to look after. The buildings that accommodated them were called foundouks. In English, we use their Persian name, caravanserai. In Arabic, funduq means a hotel to this day.

A Moroccan foundouk has a square courtyard in the middle. The rooms around it were originally stables, where the animals were accommodated. The merchants themselves slept upstairs, in rooms off a verandah running around the courtyard.

Where to find foundouks