MARRAKECH, Morocco // Whenever Winston Churchill came to Marrakech he stayed at the Hotel La Mamounia, taking a room with a view of the gardens and, beyond them, the white towers of the High Atlas range that spans the eastern horizon.
"I must be with you when you see the sunset on the snows of the Atlas Mountains," Churchill told the US president Franklin Roosevelt after the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. Naturally, that meant a trip to La Mamounia.
Next month La Mamounia is reopening again after three years of extensive refurbishment, an extra dollop of glamour to match the recent ascent of Marrakech as a cultural and tourist hotspot.
While some locals worry that growth benefits too few and is threatening the city's character, La Mamounia's elegance and distinguished history set it apart from the crowd.
Churchill and Roosevelt visited the hotel two months after Morocco had fallen to American forces in Operation Torch, an Allied campaign to chase the Nazis out of North Africa. As the German Gen Erwin Rommel fled into Tunisia, the two leaders enjoyed a holiday in one of Morocco's most venerable cities.
Marrakech began life as an 11th-century trading post, where Berber tribesmen mingled with Saharan caravans.
It flourished under the medieval Almohad dynasty and has served periodically as Morocco's capital. Even the country's modern name is derived from it.
La Mamounia is named for its gardens, where the 18th-century Prince Mamoun threw lavish parties. The hotel was opened in 1922, attracting a glittering international clientele before Marrakech declined as a luxury destination after Morocco gained independence from France in 1956.
But the great city of palms and red battlements has rebounded in the past few years as Morocco has improved infrastructure and promoted it as a tourist attraction.
"The city is becoming a jet-set destination," said Denys Courtier, the hotel's executive director. "We already have reservations from all over the world."
While the global financial crisis has dented tourism in Morocco this year, Mr Courtier noted that La Mamounia was reopening as western Europe and the US start edging towards economic recovery, and benefits from special cachet.
"People who have never been to Morocco have heard of La Mamounia," he said.
That renown was suggested in May when art-deco and oriental furniture from the hotel sold at auction for US$4.2 million (Dh15.4m) The renovation has been carried out by the design star Jacques Garcia, whose opulent makeovers from Las Vegas to Beirut have earned him the Legion d'Honneur, the highest distinction in his native France.
Views of the hotel from outside are obscured by the surrounding palm trees - it is inside that counts.
In homage to Moroccan tradition, Mr Garcia has made ample use of carved cedar, intricate stencilling and tiny mosaic-like tiles called zellij.
Marrakech's new prosperity has nourished its arts and culture scene. The city now boasts galleries, a film festival and a resident community of artists, both foreign and Moroccan.
"Not only foreigners, but also middle- and upper-class Moroccans are coming, so there's a market here," said Hamid Fardjad, an Iranian filmmaker and interior designer who co-founded the École Superieure des Arts Visuels de Marrakech. He has lived in the city since 2001. "People visit other cities - in Marrakech they stay."
But Marrakech's boom may be overheating. Mr Fardjad and other artists worry that too much growth too fast is robbing the city of its charm.
"When I first came here in 2000 the city was unique and magnificent," said Nourrdine Amir, one of Morocco's leading fashion designers. "I used to be able to say that Marrakech inspired me - I can't say that anymore."
The medieval core of the city and French-built quarter are ringed today by anonymous salmon-coloured housing blocks like scabs on the landscape. Modern resort hotels have sprung up overnight to serve the influx of tourists.
Meanwhile, the tourism boom has created a chaotic service industry that can turn exploitative, with few long-term contracts and pay often below the minimum wage of around Dh10 an hour, said Abdelilah Isbah, a local representative of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights.
In the Jemaa al Fnaa, a vast square near La Mamounia in the heart of Marrakech, hundreds of diners sat poised over soup bowls at dozens of outdoor restaurants, waiting for the Ramadan sun to set. Some were Moroccan, some foreign.
"The advantage of tourism is that we meet people from other cultures," said Simo, 22, a waiter who did not give his surname. "But since tourists started coming to Marrakech everything has become more expensive, and unless you study at a private school you'll never make a decent wage."
The call of a muezzin went up and Simo hurried off as eating commenced. Back at La Mamounia, the staff, blessed with competitive salaries and long-term contracts, were busy with a dry run of dinner. Far off to the east, above the waving palms, the last light of the sun glanced from the tops of the Atlas Mountains.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
MATCH INFO
Argentina 47 (Tries: Sanchez, Tuculet (2), Mallia (2), De La Fuente, Bertranou; Cons: Sanchez 5, Urdapilleta)
United States 17 (Tries: Scully (2), Lasike; Cons: MacGinty)
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
