Follow the sun across North Africa and you will come to Al-Maghreb, land of the sunset. Morocco, as it is known to English speakers, is as vibrant and multi-colored as the rays of light streaming through the clouds at the end of the day. Despite the religious, historical and political ties binding the Arab states, the Maghreb’s blend of Islamic and Andalusian styles speak to a distinct heritage and unique atmosphere.

Only a short flight from most European capitals, Morocco plays host to an increasing number of business travelers intent upon exploring beyond the boundaries of the five-star hotels. Although the capital, Rabat (population: 1.2 million), is a popular conference destination, I was headed to Marrakech — a city of a little more than 600,000 made famous by trade routes once considered far off the beaten track. The tracks are well beaten now, and this city at the western edge of the Atlas Mountains has become a proper mainstream destination.

Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism expects the number of visitors to more than quadruple over the next decade — up to ten million people per year — and is planning accordingly. New developments are springing up outside Marrakech, introducing hotels and tourism facilities to a landscape more accustomed to trucks piled high with oranges. Sweeping groves of citrus trees and olives still buffer the city from the arid land surrounding it, with the mountains shadowy through the desert haze.

The monumental Palais des Congres, with its conference facilities accommodating up to 2,000 guests, is usually the primary stop for business tourists. The state-of-the-art building blends into the city with archways, stately columns and mashrabeyya-shuttered windows accenting its voluminous meeting spaces. Five-star international hotels, complete with swimming pools, bougainvillea, rose gardens and sweeping buffets of Moroccan specialties, are centrally located, including the Kempinski Mansour Eddabhi Hotel right next to the Palais. Along the main thoroughfare of Rue Mohamed V, La Mamounia (www.mamounia.com) is an art-deco classic often considered the best large hotel in the city, while Le Meridien N’fis (www.lemeridien.com) is popular with larger tour groups.

If you prefer budget accommodations, try one of the many guesthouses in the heart of the city. Their rooftop terraces provide especially good vantage points from which to watch the activities of the town square at sunset. For the more fashion-inclined, restored traditional houses called riads exemplify the best in Moroccan opulence. Deep in the Madina, or Old City, Riad Farnatchi boasts a traditional hammam. Outside of town in the Palmeraie area, Ksar Char Bagh makes an especially charming escape (www.chicretreats.com).

The Madina, or Casbah as it is also known, centers around Jamaa’ El-Fna, whose bright lights glitter like sunlight on an oasis spring. During the day, Marrakech’s town square is host to a motley troupe, including snake charmers, acrobats, musicians and storytellers. You’ll even find traditional healers with all their wares, just in case you’re in need of dried ostrich heads or a live iguana in a bamboo cage.

Elie Losleben A mountaintop retreat near Marrakech

The commotion continues well into the evening, when drummers and dancers mingle with locals and tourists in a carnival-like atmosphere. Vendors set up food stands in a makeshift market over the medieval cobblestones. Oranges straight from the countryside are lined up like hundreds of globes, advertising phenomenally fresh orange juice that is ladled out of large vats. The food stalls at Jamaa’ El-Fna serve grilled meat and salads, with seating at long picnic tables beneath the wafting smoke. If you’re not very adventurous, stick with the orange juice — there’s no running water and the cleanliness of plates and serving utensils may suffer.

Marrakech was founded by Sultan Yousef bin Tashfin, an eleventh-century Berber who later led a number of incursions into Andalusia to defend the Moorish strongholds. Designing the city as the capital of Al-Moravid empire, bin Tashfin built the fortress wall that still shelters the Casbah today, as well as El-Koutoubia Mosque and a tiled palace within the old city.

Marrakech had two stints as Al-Maghreb’s capital: from 1062 to 1147 AD and again from 1550 to 1660.

Over the centuries, Marrakech became a last stop for caravans making their way across the desert through the Atlas Mountains, and it seems as if storybook characters still lurk in the meandering alleyways and gates behind Jamaa’ El-Fna. You’re quite likely to run across wrinkled fakirs, hardened camel traders and henna-tattooed women peering from behind their veils.

The entire Madina is navigable by foot, as long as you don’t mind getting lost along the way. Don’t worry, though, people will cheerfully point you back toward the square.

Courtesy Morocco Tourism Dinner and a party at the Jamaa’ El-Fna

Where there are caravans, there are souqs. For centuries, visitors have bought and sold wares from around the continent in the bazaars around Jamaa’ El-Fna. Shopping in Marrakech is some of the best in Morocco, a country famous for its decadent, ornate interiors and Oriental style. Handcrafted lanterns hang from low ceilings, their glass panes casting multi-hued patterns of light on worn clay tiles. Shimmering scarves in deep orange and ochre flutter in the evening breeze, as women examine the weave and lay of their tassels.

Morocco is known for its unique pottery, with delicate plates and bowls stacked high on the shelves deep in the old bazaars. The best are made in Fez and signed by artisans who have honed their craft at the feet of generations of master potters. Each hand-painted set is unique, bearing the distinct touches of the craftsman who shaped the pieces on the wheel. The more popular designs include blue and white motifs in the style of Turkish Izmir tiles, or brightly colored ceramics with floral patterns.

Shopping for antique Tuareg or Berber jewelry is a high point of any evening spent in the souq. Traders whose desert caravans were recorded by Herodotus, the Tuareg are one of the last tribal groups of the Sahara, living predominantly between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Their earrings, rings and khanjar (tribal swords) are made of silver etched with delicate geometric designs.

Berber jewelry is equally exquisite. The Berbers of Morocco call themselves the Amazigh and are the Maghreb’s traditional farmers and village dwellers. Their jewelry is made mostly of heavy silver and often includes amber, which is considered to have protective properties. The antiques run towards the high end of the budget, but there also are less expensive baubles such as earrings on offer.

Between shopping, wandering and watching the performers in the main square, you’ll soon find yourself getting hungry. Ba’ Brik (Moroccan for father) is one of the best places in Marrakech for mergaz: lamb sausage whose recipe is guarded from restaurant to restaurant. A hearty plate of mergaz, tomato salad and baskets of thick bread were the perfect end to an evening at the Jamaa’ El-Fna.

Elie Losleben A tourist timeout at the Majorelle Gardens

Try Le Marakchi, a chic restaurant that serves traditional tangine stews beneath oriental chandeliers to the soft gurgling of fountains. Outside the Madina, Le Comptoir mixes a trendy lounge atmosphere with low-key bellydancers and French-influenced Moroccan cuisine. The hotel district is rife with cafés and lounges that specialize in French wine and apple sheesha served to transglobal beats.

Within walking distance of the Jamaa’ El-Fna is El-Koutoubia mosque. Heading back into town after a day of meetings, I arrived at the city’s landmark 77-meter-tall minaret just in time for the evening call to prayer. As the faithful filed through the archways, I explored the periphery of the massive red stone Booksellers’ Mosque, so named because of the nearby souq. One of the largest mosques of its kind, El-Koutoubia covers 5,400 square meters and can hold up to 25,000 people. When it was completed in the twelfth century, it was immediately considered one of the finest examples of architecture in the Muslim world.

After a few days of the dust and crowds in the old city, I was ready for a hammam, a Moroccan tradition similar to a Turkish bath. I signed up for the gommage — the French term for a proper scrub — followed by a “massage relaxant.” This half-hour of pure relaxation took place beneath the dome of a steam-warmed room, with walls of ochre tiles and shards of sunlight illuminating a small fountain.

One afternoon I found my way to the Majorelle Gardens, named after the artist who spent most of his life painting within the walled retreat. During his time in Marrakech, Jacques Majorelle amassed a substantial Islamic art collection that is still on display in his former studio. These days, the garden is maintained by a foundation supported by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.

The gardens are enchanting at sunset: Gray doves sweep over the fountain, bamboo rustles beneath date palms and heavy tropical flowers weave up trestles set against indigo walls. Couples walk hand-in-hand through the dwindling light as tourists settle into secluded park benches to write in their journals.

Courtesy Morocco Tourism

While there are plenty of taxis in Marrakech, two wheels are apparently better than four. Motorcycles, scooters and bicycles all vie for space on the highway. You can rent one of the scooters or slender motorbikes to explore the Madina, but be careful: Just because motorbikes dominate the Madina doesn’t mean they’re the safest bet in the book.

My last day in Morocco, my colleagues and I rented a car and drove straight into the mountains. Hertz and other rental companies will provide a map, although you probably won’t need it — one road leads to the mountains, the other to the sea. Most major cities in Morocco are within 700 kilometers of Marrakech — driving time depends on how many villages you want to visit along the way.

For Marrakech-based day trips, tour buses head for Ourika, a garden-filled village in river-cut valley by the Atlas. Another option for the more relaxation-inclined: Saffron farms surround Marrakech and a trip to the fields makes a lovely afternoon excursion.

We opted in favor of a cliff-top road leading to a local ski resort, arriving just before dusk. The town had the feel of a Swiss chalet, the air suddenly crisp and cold against the dust of Marrakech below. We sipped mint tea and admired the mountain range in the waning light, then slowly wove our way down the hillside.

On our way back we saw a celebration and pulled over to investigate. After paying our respects to the village sheikh, we were invited to join the festivities, which celebrated the beginning of the school year.

School may have been beginning, but our trip was ending. My only regret was that I had to fit the city in around the conference schedule, and what I might have missed because of time constraints. At the hotel lounge, other travelers spoke of trips through the desert, pony treks through the Atlas Mountains and medieval ramparts of Fez’s old Madina. Before I’d even left, I could not wait to return to Morocco.

Holidays: Morocco celebrates most major Islamic holidays. National holidays include the Proclamation of Independence (January 11), King Mohammed VI’s birthday (August 21) and Independence Day (November 18).

Language: Arabic; French is the lingua franca for business and commerce; English is widely understood by younger Moroccans.

Time Zone: GMT

Visas: Citizens of the USA, EU, and some GCC and North African countries do not need a visa to enter Morocco; stays of up to three months are granted free. All others need a tourist visa before they arrive.

Currency: Morocco dirham (MAD); $1= 8.79 MAD

There and Away: Royal Air Maroc offers two daily flights between Marrakech to Cairo via Casablanca. EgyptAir only serves Casablanca, with three flights a week; from there, you can catch one of Royal Air Maroc’s seven daily departures for Marrakech.

Le Marakchi: Place Jamaa’ el Fna, 52 rue des Banques a Marrakech. Tel: +212 (44) 427422

Le Comptoir: Avenue Echouhada, Hivernage a Marrakech. Tel: +212 (44) 437702

Ba’Brik: Inside the Casbah, ask for directions.

Riad Farnatchi: Rue Souk el Fassis, Qua’at Ben Ahid, Marrakech Medina. Tel:+ 212 (24) 384910 / 384912. www.riadfarnatchi.com

La Mamounia: Avenue Bab Jdid. Tel: +212 (24) 388643 / 388644. www.mamounia.com

Mansour Eddahbi Hotel: Avenue de France. Tel: +212 (24) 339100. www.hotel-mansoureddahbi.com

Le Meridien N’fis: Avenue de France. Tel: +212 (24) 339400. www.lemeridien.com et