Synagogues and Jewish heritage of Marrakech

Jewish Marrakech is visited on foot in the mellah and lived in Guéliz: JKECH tells the story of the Lazama and Beth El synagogues, the cemetery, and today’s community.

Slat Al-Azama (Lazama), the mellah synagogue

Lazama is the name everyone uses for Slat Al-Azama, the synagogue of the Jews expelled from Spain, in the mellah. The blue patio, the wooden benches, the old photographs: it is the place of memory of the Marrakech community. Open daily except Shabbat, head covered.

Beth El, the Guéliz synagogue

Boulevard Mohammed Zerktouni, in Guéliz. Beth El (also called the Henri Cadoch synagogue) is the community’s active synagogue: Shabbat and festival services, sometimes weekdays. This is where visiting families pray, a 10-minute walk from our apartments and the kosher restaurants of rue de Yougoslavie. Timings depend on the community: enquire for the date of your visit.

The mellah and the Miaara cemetery

The mellah, created in the 16th century, is the old Jewish quarter of Marrakech, between the Bahia palace and the El Badi palace: narrow streets, balconies, spice market. The Miaara cemetery, the largest Jewish cemetery in Morocco, holds the tombs of revered rabbis and is visited with respect. A private guide makes these places legible.

Further afield: Essaouira and the tzaddikim

2h30 away, Essaouira (Mogador): the Haim Pinto synagogue, Bayt Dakira (house of memory), the cemeteries. In the Marrakech region, pilgrimages to the tombs of tzaddikim (Rabbi David ou Moshe in Agouim, Rabbi Shlomo Bel Hench in Ourika) can be organised as day trips.

Organising the visit with JKECH

We book a private guide who knows the mellah, Lazama and the cemetery, we align the timing with Beth El services and the meal at the villa, and the driver handles the journeys. For Shabbat, our Guéliz apartments let you walk to Beth El.

• Private English- or French-speaking guide
• Timings aligned with services and kosher meals
• Driver for villa – mellah – Guéliz journeys
• Apartments 10 minutes on foot from Beth El for Shabbat