Across the courtyard is a small sitting room with a fireplace, perfect for cosy winter evenings playing Scrabble. There are a pile of books here and seating round the walls in a typical Marakchi layout. Leading off this room is a dining room that can seat eight round a large zillig fessi table.

Thread your way along the Derb to Riad Maizie, open the heavy front door, and you will glimpse a green oasis, birds chatter in the towering banana trees, bougainvillea scrambles up the walls, four orange trees scent the air from time to time with neroli, and two fountains cool the air. There are tables and chairs for drinking mint tea out of the heat of the mid-day sun, and at night there are the stars above and candles flickering beneath the trees.