MARRAKESH, Morocco: Marrakesh's ancient medina was nearly empty on Sunday after a deadly earthquake that hit Morocco, but it did not stop some tourists who told AFP they chose to stay on.
The small group stood outside the imposing studded wooden doors of the Bahia Palace, a top tourist attraction built in the 1860s which is now closed.Jagged cracks have appeared in the rose-coloured walls of buildings in nearby streets, and some houses are now just piles of rubble. In Marrakesh's famous Jemaa el-Fna square, perfume and fruit juice vendors have replaced residents who spent the night in the open, wrapped in blankets, because their homes have been damaged or destroyed.
And Marrakesh is Morocco's main magnet for tourists, with more than 4.3 million visitors, the observatory's figures show.