Fondation Dar Bellarj Maison Des Cigognes

This guide to Fondation Dar Bellarj in Marrakesh's medina opens with a local legend: a centuries-old fondouk where a healer with a gift for treating injured storks worked, until the building took his name, Bellarj, the stork. It follows the courtyard's decline, from caravanserai to house to neighborhood school, before the doors closed and its carved cedar sat rotting for years. You'll hear how two Swiss travelers, enchanted on a visit, bought the ruin in 1998 and set about rebuilding it plank by plank with local craftsmen. Look up at the restored cedarwork before you cross into the courtyard.