Day & night watch in Mellah, Marrakech

The Mellah, the former Jewish quarter of Marrakech, nestles in the south-east of the Médina, against the Palais Bahia and the place des Ferblantiers. Its tight lanes, covered passages and historic souk — the Mellah souk, the jewellers' and spice market — keep alive the memory of a dense, working-class quarter. Here you find long-settled families, many older people, and an old built heritage that, as throughout the old town, requires access on foot.

Providing care in the Mellah calls for the same command of the terrain as anywhere else in the Médina: cars cannot enter the lanes, and you have to know the passages and landmarks to reach a house quickly. Our nurses move through it on foot without difficulty, drawing on the landmarks you point them to — the place des Ferblantiers, a doorway, a shop — so as not to lose time.

The district is bordered by the city's health facilities and stays close to the Médina's pharmacies. But for the Mellah's many elders, often with limited mobility, home care is a genuine necessity: it avoids a gruelling trip through the crowded lanes and allows regular care in the familiar setting of home.