It’s always a pleasure to meet a successful person who is yet humble and passionate about what he does. This is pretty much what Jean Francois Fourtou is, a French glob trotter who made Marrakech his home almost 20 years ago.
Jean-François greets you with a cup of coffee in his “hive” villa, which he built for his parents and which will take you to another universe. He asks if we can “tu” instead of “vous” which is more than natural for him after having spent many years in Spain where everything is just more simple..
His universe is Dar El Sadaka in Marrakech’s Palmeraie, 11 hectares o which he has been experimenting and creating over the years; first with an upside down house in which you enter through the top window… at ground level. It is decorated based on the memory he has of his grandparent’s home. A little further on is a giant’s house, where everything is double its normal size, allowing one to see the world from the perspective of a 4 year old. Jean-François is a challenger who likes to question the obvious and play with senses.
Bored of having people knocking on his front gate asking to see his upside down house or his giant home, Jean-François Fourtou with the help of Philippe Forestier, his friend, director and a light artist, decided to offer a different experience of the venue by showing their full creativity potential. One can now have a gigantic diner in front of the giant house where turkeys replace chickens and magnums replace normal bottles, even the fries are gigantic!
They will also set up a cocktail below a tree where 1,000 candles will have been lit (try counting them). Everything is served on mirror tables, allowing you to see twice as many candles. You want a meal where everything is black? No problem! A cocktail in front of the upside down house where everything is upside down? Can do! This place is as if Lewis Carroll had met Tim Burton.
You’ll see a golf cart on top of a pole at 5 meters around the corner of an alley in the garden, before scaring yourself in front of a giant ant or bee which is the size of your arm.
Dar El Sadaka is one of those magical and unexpected places that make Marrakech an original Marrakech. You just need to know which door to push and have the key to it to enter an amazing universe. Go there on our behalf and remember to follow the white rabbit!
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