Marrakesh or Marrakech is the major city in central Morocco, known for its large markets and giant town square filled with vendor stalls and performers. The old part of the city is a maze of streets surrounded by a fortifying wall. Designed to be a capital city in between the lands of two feuding tribes, the city started construction in 1070, and served as Morocco's capital until the 1750s.
Adventures in Marrakesh[]
Indiana Jones had been to Marrakesh several times in his life.
In 1908, while visiting the Tangiers marketplace with his new friend, Omar, Jones and Omar were abducted by slave traders and transported across the country to a slave market in Marrakesh. A disguised Walter Harris arrived in time to purchase the boys and return them to Tangiers.[1]
In the winter 1930, René Belloq came to Marrakesh with the recently stolen Uppsala Scroll to sell its secrets to the Nazi agent Krause. Indiana Jones and Theresa Lawrence disguised themselves and tracked Belloq in the marketplace. While Jones was talking to a Marrakesh merchant, he spied Belloq showing the powers of the scroll to Krause - by transforming one of his soldiers into a beserker. Before they could complete the deal, Jones grabbed the artifact and escaped with it. While the Nazis chased him in the streets, he secretly handed off the scroll to Lawrence, disguised as a belly dancer. Leading his pursuers through the streets on horseback and on foot, Jones eventually was cornered in a dead end. Belloq took a scroll from Indy's satchel but Krause realized it was a copy of the Torah - the Uppsala Scroll had been swapped. Beating up Jones in the alley, Belloq and Krause left with no deal.[2]
In 1936, Belloq sold the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol in Marrakesh, after having stolen it from Jones in South America earlier that year. Jones knew that the artifact ended up in the city, and back at Marshall College, he requested $2,000 from Marcus Brody for its re-acquisition.[3] Ilsa Toht and Xomec plotted to steal it from Saad Hassim, an antiquities dealer, but Jones and Sallah stopped their plot and claimed the idol.[4]
Locations within Marrakesh[]
- Marketplace
- Slave market
- Back alleys
- Airport
Appearances[]
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones – My First Adventure
- Indiana Jones Adventures: Volume 1
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (Mentioned only)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark comic (Mentioned only)
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones – "The Gold Goddess"- Disney Magic Kingdoms (Ambiguously canonical source) (Mentioned only)
- Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods (Mentioned only) (Cancelled)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- The Golden Goddess
Chapter 1: My First Adventure on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones Media Kit (as "Marrakech")
- Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
- Grail Diary (prop replica)
- Indiana Jones apparel (Design: Indiana Jones Cities Postal T-Shirt)
