Location and venue
All meetings (except the workshop on
MPEG technologies) will be held at the
Palais des congrès de Marrakech
Avenue Mohamed VI
40000 Marrakech,
Morocco
Phone: +212 (0) 24 33 91 00
Fax: + 212 (0) 24 33 91 20/21
The official e-mail contact is mpeg79@emi.ac.ma
Contact for this meeting will be at
Ecole Mohammadia d'Ingénieurs.
Prof. Zouhair Guennoun
Ecole Mohammadia d'Ingénieurs
B.P. 765 –
Rabat Agdal
Rabat 10000, Morocco
Phone: +212 (0) 66 29 37 23 or +212
(0) 37 77 65 66
Fax: +212 (0) 37 77 88 53
E-mail: zouhair@emi.ac.ma
or mpeg79@emi.ac.ma
Also for any direct questions/comments/inquires,
please contact:
Dr. Abdellatif
Benjelloun Touimi
France
Telecom Research and Development
2 avenue Pierre Marzin
22307 Lannion, France
Phone: +33 (0) 2 96 05 36 77
Fax: +33 (0) 2 96 05 35 30
E-mail: abdellatif.benjellountouimi@orange-ftgroup.com
or mpeg79@emi.ac.ma
The city of Marrakech
Marrakech known as the "jewel of the
south" is a gateway to the desert, and a culmination of an age-old series
of civilizations and dynasties. Built in 1070, it has been home to several
dynasties, each of which has left its marks in the form of sumptuous palaces,
mosques, gardens and medersas (religious and Koranic
schools) making this city a top site and a tribute to living memory. Lying
at the foot of the Upper Atlas, near the desert and in proximity to snow-capped
mountains, Marrakesh
casts a spell only a few other tourist destinations around the world could
claim. Ochre is the predominate color; from the
medina (ancient Arab town) to the ramparts, everything basks in the light
of the sunset, transforming the town into a truly fairytale scene.
Located some 300 km from Morocco's
capital Rabat and 200 km from Casablanca,
Marrakech is accessible by plane, train
(http://www.oncf.ma) and
cars. In beginning of the winter (when the meeting will take place) the mean
temperature is around 11°C/52 °F.
In Marrakesh,
one can choose from an impressive array of hotels of different categories
in line with his budget. There are more than 300 guesthouses in the middle
of the ancient medina along with 11 2-star, 17 3-star, 17 4-star and 13 5-star
hotels.
Some links related to Marrakech:
Meeting facilities
The Palais
des congrès in Marrakech
The MPEG meeting will be held at
Palais des Congrès
in Marrakesh
which has held several major events: WTO/GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade) creation conference, Plenipotentiary Conference ITU, FIFA world
congress 2005, Marrakech Film Festival, ICANN meeting of June 2006 (http://www.icannmarrakech.org),
etc... It is located in the tourist circle of the city surrounded by hotels
and gardens. It is 10 minutes drives from the International airport
of Marrakech and less
than 20 minutes walk to the down town or to the old part of the Marrakech
city.
Palais
des congrès in Marrakech becomes an important
meeting point of high-tech communities as Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, chairman
of the board of ICANN, a Google vice president and one of the pioneers of
the Internet, has indicated during the Public Forum of Marrakech ICANN meeting
in last June 2006: "… It's occurring
to me that this location has a fascinating character. It's near the Mediterranean,
it is in North Africa, it is not far from Europe
and the Middle East. It's a very central
location for this part of the world. And if this complex is any indication,
it will become a very important meeting point for high-tech communities.
And I can see now that in addition to ICANN, the MPEG group will be enjoying
this facility in early January…" (see
http://www.icann.org/meetings/marrakech/captioning-forum1-28jun06.htm).
For the MPEG/JVT Meetings the
following rooms will be available:
Social event
The social event will be held on Wednesday,
January 17 in the Gharnata
Palace (http://www.gharnata.com).
The Gharnata
Palace extends over 2000
m2. Ancient house built in XVIth
century, belonging to the right hand of the Pasha of Marrakech in 1920 then
acquired and restored by Moulay Ahmed Amrani.
The Gharnata
Palace is situated between Bahia
Palace, prefecture of
the medina and Dar Si Said museum, a strategic place, visited by thousand
of tourists. Grounds, walls, pillars and doors are the result of a craft wooden
work of sculptured and painted Cebar, mosaics
finely chiselled and treated in seven colours.
The transport of MPEG delegates from
the "Palais des congrès"
to Gharnata
Palace and the return
back to the hotels will be ensured by the organizers.
Hotel accommodation
Rooms have been negotiated with hotels
close to the meeting venue in Marrakech. Participants have to make their own
reservation online through http://mpeg79.emi.ac.ma
at the same time as the registration. All accommodations are to be paid individually
and directly to the hotel.
Deadline for hotel reservations to benefit
from the negotiated rates: December 20, 2006.
Please note that when reserving a room,
you have to pay one night stay as a deposit for reservation. If you cancel
your room reservation before January 10, 2007, this deposit will be
returned back. No refund if room reservation is cancelled after this date.
|
Hotel
|
Room type
|
Price
|
Available
rooms
|
Distance to meeting location
|
|
Mansour
Eddahbi Hotel 5*
Address:
Boulevard Mohamed VI
40 000 Marrakech
Phone: +212 24 23 91 00
Fax: +212 24 23 91 20
www.hotel-mansoureddahbi.com/eng/
|
Single room bed
& breakfast
|
1180 Dhs / day
|
200
|
In
the same site
|
|
Double room bed & breakfast
|
1390 Dhs / day
|
|
Taxes
|
21 Dhs / day
/ person
|
|
Ryad
Mogador Menara Hotel 5*
Address:
Boulevard Mohamed VI
40 000 Marrakech
Phone: +212 24 23 93 30
Fax: +212 24 23 93 33
|
Single room bed
& breakfast
|
925 Dhs / day
|
60
|
20 m
|
|
Double room bed & breakfast
|
1010 Dhs / day
|
|
Taxes
|
21 Dhs / day
/ person
|
|
Ryad
Mogador Opera Hotel 4*
Address:
Boulevard Mohamed VI
40 000 Marrakech
Phone: +212 24 23 93 90
Fax: +212 24 23 93 92
|
Single room bed
& breakfast
|
460 Dhs / day
|
30
|
60 m
|
|
Double room bed & breakfast
|
600 Dhs / day
|
|
Taxes
|
13 Dhs / day
/ person
|
Travel information
Travel by Air:
The most convenient way to get to Marrakech
is by airplane. Indeed, Marrakech-Menara
International Airport (RAK) has direct scheduled flights coming in
from London, Paris
and other European capitals. Plenty of low cost companies now fly to Marrakech.
If you are flying from the USA,
Canada, Asia or elsewhere,
you can choose to fly via any one of these European airports deserving Marrakech
directly or fly to Casablanca Mohammed V airport, which is Morocco’s
main international hub, and then change plane for the 45 minutes flight to
Marrakech.
Transport to the city:
The Marrakech-Menara airport is located about
6 km (4 miles) southwest from the city and buses as well as taxis operate
throughout the day. Bus 11 is supposed to run to the old Arabic heart of the
city, the medina, every half an hour, but services can be unpredictable. There
are taxi phones in the arrival and departure lounges and taxis can be caught
near the bus stop. Taxi fares to the city are best agreed on before commencing
the journey. A grand taxi should not set you back more than 60 DH (80 DH at
night), for the run from airport to the modern town. Taxi drivers may accept
foreign currency. The major car rental companies are also represented at the
airport.
Travel by train:
If you arrive by plane to Casablanca,
there are trains running regularly between Casablanca
and Marrakech. The trip takes about 4 hours. For all train times see the ONCF
web site (http://www.oncf.ma/scripts/horaires1.asp).
Once arriving to the train station in Marrakech, you can take a petit taxi
to go to the meeting location. The petit taxi fares do not exceed 10-15 DH.
Visa information:
Most of the European and North American
nationalities do not need a visa to travel to Morocco.
The complete list of nationalities exempted from a visa can be found in the
link http://www.maec.gov.ma/fr/consulaires/sansvisa.asp.
Other nationalities have to arrange for their visas through the Moroccan Embassy
in their country.
In order to obtain a Visa, the organizers
will be glad to assist you with an official invitation letter, or other needed
documents, provided we receive request (including passport number)
before November 30, 2006. Please tick the symbol "Invitation letter
needed" in the online registration form.
For more information, visit the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of Morocco web site: http://www.maec.gov.ma/en/visiinterEN.htm or
send an email to mpeg79@emi.ac.ma.
Further information
Meals:
Lunch will be provided on the meeting
location during the MPEG meeting week (Monday – Friday). For the diner,
a number of restaurants are in the hotels around the Palais
des congrès or within walking distance. A guide
to restaurants in Marrakech will be provided with the “welcome package”.
Language:
Arabic is the official language in Morocco
and French is widely spoken. English is generally understood in the tourist
areas. In Marrakech as a tourist city you will not find any problem to communicate
in English in airport, hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.
Currency and credit cards:
The Moroccan national currency is the
dirham (Dh or MAD) which is divided into 100 centimes.
The exchange rate is around: 1 EUR = 11 Dh and
1 USD= 9 Dh (http://www.xe.com/ucc).
Traveller’s checks and credit cards are also accepted and money can
be withdrawn with credit cards at banks or directly at automatic teller machines.
Credit cards are generally accepted in upscale hotels, boutiques, restaurants
and other shops. All major credit cards are accepted widely like American
Express, Visa and MasterCard.
Business hours:
Banking hours are Mon - Thu: 8:30 AM
- 11:30 PM and 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM, Fri: 8:30 AM - 11:30 PM and 2:30 PM - 4:00
PM. Banks are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. The exchange counters at airports
are usually open from the first to the last plane or train, i.e., from 8:00
AM - 12:00 PM seven days a week.
Private businesses and government offices
are usually open Mon - Fri: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM.
Shops and stores are open Mon - Sat:
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM. They are closed on Sundays. Some shops also closed for
a one- or two-hour lunch break.
Time:
Local time in Morocco
is GMT.
Electricity:
Electrical current in Morocco
is 220 V, 50 Hz. Power plugs have twin round pins, as throughout Continental
Europe.
Weather:
Morocco
has a subtropical climate, tempered by oceanic influences that give the coastal
cities moderate temperatures. Toward the interior, winters are colder and
summers warmer. Rain falls mainly during the winter months.
The weather in Marrakech is sunny nearly
all year round, with pleasantly warm summers and mild winters. In winter the
weather in Marrakech remains fairly warm to mild during the day, but nights
are very chilly. During January, Marrakech enjoys a temperature around 11
°C/ 52 °F. The average total precipitation for January is around 32 l/m2.
Get around
Marrakech is more a city of colours,
sounds and smells than of any great monuments. The labyrinth streets of the
souk (old market) are an assault to the senses
and they can also be very frustrating – it’s not a city to get
anywhere in hurry. However, the area is surprisingly compact and part of the
fun is to wander, never knowing what surprises you might stumble upon. Any
visit will centre on the medina and square of Jemaa-el-Fna,
the heart of the city. Many of the attractions are within walking distance
of the square, with the rest being just a short taxi ride away. The Koutoubia
Mosque is the main place of worship in the city and entry is forbidden
to non-Muslims. However, the architecture can be appreciated from the grounds,
which are open to everyone. The city’s three medina-based museums, each
with their own unique style, are well worth a slow meander around.
Once in the medina, everything can be
seen on foot, though you'll be doing a lot of walking. For exploring more
of the city, buses and petit taxis are plentiful. Almost all buses stop at
Jemaa-el-Fna and Place Youssef
Ben Tachfine and fares range from 2 DH to
5 DH depending on the distance. Important municipal bus lines are: No 1 -
Towards Gueliz No 8 - Stops at the central train
station No 10 - Stops at the long distance bus station No 11 - Will drop you
off at the gardens of Menara.
