Snapshots of Marrakesh

Day One We stepped off the airport bus into a crowded square of people hustling and bustling to sell homemade items, give horse driven carriage rides, take pictures with camels, snakes and traditionally dressed Moroccans. Our faces must have shown how overloaded our minds were trying to process (or maybe it was the group of white tourists with travel backpacks, suitcases and a map that gave us away – I guess we will never know) because we were suddenly swarmed by a dozen people offering to give us directions for a small finder’s fee. Typically, unsuspecting tourists see all these people gracious to help only to be told at the destination point that their services are going to cost 20 to 50 dirham (the current dirham to dollar exchange rate is about 9 dirham to the dollar); we were no different. We weaved our way through the busy square, dodging cars and motorized bicycles (yes, they had petals and motors – pretty clever) following the directions given to us by the hostel. Walk to the big square, find the big Coca Cola sign and take a left, then a right after Café de France, another right at the end of the alley, go through two Moroccan archways and take the first right after the second archway. No street names were given and they wouldn’t have helped anyway. We followed the last direction right down a dark stone ally (a little leery about whether this was where we were suppose to be) and found our way to house number 40. A quick knock on the door and we were welcomed into a rather dark hallway which lead into a candle lit den area. We sat on brightly colored sofas and floor cushions and were served our first tastes of Moroccan tea. The hostel was lovely all around; the staff was welcoming and greeted us by name, the décor was exactly what I was expecting from an Moroccan household, the rooms were cozy and clean. The one downside, the bathrooms were a little rough, but hey, you can’t have it all. Our first Moroccan meal was from a little restaurant on the edge of the big crazy square and was recommended to us by our hostel. One of the traditional dishes in Morocco is cooked in a tajine. A tajine is a clay pot with a lid and is heated over an open fire with different meats and vegetables inside. For about £3 we received a personal tajine dinner, bread and a coke. The meal was cooked to perfection, the meat was tender, the seasonings were delicious and the vegetables seemed to melt in my mouth. It was wonderful!

Day Two We set out early to explore the city of Marrakesh. Map in hand we determined that the best way to find the souks (the shopping area of the square) would be to take a right off the main road. Not only were we lost within a matter of moments, but we also looked lost and had a map! It didn’t take long before a “helpful” man decided to show us the way to the tannery (a place none of us especially wanted to visit or could really understand why anyone would want to. We would much rather buy our leather bags in ignorant bliss in the comfort of the souks shopping area, without seeing the animals being dismembered). We followed for a good fifteen or twenty minutes before we realized maybe following an unknown man down dusty alleys was not the best way to find the area we most desired (plus, the unknown cost for his services was likely to be more than our student budgets). To our unwanted tour guide’s disappointment we were able to escape and found ourselves outside the city walls. We walked around the city until we were back at the entrance to the square where we found that just on the other side was the entrance to the souks. We had taken the scenic route for sure! Morocco is a rich country in spices, oils and much more. The craftsmanship of their homemade tourist items did not disappoint and we found ourselves enjoying shopping for little things to take home. I’ve never been a big shopper and frankly, the thought of spending hours looking at things I do not need has never really satisfied me (I’d much rather spend my money on trips than things) but I felt like I wanted it all when exploring these little shops. I also discovered I am quite the negotiator and was happy to seek out a bargain or just walk away. Thanks to a friendly little shop owner who offered me a “student discount” I am now a proud owner of a green hookah. I have no idea how to use it and I don’t even know if I have all the parts, but it looks great as a decoration in my room! For a measly £7.50 I was happy to cross that off the bucket list.

Day Three Breakfast at the hostel was maybe one of the best breakfasts I have ever eaten (and it was free so, of course, that made it that much better). Each day we were offered Moroccan tea and several different types of breads with honey and butter. We filled our tummies, packed small bags with the extras and headed off to explore the countryside in the Ourika Valley. We climbed to the top of the falls and were a little disappointed to find it wasn’t as large as we expected; however, we were more than amused by the homemade refrigerators which sprayed cold spring water on the bottles of water and Coke to keep them cold. The most exciting moment of the trip would be the fight that broke out in the little village while we lunched. At a far enough distance away we were safe from the fury but could see small bits of what was going on. During the course of the argument rocks were thrown, whole trees were picked up and swung around, clothes were stripped off and huge numbers of the community rushed to calm the angry man down. He was forced at one point to bow on a prayer mat; however, this only seemed to fuel his fire. We never found out what the commotion was all about, but we figured it must have been over a girl. And to top off the end of a great day I even got to take a short ride on a camel. I decided I quite like these creatures and wouldn’t mind taking another ride again some day!

Day Four We like to pack in the excitement until the very last minute. Our flight back to London wasn’t until around 5 p.m. Our last tour began at 8:45 a.m. where we were taken to the outskirts of the desert and the beginning of the Sahara desert. A facemask, helmet and a pair of goggles and we were ready to go on our first four-wheeling experience through the sandy land. We rode past small mud villages and over the bumpy terrain for two and a half hours until we were back at the van. Covered in dust we shared our personal driving experiences of moments when speed and sand almost didn’t agree and laughed that we had cheated danger. The final conclusion - our time in Marrakesh could only be described as a proper holiday, but how nice our own showers and beds were once we finally arrived back to home sweet London.

* Pictures taken by Eastern Boy

#Marrakesh #Travel #Exploring #Adventure