Marrakech: A Visit to the Desert

Early this morning (again around 2 a.m. - the cheapest flights always get you home in the wee hours of the morning) I returned to London from an incredible 6-day trip to Marrakech, Morocco and Barcelona, Spain. As usual, my posts about my trip will be divided in two; one for each city. Enjoy!

Last summer, I spent a month in the Middle East (Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) studying politics and oil in the Gulf region. During those 27 days, I really was living in the desert. Though Morocco is not located in the Middle East, but rather, in North Africa, the sheer temperature (100 degrees and above) quickly brought me back to my experiences last summer.

Eric and I arrived in Marrakech, a medium-sized city located in central Morocco, late Sunday night due to a 2-hour flight delay out of London. Luckily, we had previously made arrangements with our hostel to be picked up from the airport, so that we did not have to navigate our way through the confusing and hectic streets of Marrakech alone and late at night.

The ride to our hostel was exciting and terrifying at the same time. It brought me right back to driving through the streets of Kuwait. Basically, the traffic in Arab countries makes the traffic in cities like Rome (notorious for having crazy drivers) look like "Driving Miss Daisy". Not only are you sharing the road with other cars, but you're also driving alongside bikes, mopeds, and, in cities like Marrakech, carts being pulled by donkeys and mules. And if Amsterdam is city of bikes, then Marrakech is easily the city of mopeds. They are literally everywhere.

We entered the medina (meaning "city" in Arabic, and is the historical part of Marrakech), which has incredibly narrow, dirt streets, and is where our hostel was located. I could not believe how quickly our driver sped through the winding roads, which were dark and full of pedestrians. In many guide books it says that the biggest safety issue in Marrakech is crossing the road and walking through the streets. I quickly realized why as we made our way to our hostel.

Unfortunately, our hostel was the bane of our existence in Marrakech. The only good thing was the pickup from the airport. Advertised on our trusted Booking.com as a nice hostel in a great location, what we experienced there was far from pleasant. There were cats everywhere, it was pretty dirty, and was far from many of the tourist sites. But, we made the best of it, and even befriended 2 people from Ireland who were just beginning their 2-month stay in Morocco.

Hostel lobby/breakfast area - easily the nicest part of the entire place

It was quite the temperature shock to go from 4 months of London weather to the 100 degree heat in Marrakech. We walked everywhere, and were always completely worn out by the end of the day. But we were able to see a lot in just 2 days and had a really great time seeing a completely different part of the world.

Our first morning in Marrakech, Eric and I visited the Koutoubia Mosque. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter , but the exterior is beautiful. Many refer to the Koutoubia Mosque as the "Eiffel Tower of Marrakech," as it is a signature image of the city.

We then made our way to Bahia Palace, built in the late 19th century. Though the palace is completely empty, it still attracts many visitors because of its colorful mosaics.

Like these!

After Bahia Palace, we visited Badi Palace, which consists of the remnants of a palace commissioned by the Saadian Sultan Ahmad al-Mansure in 1578.

It was absolutely massive, and even had tunnels running underneath it that are still open for visitors to explore.

There were large pools of water in the center of the palace, where many birds found some relief from the heat.

Leaving the palace, we found the terrace, which gave us a pretty cool view of some rooftops, as well as the Koutoubia Mosque in the distance.

Right near Badi Palace sits the Kasbah Mosque,  another famous mosque in Marrakech.

We then made our way to the main square of Marrakech, known as Jemaa el Fna. We ate lunch outside on a rooftop terrace, where we were able to look down on all the hustle and bustle! In Jemaa el Fna there are snake-charmers, orange juice vendors, street performers (some of whom even have monkeys) and restaurants. We had to be careful to make sure that any picture we took was aimed in a general area (not of someone/something specific), because otherwise people will ask you for money in return for the picture.

Next, we visited the Souk, or marketplace. There are numerous different souks designated for different goods, such as food, shoes, leather, etc. You are expected to haggle, or bargain, for lower prices. We did this in Istanbul, and I did a lot of haggling last summer in Kuwait. As I've probably stated before, I'm surprisingly pretty good at it! I left feeling very happy with the purchases I made.

For dinner,  Eric and I stumbled upon a place called Henna Cafe, which I had read about a little on my beloved TripAdvisor. Henna Cafe is a nonprofit organization that provides language classes (Arabic and English) to the local population. To keep their classes afloat, they run a small restaurant, and offer  Henna. I originally had no intention of getting a henna tattoo, but after I saw a few other people have it done, I thought: When in Morocco! Don't worry Mom and Dad, it only lasts for a few years. Just kidding - it will be gone in 3 weeks. 

The next day, we ventured out of the Medina. As we were leaving, I stopped to take a picture of the gate that surrounds the historic city. You can also see some shops, as well a horse-drawn carriage.

We made our way to the Majorelle Garden,  a 12-acre botanical garden that acts as an oasis in the scorching Marrakech desert. It was such a nice break from the heat and dust of the city!

They even have turtles!

The garden is also full of architectural features that have bright colors, like this one.

There are also many fountains and a huge array of plants, including cacti! 

After walking around for a bit, we stopped at the garden cafe for lunch. Moroccan food is typically served in dishes such as these.

Enjoying some refreshing lemonade in the cafe!

Later, we visited the Ben Youssef Madrasa, an Islamic college named after Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf, who expanded Marrakech's influence considerably. It is the largest Medrasa in all of Morocco.

The main courtyard is absolutely gorgeous, complete with a small pool and endless mosaics.

Mosaics galore!

I couldn't get enough of the artwork around the madrasa...

After spending some time in the courtyard, we went upstairs to the boys' dormitories. The doors were very small, as you can see!

For dinner that night, we returned to Jemaa el Fna. After about 7pm, the square turns into a bunch of outdoor restaurants, who compete for customers, especially tourists. Eric and I ate at "Stall 117," which our waiter told us, "Takes you to Heaven" (not sure if he meant that in a positive or negative way - just kidding). When trying to get us to sit down for dinner, he asked where we were from, and when we said the United States, he yelled "OBAMA YES WE CAN!" Needless to say, that sealed the deal, and we sat down for dinner. Each of the stalls have workers who run around the square trying to get you to eat at their restaurant. When they get a new customer, everyone in the restaurant claps. At our stall, they even sang "That's The Way (I Like It)" by KC and the Sunshine Band!

Moroccan chicken and vegetables for dinner!

Stall 117 in all its glory!

Jemaa el Fna at night - even more bustling and lively than during the day!

Leaving Jemaa el Fna, we passed by the Koutoubia Mosque during the call to prayer. It is lit up at night, and is really beautiful. It is much more pleasant to walk around Marrakech at night, and many more people are out and about.

I really did have a great time in Marrakech, especially as someone who has studied Islamic civilization and societies throughout my college career. If I were to go back, though (which I hope I will some day), I would definitely do things differently.

For one thing, Marrakech is an incredibly hard city to navigate by yourself. Eric and I got lost numerous times each day, just because there are almost no street signs, and it's easy to get confused about the direction in which you're headed. I quickly understood why a lot of the tourists we saw there were traveling with a larger group, complete with their own guide and tour bus. Though planned tours are usually never something I would consider doing, I could see why this might be necessary in cities like Marrakech, for the reason of navigation alone.

Furthermore, tourists who are traveling by themselves present the perfect opportunity to be harassed by locals. This might sound harsh, at first, but literally every time Eric and I stopped to look at our map or take a picture, it was only a matter of time before we were approached by someone who wanted to offer us directions in exchange for money. This got extremely tiring very quickly. I don't mind being approached and asked if I need help, but the persistence of these people was incredible. Even when we would start to walk away, we were followed, and "kindly" reminded that we had no idea where we were going. Even if this is true (which it often was), I will ask someone for directions if I need it, and that someone will not be a person who is just looking to make some extra money off of people who visit their country.

Many of these people also clearly had their own agenda for where they wanted us to go. On our first day, we stopped to look at one of the few street maps in Marrakech to make sure we were headed the right way to Bahia Palace. When a man who had been hanging around the area saw me put my finger on Bahia Palace, he promptly approached us and told us it was closed for the next hour, and we should go explore Mellah (Marrakech's Jewish Quarter) instead. Since we had just looked up the hours for the palace that morning, we decided to continue on and told the man thanks, but we'll be fine. Unsurprisingly, we arrived at the palace to find it completely open and full of other tourists. This type of thing happened at least 20 times each day we stayed in Marrakech, and got to be quite stressful and annoying.

That being said, I'm still a big believer in the idea that just because a country may be incredibly different from your own shouldn't dissuade you from visiting that country. The entire point of traveling is to see a different part of the world and have new and exciting experiences. Morocco certainly was different, but it was also tremendously exciting, and gorgeous in its own unique way. I'm so glad that I was able to make it down to Northern Africa during my time abroad, and I look forward to hopefully being able to return to Morocco in the future.