Postcard from Marrakech
It was around 9 PM when we reached the Medina and the whole place looked very different and a bit scary. The huge wall surrounding the whole Medina – the old city of Marrakech – looked formidable and claustrophobic at the same time. We could see people looking at us as if we were aliens. All this made us think if we had made a mistake in choosing Morocco as a holiday destination. We checked into our Riad (a traditional Morrocan house) and triple confirmed with the owner if the area is safe to walk around at this time of the night. Mustering all the courage, we went out to have dinner and safely returned back. Our first impression of Marrakech wasn’t good, but it was going to change the next morning. This is our travel story to Marrakech.
Our Travel Story to Marrakech
We had an early start the next morning as we had booked a 2-day desert trip to Zagora with an overnight stay at the camp. To our surprise, the Medina looked so different in the morning. To begin with, it wasn’t looking scary. It looked like a scene straight out of Arabian nights. We could visualize Aladdin jumping from one street to another. We saw similar doors and arch-shaped architecture, the narrow lanes in the daylight, and souk owners setting up their shop for the day. The Medina looked much charming and lively.
Reaching Zagora
The journey was quite long as it took us a good 8 hours to reach the desert. We were quite excited at the thought of riding the camels and sand dunes, which helped us to get through the journey. The driver played music from a band called Tinariwen on repeat (or maybe all the songs sounded the same to us). We passed by the dizzying high Atlas Mountains filled with snow, the desert oasis of endless palm trees, and barren deserted land with unique Moroccan houses. Finally, after enduring motion sickness and boiled vegetables in Morrocan spice water (it’s called tagine), we reached our destination.
Camping overnight at Zagora
Our camel owner guided his two camels to the camp with us sitting on them. After such high expectations, frankly, we were a bit disappointed to not find any sand dunes. For us, a desert should look like the ones we always imagined, with sand all around us and huge sand dunes in front of us and the sun setting over the high dunes. But Zagora was a flat desert and there was not much sand in the first place, let alone the dunes. This was the biggest disappointment in our travel story to Marrakech. If we ever go back, we will definitely opt for a three-day desert tour, instead of a two-day tour and enjoy the Sahara desert the way it should be.
Well, we tried to hide our disappointment when the driver asked how we liked the desert and the camel trip. So as to not spoil the rest of the time, we decided to enjoy whatever was available to us. The people at the camp were very welcoming and we were quite amazed by the facilities available in the camp. After a sumptuous dinner and traditional Morrocan music around the campfire, we gazed at the numerous stars and the constellations along with it, wondering if there is someone out there in the galaxy wondering the same.
Drive back to Marrakech
The next morning we started early again after a good breakfast and this time we decided to walk the camels instead of riding them (and hence saving ourselves from the butt pain). The camels walked energetically and made weird noises all along. Later we found out that it was their mating season and the noises were all the adrenaline.
We headed back to Marrakech, listening to the same Tinariwin music on a loop. Even though the desert trip did not live up to our expectations, we still managed to enjoy the experience deciding to make our own memories. On our way back we visited the film studios and Ait Benhaddou – a fortified village with literal translation meaning Family of (Ait) Son of (Ben) Haddou. The film studio had set for The Mummy, Gladiator, the Game of Thrones, and a couple of Bollywood movies. The driver was happily telling us about how much Morrocans love Bollywood and Shahrukh Khan and how they call Morrocan movies Mollywood. It was funny to see how everything was made of Styrofoam and looked so real. Ait Benhaddou looked extraordinary. Everything was made of mud, looked ancient, and had so many shops set up selling art, carpets, jewelry among other things.
Medina of Marrakech
The Medina of Marrakech is rather huge and the souks come to life around midday and continue until the late evening. Bargain hard and don’t hesitate to walk away if the shopkeeper doesn’t budge. Typically start negotiating for 1/3 of the price and work your way up to around 45 percent of the initially quoted price. You can find anything from carpets, decorative lights, ceramic items to snake charmers, henna artists, fruit sellers, juice makers (not the Cuisinart ones but the human ones), and too many restaurants. The old charm of the Medina will definitely impress you and you are bound to get lost in the labyrinth of the streets. The antique shops, vegetable markets, people trying to sell you anything and everything (even the hairdresser will invite you to have a haircut if your eyes meet his), high walls around the Medina will definitely take you back in time.
We visited the beautiful Ben Youssef Madrassa and absolutely fell in love with detailed craftsmanship. The architecture is beautiful and hiring a guide can be helpful to know a few details, which could otherwise be overlooked.
Morrocan Food
Food was something we got bored with within just a few days. Being vegetarians is a curse in this part of the world (for that matter everywhere) and we did not have many options. Tagines and couscous with vegetables were the only Moroccan vegetarian food available and we had to resort to Italian food from time to time to break out of boredom. Orange juice and oranges were available in plenty and we had a great time devouring the cuties.
Where we stayed
We stayed in a few different Riads over the course of our trip and loved Riad Spa Sindabad the best. It had such a cozy feel and the spa was so relaxing. We usually never indulge in pricey hotels, but after our stay at this Riad, we have decided to try more such places in the future.
Our travel story to Marrakech wasn’t as smooth as we thought it would be. There were a good few disappointments but overall we felt it was a good experience. Marrakech was a full blast to your senses. However, for us Indians, well we grew up in similar situations 😉
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39 Comments
nikirath
Wow, looks like such a wonderful place!
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you! It definitely is and looks fabulous in photos!
A Hearty Nomad
50 cents for an orange juice I loved Morocco but not because of this only. The people were wonderful to me and it is such a nice place with good food a delicious tea. it was a good read indeed and your pics are gorgeous. Good work!
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you so much! The orange juice was the highlight for me. We could even pluck oranges from road side trees. 😊Did you travel anywhere other than Marrakech?
A Hearty Nomad
Yeah Rabat was fantastic
I took the train in the morning and I arrived pretty early in the capital. I saw almost no tourists and it was totally authentic. A good choice to visit. Lets not talk about food because this just made me wild. It was wonderful and hopefully I’ll go back this year. Did you enjoy the Tajihn?
SendingPostcardsHome
We visited Chefchaouen and Fez. Totally loved Chef.. We didn’t quite enjoy food that much as we are vegetarians and the options were very less. Tagine was good one time but couldn’t continue eating it for all meals.
A Hearty Nomad
Hahahah nah of course not. But vegetarian food in Morocco was not easy to find, that is true. Chef looks amazing!
SendingPostcardsHome
Do plan to visit Chef next time. 🙂
A Hearty Nomad
I will for sure.
simonjkyte
I was in ait ben haddou alone
SendingPostcardsHome
Oh why was that?
simonjkyte
It was quiet in those days – took a taxi out there
SendingPostcardsHome
Sounds like it was a couple of years back!
simonjkyte
25 i guess
SendingPostcardsHome
Wow!
simonjkyte
LOL – that’s called getting old
SendingPostcardsHome
Or maybe travelling in the age when it wasn’t so affordable, mainstream and popular.. ðŸ˜Å
simonjkyte
I think it was more affordable then
Pramod
Raga and Nandita, I reading your blog. I feel that Morocco has an old world medievalist charm about it. I particularly liked the photographs of the beautiful Ben Youssef Madrasa and Riad Spa Sindabad.
SendingPostcardsHome
Thanks Papa. Morocco definitely has an old world charm. It transports you into a different era all together.
Pooja @lostinprettyeurope
Beautiful photos! 🙂 The colors and patterns are amazing. For me as a Nepali person, it wouldn’t be that interesting either. I actually prefer traveling in countries with orderliness and culture different than the one I grew up in hehe. But Morocco is one of those few countries in Africa that I really want to go to someday! 🙂
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you Pooja. Morocco was unique in its own ways. The architecture, souks and the feeling of being in the sets of Aladdin was unique. But the chaos and haggling, well we have seen and done that. 😉 Its very close to Europe and I am sure it must not be that far from Poland. The visa process is easy and fast. Hope you are able to travel soon!
Pooja @lostinprettyeurope
Ughh I don’t like dealing with visa process of countries but Morocco might be worth it! Thanks 🙂
Sheri @trail2peaktheadventurouspath
Ha! I remember my first time in a desert… I, too, thought it would be all sand dunes the way you see them in the movies. It took a full month, exploring a lot of Egypt’s hidden treasures & amazing places before we finally saw some down near Abu Simbel. Your photos are wonderful… especially the lantern one that is your cover photo for the post. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
SendingPostcardsHome
Thanks Sheri! 🙂 Had we known, we would have taken a 3 day trip instead of 2 day trip.. Looks like there is a place some 10 hours from Marrakesh (Merzouga) where you can see sand dunes. Thanks for reading the blog post. 🙂
teacakesand
Great photos and post – you’re bringing me right back to my time in Marrakech. I can’t believe someone taught you to paint with saffron and tea, it’s so unusual! I would love to try that. And ahh, their orange juice and mint tea are perfection!
SendingPostcardsHome
It definitely is unusual. All the paintings you see in the background (in the photo) are made from saffron and tea.. And we just couldn’t stop drinking orange juice.. So good!! Thanks for reading the post. 🙂
ourhoppytravels
Great photos! Your words and the pictures transported me to the place. Sounds like a pretty exotic adventure and a unique place!
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you! 🙂 In some ways it was really unique and did transport us back in time.
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Local Feedback
Have been looking for a good post on Marrakech and this one answers everything 🙂 Thanks for visiting my site. You could also submit reviews of the travel routes within Morocco here https://localfeedback.org/submit-a-review/travelroutereviews/
SendingPostcardsHome
Thank you so much! We will definitely check it out
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