Let's go to Morocco!

Elizabeth had a cousin in Morocco and had wanted to visit her for some time. The idea was to pay her a visit before the holiday season, and so we looked for tickets. As luck would have it, SWISS International Airlines had tickets from Zurich to Marrakesh for just CHF 200. We decided that the offer was too good to pass up and booked our trip to Morocco from November 30th to December 7th, 2015. It was my first trip to a Muslim country. I was excited.

Riads are the place to stay

We spoke to several people about the trip before we made any bookings. The consensus was to book a Riad (a large traditional house built around a central courtyard). The prices go all over the place, and unfortunately, at the time, I did not find any site that I would recommend for finding the best. In the end, we booked three nights at Maison Do (Derb Hajjama, Ben Salah - Medina). The Riad also organised transport from the airport to the Maison Do, which was not easy as cars cannot drive through the Medina very well and we walked about 5 minutes through the narrow streets and down, what was a unexpecting alley. The massive wooden door of the Riad looked grand and hid secrets behind it.

We were kindly welcomed by one of the Riad staff and then the owner; an elderly French woman, who had been in Morocco for more than 20 years. We were there in the off-season and the Riad, though clean had that feeling. With the sun low in the sky, the ground floor has a dark atmosphere. However, the two levels of roof-top terraces are beautifully bright with views over the Medina and off towards the Atlas mountains.

Rock the Kasbah

Our first two days were spent exploring Marrakesh and the Medina. It felt like I was experiencing the world of Aladdin. The streets are tight and loaded with shops. The souks are spread throughout the Medina, each with its speciality - leathers, carpets, clothes, jewellery, dry goods, etc. During the day the temperature would get up to around 22ºC and in the evening fall to between 5-8ºC. Despite not being hot, sections of the Medina smelt like rotten garbage, the type that wafts through cities in the heat of summer. But then we'd turn a corner, and the smell of spices and cooking meats, fresh bread baking and incense would overcome your senses. It's an enchanting experience and along with the colours and the endlessness of the products hanging from shop stands or stacked on shelves cannot be adequately described.

The constant din of the souks and the yells of shopkeepers hawking their wares. As soon as they saw us make eye contact with one of their products they would engage with us. Even if we were not looking at anything, we'd be asked, "Sorry, hello hello. Hi, where are you from." As I wrote above, this was my first time, and I am the kind of person to answer questions. Responding with Switzerland had them seeing dirhams in their eyes. Elizabeth was much better at walking on and not engaging.

Got 5 Dirham? A little tip

The other thing that was annoying was kids and people asking us where we were going and if we needed help getting there. They know that most tourists want to go to Jemaa el-Fna (the main square and a UNESCO World Heritage site). They'll then walk ahead on you and when you come out at the plaza demand payment - a few dirham. When you turn away, they'll tell you that you're going in the wrong direction or engage another friend to show you another way there. You can try to fight it, argue with them, but easier is to always have a pocket of 5 dirham coins (about CHF / USD 0.50). Give them that and if they argue tell them that you never asked for any help and they should be lucky they got anything. If you don't do this, they'll follow you around for a while. It depends on how much patience you want to use up.

At night, Jemaa el-Fna is the place to be.

Visiting the Atlas Mountains

The third day we went with a driver to the Atlas Mountains. It was my hope to get to do some hiking. However, the tour was pretty much us just cruising around in a vehicle. Our driver was a very nice man, who tours people around. He never asked us for a tip, and we paid him cash and gave him a small tip at the end of our 6-hour journey. He brought us to a few shops and a "traditional" Berber family. You quickly get the feeling that the wool is always being pulled over your eyes. The starting prices are multiples higher than what they should be and are worth. In one warehouse the carpets - All Berber - were stacked from floor to ceiling and the story was that they were all handmade by women in the villages around the area. We bought three pillow cases, and when we got home, they bled out their colours during the prewash to get rid of the smell of mothballs. All I can say is buyer beware! We went to an Argan oil production, where the story was that local women hand grind the nuts to extract the oil, though most of the machinery (presses etc.amazing) is layered with so much dust that it shows that it has not been used for months or years.

Tajine, Tea and Pastries

The food in Marrakfantastic, though, after three days of Tangine, we were hungry for something else. The baked goods are a marvellous blend of French patisserie and traditional Arabian pastries. Moroccan mint tea must be enjoyed at several times of the day. Interestingly enough, we learned that it is a blend of mint and green tea, which also gives it a caffeine kick and the locals tend to drink it with two lumps of sugar.

Visiting Family

Our trip to Mohammedia was to visit Elizabeth's cousin, who has two children and works in international development. We stayed with her in her flat. Mohammedia close to Casablanca and a modern-looking urban centre. To call it pretty would be an over statement, but you notice that there is lots of development. Our one getaway while in the north was to Casablanca, where we walked around and actually had dinner at Rick's Café, which was made famous in the Film Casablanca. We also went to the former Catholic Cathedral, which had seen better days. Casablanca reminded me in part of Havana, Cuba.

Ending on a High Note: Essaouira

On our last day, we took a train, a bus and a taxi to the oceanside city of Essaouira. Because it was off season, I was able to book us a room in the beautiful and enchanting Heure Bleue Palais, right at the entrance to the Medina of Essaouira. The city has a long and rich history and the ramparts (Skala de la Kasbah) are stunning. Not only was the five-star hotel a nice way to end the trip, the culture and mellowness of the city was also nice. In Marrakesh and Casablanca, there are o prices on items in the souks. You have to negotiate. In Essaouira, it's like in Europe, everything is labelled with a price and they don't negotiate, at least as far as we could tell. We even walked away from some shops, whose wares were "too expensive" for us and they were happy to see us go. This is in opposition to Casablanca, where a man tried to sell me a belt for 30 Euros and came down to 3 Euros. I simply didn't want the belt and let him move on.

The trip from Marrakesh to Essaouira and back feels quite long, it's about 2.5 hours in a taxi. We paid about 30 Euros for the taxi there and 60 Euros for the taxi back to Marrakesh airport. Along the way, you'll see plenty of desert landscapes and every so often, see argan trees with goats in them.

Environmental Notes

As we drove from Marrakesh to Casablanca we saw many large solar and wind parks. We found out that King Mohammed VI of Morocco is dedicated to renewable energy. And for the most part, Marrakesh, a place where he likes to spend time and was also visiting around the time we were there, was very clean. What disappointed was the amount of garbage blowing around the desert and caught in bushes and trees as we explored the Atlas mountains and drove between major cities.