Marrakech, Morocco

We arrived in Marrakech after dark, and even the taxi ride to our riad (like a guesthouse) was a culture shock.  The streets were super crowded with people, cars, and motorcycles.  Traffic was nuts.  And once the driver took us inside the walled part of the city it got even crazier because roads are extremely narrow and usually can't fit cars going both directions.  We were a bit relieved to arrive.

Our charming riad had about 6 rooms and was decorated in a very Moroccan style.  There were disadvantages (I wouldn't call it cozy, and you could hear a lot through the walls) but it was a great experience.  Every morning they served us a huge breakfast with every dish in the kitchen being used.  

We had one full day in Marrakech, and it was completely packed (although we didn't start out with any particular plans.)  We wandered from our Riad to the main plaza (Jmaa el-Fnaa) about 15 minutes away.  The narrow, winding streets led us through the souks (shops--aisle after aisle of shops) and eventually dumped us out at a huge plaza that was fairly empty because it was 'early' morning.  There were a few snake charmers out (totally creepy) and a few fruit and juice stands, but still not much to see yet.  When we returned later in the day, there was practically no empty space to walk through. 

We spent a while looking for an ATM to withdraw Moroccan Dirham.  I think I inserted my debit card in 6 or 7 machines that wouldn't work-- either not recognizing my card, cancelling the transaction, not liking my pin number.  We read in a travel book that it was hard to find ATMs that worked with US cards, but that was ridiculous.  Finally we found one and were on our way.  It happened to be across from the city's main Mosque, the Koutoubia mosque.  That became a helpful structure to orient ourselves in the city.  

The second place we visited was the Saadian Tombs, which are sepulchres that date back to the 16th century, but weren't discovered until about 100 years ago. There were a few structures around the grounds that you could look inside, and see tombs, but there was one primary line that led to a door.  Everyone was getting in line, with absolutely no idea what was at the end of it.  We waited about 20 minutes, and the end result was a peek inside the primary tomb, which was for the sultan's son.  It's called the room with the 12 columns (we later learned.)  We had about 5 seconds to peek in the doorway and snap a picture before the employee was telling us to move on and let the next people see.  It was a very strange place. 

Hyrum wanted to ride camels in Morocco, so we found one of several travel agencies around the main plaza selling trips.  Most of the trips were at least a day long, but they had a relatively cheap camel ride that lasts only a few hours.  We signed up for 2 pm, wandered around the souks for a while, then came back at our time.  My overall assessment of the experience was it was a little sketchy but cheap and completely unique.  They took us to a place about 20 minutes outside the city and we were the only ones in our group, along with the tour guide (whom we really liked.)  The camels were linked to each other, and the guide steered them along in the ride directions, calling out things to them in Arabic.  It lasted about 45 minutes, although 20 minutes would have been plenty.  I didn't find the ride to be too uncomfortable, because the camels move so slowly.  

We made it back to the main plaza and I was starving.  We found a highly recommended place on Yelp and went to check it out.  However, they didn't open for dinner until 7 pm.  We looked around for other places, but Hyrum really liked the looks of that one, so he made a reservation and I bought two small bags of potato chips. 

While we waited we took a carriage ride around the city.  It's a pretty touristy activity (horses and carriages line one whole street waiting for customers) and we found a driver who guaranteed us to be back in 45 minutes.  It was a relaxing way to take in the city, which was seriously bustling and full of people everywhere. 

Then the most extravagant dinner of my life.  We were sitting up on the rooftop with a great view of the city and plaza.  There were only about 5 other tables, and two very attentive servers.  There were several courses-- bread with dips, about 3 appetizers (consisting of multiple dishes), the main dish which I think was chicken and beef tagine, and then dessert.  We were there for about 3 hours.  I wish it was a little faster, and that I'd been able to eat a little more, but I loved being able to try to much authentic food (made on site) since we weren't in Morocco for very long.  (As a pregnant person, I had one food complaint... most of the readily available, quick food didn't seem very sanitary.  For times I was a little hungry but didn't want to sit down at a restaurant for a full meal, I didn't trust what was available.  Occasionally I'd find a small shop with packaged foods, but it was mostly open-air stalls.)

We argued with a few taxi drivers over how much we were willing to pay to get back to our Riad, but made it eventually.  Despite how late it was, Hyrum wanted to take advantage of the 'pool', which was like a large bathtub in the middle of the courtyard. 

We had about half of a day on Monday before flying back to Spain, so after breakfast we started at the Bahia Palace, which was built in the 19th century.  Morocco is a country with a lot of royal palaces.  This one is currently just a tourist attraction.  It had beautiful tile work and elaborate wood ceilings, but there weren't any signs and no furniture to give rooms context, so we felt like we were just wandering through a pretty place. 

 

After we finished, and walked 20 minutes back to the main plaza (through the Jewish quarter) I was pretty done with Morocco.  I've been in a few different countries in the Middle East, but I found Morocco to be the most overwhelming because there were literally people everywhere, and many of them just wanted to harass tourists.  For example, in Istanbul, if you went into the market area, you'd have people calling at you, trying to get your attention, trying to sell stuff, etc.  But in Marrakech that happened everywhere, it didn't matter where you were or what you were doing.  I stopped on the side of an empty road for about 10 seconds to look down at my map, and a guy came over and kept asking where I was trying to go and get in my business.  I said, "I know where I'm going.  I don't need help."  I wanted to scream "Leave me alone!"  (And that sounds harsh, but it's not just an overly friendly place--people were trying to earn themselves some money, and it got super annoying.)

Back in the plaza I needed to chill out, so we found a fancy terraced restaurant and sat on the 2nd floor balcony (ie: away from all the people) enjoying desserts in the air conditioning.  It was such a welcomed break!    

(Meanwhile, Hyrum thought I was a bit dramatic about all the people and noise.  He didn't mind it at all, in fact, I think it pumped him up to have so much craziness everywhere.  One big difference between introverts and extroverts!)

We spent our last few hours buying souvenirs in the shops-- a few magnets, dresses for the girls and a soccer outfit for Tiago.  Then, we walked by a leather shop selling bags.  I saw a beautiful tan bag near the entrance, and walked a few more feet, then called to Hyrum to go back and see it with me.  We asked the price, which was super high, then walked away.  Then I told Hyrum we should go try to negotiate.  My biggest hang-up was deciding whether it was a bag we would actually get use out of, but after negotiating and walking away about 5 times we finally decided it was the guy's lowest price, and it was worth it, so we bought it for 40 (?) euros.  It was literally the last cash we had on us.  Now, we love the bag and are glad to have splurged. 

We navigated through the slightly strange airport, enjoyed a fancy lounge, and made it back to Madrid late that night to enjoy some peace and quiet at a hotel near the airport.