Morocco 2010 trip report - Marrakech

The next few days I spent in Marrakech. Out of the three cities I visited in Morocco, Marrakech was the worst. It is said that Marrakech is also the center of tourism in Morocco but I can't really understand why. It felt like there was nothing to see. Architecture was boring, streets were dirty and everything original seemed to be gone.

Quite often I found myself hiding in the hotel room just because the local people outside were so annoying. One day I was eating a sandwich on the street and got hit by a stone. The thrower was a boy, roughly ten years old. Maybe he was practicing for his future occupation as an executioner.

I don't feel like writing about every disturbing detail I faced in Marrakech but at least it would have been very easy to find drugs and prostitutes. Once some creepy guy started following me when I left the famous main square of Marrakech but he gave up when I got into the crowds.

But I didn't hate _everything_ in Marrakech. Despite all the tourism the prices were ok. By walking ten minutes from the main square I found basic fast foods for 10 - 20 dh and nice cooked pastries for 2 - 5 dh. For some reason candies were really expensive though. Dates weren't that cheap either but I really liked the taste. Moroccan dates were more expensive than Tunisian ones but I liked the ones from Tunisia better. Freshly squeezed orange juice cost 3 dh, which wasn't too much either. Internet cafes cost 6 - 10 dh an hour.

The traffic in Marrakech was insane. Many times I've heard warnings about the traffic in my holiday destinations but for the first time I really didn't feel safe. Once a damned Yamaha-equipped moped hero even touched me with his vehicle, and it's not like he was driving 10 km/h. Most of the time I crossed the streets behind local people and it worked fairly well.

Here's a short audio clip I recorded at the Djemaa el Fna square in the evening. Many groups of local people were playing music and asking for money from people who dared to stop near them even for a while.

Djemaa el Fna Square, UNESCO site and a good place for dealing drugs

One of the many places packed with olive sellers. The smell was disgusting.

Dyes used for dyeing fabrics.

For a while I felt like begging money.

The old city wall

Someone failed, miserably.

The Koutoubia Mosque, one of the better-looking buildings in Marrakech.

Storks found many good places for their nests on the high city wall.

White roses in a garden near some palace.

Even sun wanted to hide.