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Published: August 7th 2007
Sleeping in an Airport! When I decided to backpack around Europe, Michael and Joel told me that no backpacking experience was complete without overnight bus and train rides (which I have done) or sleeping in airports and train stations (both of which I have now done too!!). Our chance to sleep in an airport came at Gatwick en route to Morocco and it certainly was an interesting experience! Michael and I found an empty bench and settled down for the night in our sleeping sheets and our bags tied to the bench legs! I must admit I slept better than I thought I would, probably because it was a pretty safe location! There was a constant murmer of people during the night and PA announcements telling us that any bags found unattended would be taken away and 'maybe destroyed'! While enjoying a coffee on waking we noticed that an African man who had been nearby, had left a small bag of belongings behind. Within minutes a policeman was on the scene, calling for backup and tentatively peering into the bag using a torch. After a lengthy discussion with his colleagues, the bag was carefully removed to another area in the airport.
Snakes in Djemaa el-Fna Square
A cobra and lethargic puff addersA cobra and lethargic puff addersAbout half an hour later the man came back looking for his 'forgotten bag' and I was able to take him over to the counter to claim it! It's good to see that security is so tight in the UK. Later as we walked through the terminal to the train platform I saw a woman, who was feeling unwell, lying on the ground. A security man was on the scene speaking into his radio, "I have a woman down in the South Terminal!" It sounded like something from the TV drama '24'! Airports are certainly interesting places to spend the night!
Arrival in Marrakesh Flying into Marrakesh was spectacular with the snow-clad Atlas Mountains as a backdrop to an earth-coloured desert town surrounded by palm trees. It was special to be back in Africa after nine years away even though it was very far from Botswana. We made our way by bus to the Medina in Marrakesh. A Medina is the term used for the old, walled Arab areas of a city and it is like stepping back in time as you enter the gates. The Marrakesh Medina has a circumference of 10 kilometers
and inside are markets, souks, restaurants, shops, mosques and hotels/hostels. It is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of narrow alleyways with all their twists and turns. We found accomodation at a budget hostel which was a riad. A riad is a Moroccan townhouse, where the street facade is usually a plain, unimposing wall with only one entrance. The single entrance traditionally gave protection for the women who lived there. Noone could enter or leave without being seen! A riad has two or three levels and the rooms are all built around an interior courtyard. The courtyard functions as a light source during the day and an air well during the hot nights when the cooler air sinks and cools the living areas. There were a number of Orange trees growing in our courtyard which also provided shade and gave a 'garden' effect. The walls of the corridors and all the rooms are traditionally covered with brightly coloured tiles. The top floor is a roof terrace which is often used as a sleeping area on hot summer nights; for us it was a wonderful place to sit at the end of the day, looking out over the snow-capped Atlas
Mountains and hear stories from fellow travellers. Our room had two beds and a small rickety desk and chair. There was no power plug so we had to recharge our camera batteries at the reception area. It was nice to see that there was a sink in our room but on closer inspection we discovered that there was no water!!. It was still quite cold at night and even though there was no heating we were kept warm with layers of thick Berber blankets. We were only a couple of minutes walk from the famous Djmaa el-Fna Square so spent many hours exploring this area and seeing the sights.
Djemaa el-Fna At the heart of each Medina is a square and Djemaa el-Fna Square is the focal point. The LP Guide states that 'you will be drawn back there time after time' and this was certainly true for us. During the day the square is filled with crowds drawn to see the snake charmers, jugglers, story tellers, musicians, dancers, fortune-tellers, acrobats, henna artists, performing monkeys (very sad), herbalists, Islamic teachers and so on. We especially wished we could have understood the story tellers who drew the largest crowds. As
a tourist you are expected to give a few Dirham as payment for watching any act and this can get a bit tedious at times!! The worst offenders in this regard are the snake charmers who look for any opportunity to slip a small snake around your neck, allow you to take a photo and then start harassing you to pay an exhorbitant fee. This happened to us and the snake charmers certainly weren't happy with the amount that we finally gave them! We were told that the spitting cobras and the puffadders have either had their fangs taken out, or their mouths sewn up with only a small slit for the snake's tongue to protrude. These snakes can't last long under these conditions and unfortunately they are easily replaced. Sadly there don't appear to be many people interested in animal rights in many of these countries. Marrakesh is one of Morocco's greatest tourist attractions and we certainly saw more tourists here than in any of the other areas we visited.
Djemaa el Fna at Night The restaurants that line the square have roof-top terraces and at sunset it is a good idea to get a seat in one
The Koutoubia, Marrakesh
Our first view of the famous mosque that was built between 1184 and 1199. of them and watch the unfolding drama on the square below. One evening Michael and I sat up on one of the roof-top terraces with our mint tea and watched the most magnificent sunset light up the skies. It was interesting to watch as tourists were taken in by the wiliness of the snake charmers. The sound of the snake charmers' incessant pipe playing was only silenced by the call to prayer which rings out hauntingly across the sun-drenched square.
At night the square is transformed into row upon row of open-air food stalls. As you walk around you are inundated by invitations to eat! It is very competitive so the prices are very reasonable, the food is delicious and ready to eat in minutes. Our favourite food was served in tagines, which are earthen-ware cooking utensils with a domed lid. These come piping hot from the oven to your table and are filled with delicious lamb or chicken and vegetables. We discovered one place where they seved the best tagines, so went back there a few times! Another favourite traditional dish is couscous with meat and vegetables, and dessert was often orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon. Kebabs were
also very popular. We saw sheeps' heads for sale but decided to pass on those! In one market we saw a camel's head for sale at a butcher's shop!
After your meal you could have mint tea or a speciality of Djemaa el-Fna was hunja, a reddish-brown cinnamon tea accompanied by a spicy-sweet brown dessert known as tkaout which was very like gingerbread. I had some of that each evening! The young man from whom we bought the tea looked just like the soccer player Ronaldhino and we got to know him well. He always had a huge grin on his face when Michael called out, 'Hey Ronaldhino!'. =D He would refill our cups for free and gave us a hug when we left on our last night! Citrus trees, especially orange, abound in the country and so there are also many orange-juice sellers in the square. For about 40 cents Australian you could buy a large glass of freshly squeezed juice. We usually had one of these each time we went to the square!
I read that at one stage it was proposed to build a carpark in the square but thankfully this hasn't happened and the medieval
pageantry goes on each day!
Souks The souks or markets in the medina are the most amazing places to visit. You have to be prepared to get lost but the old adage, 'All roads lead back to the main square!' was true and we always made our way back safely. We had bought very few things on our trip so far so decided that this was the place to finally shop! It was fun bartering for a chess set and of course we bought a set of the glasses and special hand-worked tin/silver glassholders to bring back, so that we could make our own mint tea. In the souks are specialty areas where you can see blacksmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers and weavers at work.
The Koutoubia The Koutoubia, a mosque standing 70 meters tall, dominates the Medina in Marrakesh. The minaret is visible for miles around and made a wonderful silhouette in some of my sunset photos! It was built by Almohad, Yakoub el-Mansour during the years 1184-1199. The Koutoubia was once covered in brightly coloured zellig (tile work) but these have all disappeared. So too, has the booksellers' market which once existed here and from which the name
Koutoubia is derived (koutoub means 'books'). Today the Koutoubia is a favourite place for an evening stroll through the nearby gardens. Michael and I enjoyed walking here on our first evening and seeing all the families out together with their children enjoying the cool of the evening and each others' company.
Saadian Tombs Originally this cemetery was set aside for the descendants of the Prophet Mohammed. Over time the tombs were sealed and only 'rediscovered' in 1917 when a passageway down into the tombs was constructed. The whole area has recently been restored and you can see the ornate tombs of the Saadian princes, most notably Ahmed al-Mansour. We enjoyed wandering around the area and then enjoyed some Moroccan mint tea in a little cafe called 'The Stork's Nest' outside the walls of the Palace. It was nesting time so we had some close-up views of storks on the top of the walls and towers in the area.
Ville Nouvelle The Ville Nouvelle (new city) is roughly the same size as the medina and is situated about a 30 minute walk away. Most of the mid-range and luxury hotels are situated here as well as it being the
Orange juice stalls
We were amused at these old-fashioned carts that all the orange juice sellers use. main administrative and commercial area. After spending a few days in the medina it was quite a shock to discover the newer side of Morocco. We were glad we were staying in the medina! Michael had been working on applications for post-graduate studies and had to send one off to a university post haste so we went off in search of DHL and soon his documents were safely on their way. We were glad we used DHL as some of our postcards took about five weeks to arrive from Morocco!
Marrakesh, was a great introduction to Morocco! In the next blog we take a bus across the Atlas Mountains to visit Ouarzazate, the site of the Atlas Film Studios.
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Witty Title
Hi Barbara, great to see you're still having fun travelling! Can't wait to see you back in Perth!