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Published: September 24th 2007
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The Royal Air Morocco flight to Marrakech was smooth and well serviced... Our long weekend of bartering and practicing French and Arabic started as soon as we stepped out of the airport in Marrakech. We were getting to an agreed fee with one taxi driver when he suddenly just walked away from us... Lucky for us as soon as he walked away another taxi driver stepped up to go through the whole barter conversation again! We quickly agreed a fee he was happy with and jumped into his car. We were dropped off at our hotel, Atlas Medina & Spa. The lobby area looked fantastic, all shiny and clean, quite modern... not at all like the traveller reviews we read about on tripadvisor! We went up to our room which was also spotless.
The next day started with a late breakfast at pool bar, once we felt refuelled we hopped into a cab who ended up being our guide and personal shopper for most of out stay. He took us to Jemaa El Fna, the main square in the heart of Marrakech, the cab driver warned us to stick together, and to keep an eye on our personals. We
stepped out of the cab into mayhem, horses, donkeys, men pushing carts as big as small buses and beggars. We politely turned down the henna tattoo artist ladies, and crept into the maze of the souks. We window shopped mostly that day, getting our bearings for our shopping proper in a couple of days. We then decided to try and escape the hot sun by hopping on the city's tourist bus... this was a bad idea. The sights we saw that we took in were the posh hotels, the ones we wanted to see were not highlighted or stopped at. All in all a big waste of money. We descended back where we started and walked towards the square for a cool refreshing drink. That night we decided to treat ourselves to a slap up meal at one of the most talked about Marrakechi restaurants, Le Tobsil. We were met in the Medina by a traditionally dressed man, who led us down a maze of narrow streets, passed kids playing and stray cats napping. We arrived at a heavy door which was opened by the owner Christine. We took our places at our table for 2 which was at the
foot of the riad's beautiful covered courtyard. There are no menus or prices in this restaurant... We were brought olives, raisins and nuts to start, followed by about 8 more substantial starters, the dishes consisted of peppers, courgettes, celeriac, tomato and cinnamon jam, herb salad. The following course was a big juicy piece of chicken , it was so succulent, it fell off the bone. The main course was a lamb and roasted fig tagine with cous cous and veggies . Dessert was a peach in orange flower water. The meal was delicious, I could have dined there every night.
Monday was met by us and our regular cab driver who took us on a day trip to the Ourika Valley, on the way there we stopped off at a berber village, got pushed into buying a couple of necklaces and then on to a pottery workshop where we also felt we had to buy a couple of bowls and plates. We were then dropped off at a woman’s commune where they spend their days making Argan oil... we felt we had to make a stand and did not purchase anything on this third unscheduled
stop. Well, we got our payback when he picked up a guide who was going to take us for a hike up to find waterfalls... although this is something we hadn't discussed we though what the hell and looked forward to discovering some beautiful sights. A word of warning, if you're planning on doing this hike, make sure you come prepared with the right footwear... I was wearing old pumps which had to grip me up ridiculously slippery boulders and see me down them too. It was scary and you certainly could do yourself some lasting damage by putting a foot wrong... On our way back to the hotel we against better judgement agreed with the cab driver a tour of the medina walls, a visit to the Saadian Tombs and he said he'd throw in a trip to a fixed price quality shopping centre. That night we ate at the hotel as the lack of hunger on my part and an upset stomach that my travelling companion had. The dinner was quite dreadful.
The next day after breakfast we went on our tour of the medina... old walls, we stopped off at the Marjorelle Gardens, which Yves Saint Laurent
now owns... the gardens were small, but cool, a welcome break from the heat of the sun. We then went on to the Saadian Tombs, with, you guessed it yet another unscheduled stop! This time at a traditional herbal shop. We were quickly ushered into a small room before we knew what was going on. He then talked us through what they use different herbs for, medicinal and cooking tips. To be honest it really wasn't great and most of these herbs you can easily get your hands on in the UK. We soon left without any purchases, this do not please the herbalist or the cab driver. We finally arrived at the tombs, it was really worth the wait... the tombs and buildings that encased the tombs were beautifully crafted. Post tombs we were taken to the shopping centre with fixed prices... this was a complete waste of time... You can always barter down and to be honest don't believe the whole unique chat... you can pick up these pieces at other places too. That evening we ate at the Grand Poste Cafe... rather nice.
The following day was out ticket out of Marrakech, it was a great to
dip my toe in this interesting city, but to be honest, I don't think I'll be going back for a swim anytime soon. Enjoy to pics!
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