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Published: February 15th 2015
Like most heavily touristed cities in the world, Marrakesh, is relatively safe. The police keep a close eye on any goings-on that might have a visitor to their country return home with a report damaging the inflow of foreign money. Bad for the economy. Morocco is no different in this regard. Petty crime (theft, short changing money exchange, purse snatching, etc.) does happen but it’s rare to even hear of violent crime here.
However there were several occasions where I felt my wellbeing was in serious danger. In each instance it was due to the swaggering egos of Moroccan youth and unregulated traffic of the souk alleyways. In the souk the tiny closet sized retail stalls spill out into the ancient alleyways that they line. It is an easy way to expand their space and be more conspicuous to potential customers. Making these alleyways, built well before the advent of automobiles and therefore extremely narrow to start with, shrink to only a few feet wide. Now this would be fine if the only traffic through them was on foot. But this is not the case. Porters transporting merchandise on wheeled handcarts and donkeys loaded with goods add to the throng
of locals and tourists shopping and sightseeing. These are controllable moving hazards as their forward progress is slow and they are easily avoidable.
The real challenge to personal safety in these alleys is the speeding riders of mountain bikes and even more so, motorcycles. Generally these riders seem nonchalant about the risks they run or impose on others. They usually are young, male and distracted. They are talking on a cell phone, balancing a large load, chatting with their passenger over their shoulder or even carrying wide objects while they race to their destination (thus often handling the vehicle with one hand). And I do mean race. Perhaps it is the young male ego at play here or pure testosterone driving these youths to go at speeds far too fast for safety. I would estimate that some of them go 60km/hr or more as often as they can. When you put this speeding vehicle within very narrow confines mixed with wandering tourists, laden donkeys and bag laden locals it is a recipe for disaster. They weave, brake, and dodge with the flow of traffic but the close calls happen all the time. Now, I will admit I never saw
an actual collision but I personally had close calls on at least a dozen occasions. Close enough to feel a motorcycle or scooter brush by me. Certainly close enough to startle or scare me.
I began to watch carefully how locals handle this Moroccan bullfight. They seemed unfazed. Whereas I would jump at the sound of a motorcycle closing very quickly behind me they proceeded calmly and did not stray from their trajectory. It was clear that they expected the riders to take evasive action and were used to this ballet. I was fazed and nervous as I made my way to my destination. I did become better at relying on the skills of these riders but even after 3 days I still was having close calls. I guess it’s something you get used to. For me it would take quite a while……
P.S. This bullfight of rider and pedestrian does not happen in Fes. Whereas the Medina alleyways of Marrakech are narrow (often 6 -8 feet wide) and flat the Medina alleyways of Fes are tiny (often you can buy from merchants on both sides of the souk alleyway without moving) and the Medina is hilly with stairs. Not conducive to riders. Thank God.
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Ann
non-member comment
Motorbikes in the Marrakech Medina and souks
I agree with the previous comment that motorbikes are a huge danger in the souks in Marrakech. Did you know that no license is required in Marrakech to drive a motorbike - just insurance? We went to the souk today and were constantly looking out for the motorbikes. I lost a bracelet because it was snagged on a motorbike that came too close...the elasticized bracelet was pulled from my arm and th bads scattered. (The biker who snagged it kept going, but another biker stopped and risked his own life trying to pick up the beads for me.). I would think the shop owners in the souks would protest against the bikers...because they discourage people from lingering in front of their shops and maybe buying something. I think motorbikes should be banned from the souks - at least during prime shopping hours. What do you think?