Marakesh.....Morocco

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At 4am Boxing Day, in the dark, cold, and quiet morning. I made my way to the airport, and flew out of London to Marrakesh (or Marrakech) in Morocco, with my housemate.

It was only a 2 hour flight, but I had landed on another contenant. The ‘Red City’ at the base of the Atlas Mountains. The Muslim, Arabic speaking city had a huge French influence and almost everyone who tried to speak to me, presumed I was French too.

The taxi driver who took me to the hotel was a little adventurous to say the least. He was keen on playing 'chicken' with oncoming traffic.

All in all, the people were very welcoming, however, they insisted that they follow me along the street as I went sightseeing, just in case I needed directions which they would then charge me for. I discovered this, after I was given wrong directions on purpose and found myself incredibly lost. It was also about 20® degrees warmer and I did manage to spend one whole day lying in the sun.

The main highlight of Marrakesh was the huge market square, where many of the locals go to sell their home made treasures and hassle tourists to try and barter with them. It was here that I saw real life snake charmers with black cobras dancing to their flutes. I had to be careful when taking photos of the market stalls, as when the locals see people taking photos, they approach you wanting money for their picture. Handmade carpets were the tourists attraction, and locals charge upwards of £300 for a simple small rug.

The second highlight of my mini-break was the food. Cooked meats and vegetable Tagine, served by old weathered men in makeshift tent stalls surround the market place. Although the food appeared fresh, there was no sign of refrigerators and stray cats walked under the table while I ate.

The streets were pretty dirty and the city smelt a little stale, but it all added to the atmosphere and experience and although I had the opportunity to ride a camel, the smell of them was enough to keep me away.

I took plenty of photos and enjoyed the space and the experiences. 4 days later I flew back to London to a rainy, dark, concrete city.

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Comments

[Chris Wickes]

Hi
Wow Kimberly you certainly are having a variety of experiences. I'm not sure that I could handle the cobras being so close. I rode a camel once you're right they stink! Back here in Cowes its 31 today and we are all getting ready to go back to school. I look forward to reading your blogs and seeing what you've been up to. Bye for now. Chris

[Vicki]

Hi Kimberley, what a fantastic trip you are having. It's great to hear of your travels, certainly gives us itchy feet. Keep having a great time, and take care. Vicki