The Wanderer: Marrakech

Marrakech is the heart of Morocco's tourism where thousands of europeans flock to each year for an inexpensive and memorable holiday.

Throughout the Medina the streets are lined with market stalls selling everything from scarfs, to knifes, to tea sets. It's impossible to walk through these alleyways without being harassed by the store owners, but a simple "no thank-you" and walking away puts a stop to this.

Most streets end up leading to the main square which during the day looks empty with only some orange juice and dried fruit stands, a couple of men with monkey's and snakes, ladies offering their henna artwork and taxi's looking to make a quick buck.

At night (10pm onwards) the square becomes alive with food stalls fighting for their chance to have you sit at their restaurant. Many young men wonder the square taunting tourists until they give in and eat at their stall. Often they hold a menu and shout things like "eat at number 25 and stay alive", "free air-conditioning" etc... Most stalls sell the same food including tagines, barbecued meat and couscous. The food is quite tasty and very cheap compared to the restaurants surrounding the square.

As well as food stalls many people set up a market stall in the square selling Argan oils, lanterns, scarfs, magnets, sunglasses and lots of other touristy crap. At night you will also see magicians, snake charmers, musicians, biscuit carts and many other money making opportunists.

Moroccan people are very welcoming and entertaining and although some may come across a bit full on and maybe a little sketchy they are usually very nice.

Jrmss Rl Fna - The Main Sqaure in Marrakech

On the 24th of July we flew to Marrakech from Madrid which took roughly 1 hour. From the airport we caught a taxi near our hostel, Equity Point. Cars cannot drive through the Medina where our hostel was located so we had to ask someone for directions.

Spices and Herbs for Sale at a stall in the Medina

It is very common in Marrakech to give a "present" to people if you ask them for help. The person who helped us demanded 2 euro, but once we got to our hostel they told us we should of only paid 20dhr.

Equity Point is a gorgeous place to stay. It has many different common areas including the pool riad and the rooftop bar.

Equity Point Hostel Swimming Pool

When arriving in Morocco we had no idea it was Ramadan. During this period of 30 days many Moroccan people fast from sunrise to sunset. During this time there are 5 pray times where you hear a lot of whaling noises - this noise is a man singing something along the words of 'come and pray, Ali is waiting for you". During Ramadan there are many things Muslim people must resist everyday from Sunrise to Sunset. This includes eating and drinking, smoking, having impure thoughts and looking at a woman's body - so tourists are expects to cover their legs and shoulders during this time.

One of many orange juice carts in the main square

Our first night at Equity Point we slept in an 8 bed dorm which was fine but in the morning we were informed that the room contained bed bugs so we were moved to an 6 bed dorm.

The next day we got our bearings and worked our way through many alleyways of street stalls to the main square.

The Main Sqaure at Night where many food stalls setup with bbqs and skewered meat

Some of the produce found at the night food stalls in the main square

The next day we did a walking tour of the Medina where we learnt about the history of Morocco, specifically Marrakech. We walked the Jewish quarters and then into the souks where the craftsmen make handbags, shoes, jewelry, pottery and much more.

The following day we relaxed by the pool for most of the day before heading to one of the tourist hammam's to make an appointment for that night.

The hammam is similar to a Turkish steam room. Before entering you are washed down and wiped over with a thin mud liquid. Then you are taken into the dark hammam where the temperature is roughly 45 degrees. After 10 minutes you leave the hammam and get water poured over you. Then you lie down and your whole body is exfoliated. After this you are covered in mud and sent back into the Hammam for another 10 minutes.

After this you shower, then relax in a dressing gown for 10 minutes and drink mint tea. Then I was taken to the massage area where I had a relaxing 30 minute massage with aragon oil. The whole experience cost 33 euro and was a fantastic insight to the Moroccan culture.