Marrakech to Fez

After 4 days in Marrakech we decided to head north and take a 9 hour bus journey which would twist and turn all the way through the Atlas mountains. 

Whilst booking our tickets, Cassandra impressively leans over the counter at the station and in a very Moroccan style asks if "we can get a discount".  The guy looked blankly and raised his eyebrows, I laughed.  Cassandra turns to me and says "well we didn't have anything to lose?".  A few hours later we would find that statement to not be entirely true as there were 49 seats on the bus and we just happened to be sitting in 2 of 4 of them that didn't recline - all the other passengers laying back and enjoying the ride.

We set off at 11.30pm and it was an extremly surreal experience.  We passed a horrific car accident where a truck full of textiles had spilled goods all over the road and stopped once at a gas station in the middle of back and beyond.  I went to get a coke and was amazed to see so many people eating, playing cards and shopping at the butchers?!!

As I drifted in and out of conciousness, I would sporadically wake to see the Atlas Mountains, the odd farms and ultimately, how expansive the countryside of Morocco is.

As day broke I watched Cassandra sleeping with an everchanging backdrop of mountains, small dwellings and the odd farm.

We eventually arrived in Fez just before 9a.m.

Marrakech

Last wednesday after a 3 hour flight from London, we arrived at Marrakech airport - a humble building in the middle of the desert at 8.30am.  In the background were the foothills of the Atlas mountains set against a vivid blue sky broken up by the odd palm tree.  Despite being so early in the morning, the heat immediately hits you and there has been little respite since.

An overpriced taxi ride in a battered old mercedes benz later, we arrived at our accomodation on the outskirts of Marrakech Medina.

We visited Marrakech a few times both at night and day.  Our first experience was at night time which was exhilarating to arrive at the square amidst thousands of people who just seemed to be congregating.

DJemaa El Fna (translates as death square)

On the streets

Street Vendor

Street food

Juice seller near the Minaret Gardens

Marrakech Park

Snake charmer in the town square.

Storks nesting high on a chimney top.

The many types of olives that are grown locally.

One of the main exports - leather, in this case shoes.

Walking into the souks.

Inside a store in the souk.

Marrakech Art Museum

Inside the museum - it was a palace.

One of many Minarets.

Tangine - a clay pot that is used to stew meats and vegetables in.

Gueliz in the new part of town.

Marrakech is exotic, vibrant, colorful, bustling, chaotic. A wonderful world of mayhem dropped into the middle of barren desert.  The city consists of high red walls holding small mysterious doorways that are linked to mysterious meandering corridors which weave an intricate maze around the city making it impossible not to get lost.  It is all part of the experience - walking through souks selling brightly colored carpets and tapestries, delicately hand-crafted leather shoes and just about anything from the necessary to the bizarre.  The city throws the smell of spices into the air with fresh food and drink always close at hand.
By day the sun is stifling, most locals dibilitated by the heat leaving people sleeping in the shade under palm trees, sprawling for cover or into cafes where they refresh themselves with fresh mint tea.

Josh Ritter once wrote a quite brilliant song named 'other side' - I doubt he was in a souk at the time but his words describe it pretty accurately nonetheless "twisted cul-de-sacs and the one way signs, I'm going round in circles, on the other side".

Marrakech is quite simply magical!