Okay, I have to admit it, I had certain feelings of apprehension before our trip to Morocco in July. The worry was due to a number of horror stories I had read on the internet. In one perhaps apocryphal story, a family was driven, unrequested, to a village in the country where they were forced to buy something or, so they were reportedly told, they wouldn’t be returned to their hotel.
However, my desire to tell people I’d been to Africa - a continent I had never visited - trumped any impending danger. So I went ahead and booked the holiday anyway.
On arrival at the airport in Marrakesh, we got into a taxi, just before a stranger, uninvited, hopped into the passenger seat. We drove for five minutes while I considered jumping, Mission Impossible style, before the taxi abruptly stopped and let our surprise guest out at the place where his own taxi was parked. Then before departing, he welcomed us to Morocco with a big smile.
This incident, along with countless others which followed, confirmed once again that you can’t believe everything on the internet. Morocco is, in fact, an amazing place to visit.
A Berber village
THE HIGHLIGHTS
Being in the Jemaa-el Fna Square
We were lucky enough to be in the square on the night of the festival of Eid, at the end of Ramadan, and it was one of the best nights of my life. The square is like a massive carnival every night in the middle of Marrakesh.
There are snake charmers, monkeys doing tricks, acrobats, popcorn vendors, endless stalls selling everything from silver teapots to ‘converse.’
Best of all, massive restaurant tents, with great barbeques open every night to feed the multitude of tourists and locals that frequent Jemaa-el Fna Square (see below.). Eating in these restaurant tents at night is a must if you visit Marrakesh.
Being there during Ramadan
Being there during Ramadan opened our eyes to the whole Muslim way of living that we don’t get at home. Every evening at sunset, we heard the sound for Iftar to signal that Muslims were now allowed to break their day’s fasting. The first time we heard it in Agadir, it sounded like an air raid signal but after this initial surprise we began to actually welcome the sound.
Visiting both Agadir and Marrakesh
We wanted a lot from this holiday, it had to be relaxing and it had to be something different to your ‘run of the mill’ budget holiday. We got the relaxing part in the shape of the beautiful beaches in Agadir, and the ‘something different’ in the absolute maze that is Marrakesh. Any planned location we found in Marrakesh was found by accident! That's yours truly in a restaurant in Agadir, below.
Drinking Mint Tea
I heard some testaments to the deliciousness of Moroccan mint tea before we got there but they didn’t do it justice. We went on a Sahara Safari trip organised by our rep in the hotel in Agadir, and got to have mint tea, made by a man who is reputed to be one hundred years old. He lives on top of a mountain in the Sahara desert. This is the very man, in photo below.
Feeding Tortoises.
This happened completely by accident. As part of the Sahara Safari we were having a traditional meal at a Berber restaurant and found that there were pet tortoises roaming around in the outside courtyard. The day took a further exciting turn when we realised we could feed them the leaves from the trees around the garden.
Tortoises apparently are regular pets in Morocco. We saw some for sale at the souks (markets) in Agadir. The internet, however, revealed that it is both illegal and inhumane to buy these tortoises for the purposes of transporting them to Ireland as pets, so, Internet 2- Sorcha 0. Picture shows a tortoise in the courtyard of a traditional Berber restaurant.
Jet Skiing
Hardly a sample of indigenous Moroccan culture, but jet skiing was unbelievable craic! Morocco is a better place than most to jet ski, and we got thirty minutes on the jet ski for an incredibly reasonable 450 dirham (approximately €45). In most other places,the equivalent of €80 upwards is the norm for the same length of time.
Majorelle Gardens
We spent the last three days of our holiday in Marrakesh and this was definitely the best day-time activity we undertook. The end of July is a bit of a ridiculous time to visit Marrakesh, as it was averaging 40 degrees for our three days there. But things could always be worse, the owner of the riad in which we stayed told us that temperatures are generally in the 50s at this time of year. (A riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard. The word riad comes from the Arabian term for garden, ryad.)
In the Majorelle gardens it felt more like the breezy beaches of Agadir, given the absence of the relentless heat that pulses through the streets of Marrakesh. Almost the entire gardens were shaded. There’s also a café on site that sprays a cool fog over the heads of the patrons. My picture below shows a water-lily dotted pond in the Majorelle Gardens.
Seeing the sunset anywhere in Morocco This is not a usual pastime of mine - I have a life - but I’ve never seen anything like it. The photo below captures the sunset over Jemaa-el Fna Square.
What We Learned
1.Extremely conservative dress is not essential for women. The internet claimed that any female revealing knees or shoulders would receive very unwanted attention in the form of insults or even spitting. Except for the day I arrived, I dressed exactly like I would at home. I think if you’re not dressed like Kat Slater you’re fine in this regard.
2. Women are not insulted at regular intervals during the holiday. In the majority of instances the local men were more concerned with my male friend’s soccer jerseys than me. Some of the stuff is really flattering too, which no one mentions. One man, in a last bid attempt to get me interested in the merchandise on his stall, referred to me as Shakira - they really will say anything to make a sale.
A surfer rides a camel on a beach in the south western Moroccan city of Taghazout.
Doing it on a Budget (in the height of summer)
Return flights to Marrakesh with Ryanair were €163.98 per person. Ryanair fly Dublin to Marrakesh twice a week.
Bus transfer from Marrakesh to Agadir with Supratours was approximately €12.
We stayed at Hotel Argana, a four-star quality hotel with a traditional Moroccan theme in Agadir, for €179.49 pps for 7 nights on a half-board basis, booked through Trivago.
We stayed in Riad Dar Zaman, a gorgeous traditional Morrocan guest-house surrounding a garden courtyard, in Marrakesh for €59.25 pps for 2 nights. Staying at a riad is a must to get the real Marrakesh experience.
Activities were much cheaper than on a holiday in Europe, for example the aforementioned jet skiing. The best experiences in our case, like visiting the Jemaa-el Fna Square, were free. Eating out was also much cheaper than Europe, a main course cost between €7-€12. Picture below: a leafy canopy in the Majorelle Gardens.
