Where The Streets Have No Name

Today we got lost. After two days in a city that we know quite well, we are in what feels like a completely different world. The cacophony of sights, sounds and smells makes Marrakech everything I expected and I’ll try to put it into words. But firstly, I’m getting ahead of myself...
We had a wonderful meal on my birthday but couldn’t stay up too late as we had to pack and leave early to catch our flight. Our hostel was actually just north of Barcelona in Badalona, but still accessible by metro. It was very nice and clean, fine for a couple of nights. While in Barcelona we thought we’d try to see a something we hadn’t visited before – Montjuic. When we arrived on the funicular we found that the cable car to the top was closed for repairs, so instead we walked to the Olympic Stadium and museum. The stadium itself isn’t that impressive, although we were quite intrigued that it didn’t look anything like other ultra-modern recently built stadia. The museum was very interesting, chronicling the history of sport in general as well as the ancient and modern Olympic Games. We then headed back into Barcelona centre to book a few more future travel plans and buy a Morocco guidebook. We thought about eating in a restaurant but Barcelona on a Saturday night is a VERY busy place and we decided to get a takeaway pizza and rest in our hotel room instead.

Our flight left Girona airport at 4pm. As with all Ryanair flights it wasn’t the most pleasant experience but it was clear enough during most of the journey for us to have a good view. As we approached Marrakech we took in the sight of desert and neatly kept plantations, then the red city came into view. For the first time in my life I was out of Europe – and had to queue up to get my passport stamped. We had arranged a lift with our riad, and it’s possibly the best £10 we’ve spent as there is no public transport from the airport and Marrakech is a mish-mash of unlabelled streets. We’ve not yet found a comprehensive map and even if we did I feel it would be fairly useless!

Having visited quite a few European cities in the past, the main thing that has struck both of us is just how different it really is. It really does match up to your expectations in so many ways. The smells are the most incredible – aromas of different foods and spices, the charcoal that much of the food is cooked upon mingling with occasional whiffs of petrol or sewerage. The local music predominates, with a mix of different languages – Arabic, French and sometimes even English – and the calls to prayer booming out over loudspeakers five times a day. Even in cloudy February the heat is intense when the sun comes out. There are few cars inside the city walls but there are countless motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles with apparently no road rules.

We are staying in Riad Jomana and our welcome couldn’t have been warmer. The riad is in a small alleyway and doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside is beautiful, comfortable and very relaxing. It only has four rooms so the staff are always on hand and willing to bring us more delicious mint tea. There is a roof terrace where we had our breakfast this morning and an internal courtyard from where I’m writing this. We spent our first evening lounging here as we were a bit scared to tackle Marrakech in the dark!

So yesterday morning we braved the outside world. We found our way to the famous Place Jemaa el Fna (Place of the Dead) fairly easily and entered the souks. Our intention was to get lost - the owner of our riad said it was the only way to experience Marrakech and it wasn’t difficult. It’s almost impossible to orientate yourself as few streets are signposted and directions are few and far between. Everything is so unbelievably cheap that it’s difficult not to buy a bag full (and of course a new bag to put it all in). When you enter a shop you have to intend to buy something, and as Darren wanted to add to his ingredients collection back home we did eventually succumb to a spice stall. We were treated to some tea and got to smell lots of wonderful spice combinations as well as herbal remedies and essential oils. We left with plenty of goods, some freebies and the knowledge that we’d had a good, traditional Moroccan tourist experience!

After a couple of hours of having no idea where we were, going in and out of the souks by various entrances, walking around in circles and being hassled by EVERYONE (fun for a while, eventually tiresome) we found our way back to the “big square” as all the local children trying to earn a few dirham from lost tourists describe it. We had lunch in a cafe overlooking the square as people started to set up for the evening, but decided to have a fine meal in the riad instead.

It really is a place of contrasts, and you need the wonderfully relaxing side – either in the riad, the gardens outside the city or even in a cafe - to balance the frenetic madness that takes over in the streets and the souks. We have spent today relaxing in the Jardin Majorelle botanic gardens and Cyber Park - a big park with Wi-Fi and computers where it seems most of the local youth hangs out. So tonight we feel relaxed and ready to take on the Place Jemaa el Fna with it's many entertainers and street food sellers.