For me the best words to define the old city of Marrakech are: fuzz and misterious. By the time the plane landed we could already go through a cloud of red dust on the horizon of a late afternoon. The sky was light blue but also dark and undefined. After passing the passport control - which was quite fast and carefree, a short adventure took place, and even though it was in a few days, I remember every minute in detail - perhaps because it was so unique and it was also my first contact with Northern Africa, which was undoubtedly unforgettable.
The constant bargaining was always present. From the taxi driver in the airport to take us to the city center, to everything and anything they would want us to buy, this was constantly present throughout the journey until our return to the airport. Also, even though communication in English was fairly easy, the use of French was also constant - especially in times of alarm.
We stayed in the center of the Souk, in Riad Karmela, with cotton curtains that fluttered with wind and with Arabic loud in all living rooms and bedrooms, with this typical architecture, flowers and smells that inebriated us ... We were greeted with mint tea, which I always wondered which would be the feel that would bring, drinking a hot tea on sultry day of July of 40 º C - And I'm not used to drinking Argentinian or Brazilian mate but I suppose the feeling is similar.
When we finally reached the city center from the airport, we found ourselves embedded in a sea of expressive, fast and curious people. I felt many different scents, many different sounds: the engines of cars and scooters, horns, each in a different direction, people mixed in the middle of the road with all this traffic, flutes, salesmen ... and suddenly, when we allowed ourselves to be undistracted by this unique setting, we saw a man who appeared to be 70 years old, taking our luggage through the crowd, in an improvised wheelbarrow. In 3 seconds we payed the taxi driver a whole bill, the agreed amount, and went running after this man who took our bags. He appeared to know what he was doing, in a very organized and confident way, by a crowd anything but organized or private.
His french was a bit incomprehensible to me, but I couldn't complain, I understood everything that was needed. So in 15 minutes we saw Marrakech like it would be the last 15 minutes of our lives and that all important images fill our head. That was it. Many colors: red, yellow, many voices, many spices in the air, gasoline, gold, bijus, carpets, exotic pottery, bracelets, paint, animals: monkeys, camels, snakes, everything and everyone in perfect harmony amidst sellers, cicerones, tourists, and this man taking our things in his wheelbarrow. I had thought that we could have been doing this way from the taxi to the Riad alone - but then I realized it would have been totally impossible: for me the Souk is the most perfect definition of a real maze.
We finally arrived. "We arrived at the Riad" says our silent carrier. We payed the agreed - I do not remember how much it was because it was so little and I was too stunned and distracted with everything. I felt inside an unique and unknown city that I couldn't compare with another, where I had already been before. I was also a little insecure when I saw that the entrance of our Riad was in the middle of a long, narrow street - that could be a scary alley in Lisbon, Paris, Madrid or London ... But after a few more hours I noticed that all streets were like this one, and that took my fears away. We went in and suddenly, so instantly, when we closed the doors, there was only silence and running water of an inside lake the Riad had in their common courtyard. We were served with all the friendliness and usefulness, more than in many other european cities and its expensive hotels. Finally it was short minutes after that our mint tea came, and almost immediately we could relax and digest everything we had seen. I had never felt so many emotions and feelings in such a short time, about 30 minutes - and basically this could be the resume of our visit to Marrakech.
I think my most important advice here is: If you are staying in a souk or in the old town of a similar city, I think it is important that the hotel is at least very good. We would have returned exhausted from this trip if the Riad wasn't this harem of tranquility. The late afternoon's and the breakfasts were a recharge for our batteries from all that rush that was outside of the very high red walls.
We stayed a short period time, so we hadn't time to visit the desert or the famous beaches of Agadir - I intend to return to Morocco, so I think these trips will stay for another occasion. For those who want to do all at once, a week or at least 5 days are required to thoroughly enjoy each waypoint: Marrakech, the desert and the beaches.
In the days and nights that followed, we explored the city, we visited the medina, restaurants, private mansions that were open to visitors, we had our dose of bargaining and shopping and resting in the Riad. I think Marrakech is a large market where you can really find everything - from counterfeit shoes, watches, all kinds of food, clothing and carpets too beautiful "just to look." We were not traveling with large luggage so it was quite painful to think we couldn't take one of these carpets with us.
The heat is undoubtedly a destroyer, and mixed with all those different and particular smells, you have to stop in the middle of the day for about 2 hours - it is imperative. The restaurants follow the same style of our Riad: Quiet, floral, silent. The only sound that could be higher and pierce the high walls of the houses was undoubtedly the Muslim call for prayer - indeed the perfect place to recharge yourself and then keep your visit around the city.
What struck me most on this trip was the constant shock we felt on the daily confusion and clutter in the streets, contrasting with silence and steadiness within the restaurants, cafes and hotels. Here we started to really appreciate and value silence and the pleasure of a quiet meal. Then there is this always present mistery and puzzling feeling in the air. Maybe the cats in every corner and their prying eyes, just like the looks of its inhabitants, the mpty terra-cotta narrow streets, the sounds and the songs on every corner, the whispers in arabic... all of this makes this ambience unique.
We finished our trip with dinner at one of the
many typical restaurants available in Marrakech. Later I did some
research and didn't find so many positive online feedbacks as I thought I would
- anyway for us it was excellent. We
went to dinner at Le Fondouk next to the Medina, deeply integrated within the
Souk. We went to the terrace on
top of a 5 or 4 floors that the restaurant seemed to have. We were kindly greeted, with a staff
fluent in English. After we reached our candle lighted table, we ritually washed
our hands in 2 classic pots brought to us – the water had this lemon/lavender
scent. The menu was rolled up
like a papyrus, and we chose two lamb dishes, that taking what my grandmother prepares, this must have been one of the best I ever had! The surrounding environment was decorated
with small red roses everywhere, we dined by candlelight and as far as I
remembered there was almost no electric light at all- I got the impression that there
were candles everywhere and just more stars in the sky illuminating us. You could hear the call to prayer in
the air ... all this mystery and
atmosphere made me feel static in time, I think it was one of those moments
that we’d remember forever in our lives – thickly charged of emotions and
sensations. There were people of all ages at this common courtyard with us, and
for a moment I was afraid, I thought this dinner would give a sum too high for
our young traveler's pocket - in the end everything went well, enough into
account, resulting in some 40 euros in total for us two including a a 3-course
dinner.
And so we left Marrakech .. at the time we’d gone, I doubted
whether I wanted to return to that confusion or not. But time told me so, and I deeply miss
Marrakech. Secretly I felt I
would come back when I went through those narrow streets, just not sure when.
I want to return with time to do other things and visit other places than
just the old city. I loved this
little journey and no doubt it’s well worth repeating it.
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