Ancient Marrakech
Oh the beautiful chaos that was Marrakech.
Marrakech was a place we felt simultaneously at extreme peace and had our senses bombarded in every imaginable way.
The sounds, smells, sights, and soul of Marrakech could not be captured in photos…and we didn’t take many photos for a variety of practical and principled reasons.
Practical: In the Medina you have every type of transportation imaginable whizzing by you in very close and narrow quarters. It is chaos. Sometimes you are barely able to stay in one piece and not get run over let alone stop, pull out your phone, and snap a pic. Also, our Riad gave us a phone for directions and safety so we hardly even needed to take out our own phones!
Principled: Marrakech is a place that must be experienced. While Marrakech is modern in many regards, it should not be viewed solely through our western lens. Any photo captured and viewed, without the corresponding experience, leaves room for judgment or misinterpretation... so you will just have to take our word for it.
Cultural: For religious or cultural reasons, many people do not want their photo taken, and in a crowded space it’s virtually impossible not to take pictures of other people. In the few photos we did take we made sure to only share ones where nobody except us were identifiable.
There is one story that captures Marrakech in its beauty and chaos.
The way Ryan will tell the story, he single handedly stopped a runaway mule cart on a busy Marrakech street with his bare hands and the surrounding crowd erupted in cheers at his heroic efforts.
The reality is a little less dramatic but no less cool.
As we were walking down a rapidly emptying street (everyone was darting the opposite direction towards Friday prayer) we walked past a mule and its attached cart that was “parked” to the side of the road (commonplace in the medina) with no owner in sight. As we passed the mule, it took a few steps alongside us. Before we knew it, we were walking up the road alongside the mule and its cart (or more like it was walking alongside us)...still, no owner in sight, and showing no signs of stopping.
Some locals gathered a few steps up the road at a shop started realizing what was happening and began hollering for the owner to come take control of their mule and cart, all the while it was still walking alongside us. Once we realized this was not supposed to be happening, Ryan, the equine whisperer apparently, sprang into action and quickly stepped in front of the mule and put his hand on its head to calm it and stop it from going further. The onlooking group of locals burst into laughter at the whole situation (at the owner of the cart mostly) and thanked Ryan for stopping the mule. We had a great laugh too and all was well.
Other Marrakech highlights:
Staying in a riad, in the Medina: If you stay outside the medina you will have a much more modern experience. A riad in the medina is the more traditional and in our opinion, best way to experience Marrakech. Our riad (Riad Bijoux) was far enough away from the center of the medina that we could feel quiet and calm when we were relaxing in the riad, but be steps away from the heart of the city. The Riad employees were extremely hospitable and went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. It was an amazing experience.
Wandering the medina: The medina is the bustling center of Marrakech. An ancient walled in area that is the core of commerce and business in the city. There are stalls and people selling everything all across the Medina. A few notes:
We had read that the medina, and the main square looked different by day and night, and boy were they right. The way the medina came to life at night was remarkable and worth a separate experience from the day time. Be sure to catch the Jemaa el-Fnaa at night too (and bring your appetite as restaurants pop up out of nowhere).
We saw three of the “famous” sights in the medina: Badi Palace and Bahia Palace, which were both unique and interesting perspectives into the history of this ancient city, and the Koutoubia Mosque (we didn’t go into the mosque). You can’t miss the mosque as it's the largest in the medina and is the “north star” of the area.
We actually felt a little left out in the medina at times. Being mindful of our budget and our ability to pack things for a 12 month adventure meant we couldn’t fully participate in the medina experience of buying goods and wares. There were some BEAUTIFUL things, and if you ever need to decorate a room or house, definitely take an empty suitcase to Marrakech, but that's not what we could or were trying to do so all we could do was observe.
Taking a trek to the Agafay desert: We have not had amazing experiences with organized tours, especially those that involve transportation. One of our only organized tour activities to date on this journey was this trek to the Agafay desert. We will stick to the positives here, but it ultimately reinforced our desire not to participate in organized tours… Once we made it out to the desert the tent compound was very nice, we got to relax and enjoy tea and the views. Camel rides and ATVs were available but we opted to simply relax and enjoy the atmosphere. After sunset, dinner was served along with a series of performers while we ate. All and all enjoyable experience.
Listening to prayer calls: This was our first visit to a majority muslim country. The biggest day-to-day change in our surrounding was hearing the calls for prayer echo across the area from all the surrounding mosques five times a day. These echoing harmonious calls create the coolest atmosphere which quickly became a reason to simply pause wherever we were and to appreciate the moment.
Visiting a spa: Originating in Turkey the Hammam is a traditional spa bath ritual. We both had a Hammam with special soaps and scrubs, then a massage that were hands down the best massages we have ever had. It was also the most affordable spa experience we have ever experienced (by a long shot), so if you ever make it to Marrakech we highly recommend a spa (we did Spa Isis at the recommendation of our Riad).
Here are some of the few photos we did take.
