Travelogue: Marrakesh 2017 - A startling contrast

After spending 3 days and nights enjoying the quiet, natural beauty of the High Atlas Mountains, we concluded our stay in Morocco with 2 nights in Marrakesh. I have to admit, despite the beautiful historic buildings we saw, the noise, the traffic, and the constant hassles of finding your way through the city almost spoiled it for me.

The son of Joseph School

Here's an example. One day, we were trying to find our way to a walled garden that we wanted to see. We were lost and I was about to try using Google Maps on my iPhone to find our way when a man stepped up to us and offered to lead the way. We didn't really want a guide, but we let him lead us. Of course, when we got to the garden, he wanted to be paid. I reached in my pocket and pulled out my change - 5 dirhams. "Not enough," he said. He wanted 20 dirhams. I told him, honestly, that I did not have 20 dirhams. I offered the 5 dirhams again, and when he declined, I went to put the money back in my pocket. "All right," he said in a huff and snatched the coins. He then complained, "It's not right!" (The garden, meanwhile, was closed, and we never did get in to see it.)

Or another example. We wanted to find the Jewish Quarter. We knew we were close, but weren't quite sure if we were going the right way. Suddenly, we entered a square and voila! We were there. We saw the Lazama Synagogue, established in 1492 and took a photo. A young man standing at the end of an alley saw us and rushed over to us. "Yes, yes," he said excitedly. "This is the Jewish Quarter. This is the famous Lazama synagogue." All stuff we knew and had found on our own. He then put out his hand for a tip. But this time, I wasn't even tempted to give him anything.

Our basic strategy, then, was to just keep walking, as if we knew where we were going ... even if we were totally lost, and to firmly say "no" to purported guides and then ignore them if they continued to walk behind us, as they often did. It was just annoying, and I shouldn't have let it bother me. But it did.

We did see some amazing sights there. We had a list of places we wanted to see, and we found them all in a day and a half. The old city is quite compact, though as I've noted above, it's not particularly easy to find your way around.

My favorite site was the El Badi Palace. The palace is more than 400 years old, and the exhibits on display do a good job of conveying the history and significance. It's quite large and it took a long time to go through it. One feature that I found to be interesting was that storks have build nests on top of the ruined walls of the palace, and you can hear the birds squawking while your walking through the ruins.

Storks nesting on the ruins of the El Badi Palace

Another favorite for me was the Saadian Tombs. Unlike the Palace, the Tombs were a relatively short visit during a day of sightseeing. A line of tourists shuffles through a garden, culminating in a chance to view the Tombs, which also are more than 400 years old. In a city with many beautiful mosaics and decorative ceramic tiles, the decor of the Saadian Tombs was breathtaking.

The Saadian Tombs

One of the real pleasures of our stay in Marrakesh was our riad, Les Yeux Bleus (The Blue Eyes). It was a quiet haven (located at the end of a dark alley) amidst the cacophony of the city. Our room was on the ground floor. It was roomy and comfortable with luxurious, modern amenities. The door opened into the main courtyard with a pool surrounded by lounge chairs. Our stay included a very good breakfast on the rooftop patio. The riad was conveniently located for us, walking distance to all of the sights on our list.

The pool courtyard at Riad Les Yeux Bleus

The restaurants where we ate in Marrakesh were good, but not particularly memorable. On our last night, we found one with an upper level dining room overlooking the Jemaa el-Fnaa, the central courtyard and marketplace in the old city. It was a touristy choice, for sure. But from our elevated vantage point, we could observe the snake charmers, musicians, acrobats, and monkey handlers who populate the marketplace.

After breakfast on our last morning in Morocco, we made our way back into the old city to spend our remaining dirhams (which we understood could not be exchanged or taken out of the country). I was looking for a nice leather satchel to carry my electronics and reading material when traveling. After looking in several shops, I found one that suited me. We dickered a little bit over the price. I felt I got it for a fair price, though my wife believes I overpaid.

That purchase used up most of our remaining currency. But on our way out of the market, we stopped into a shop to look at some unique jewelry. My wife found an unusual wooden bracelet with inlaid silver decorations. She really liked it, but it was quite a bit more than what we had left. The merchant was intent on making a sale. We showed him how much money we had. Not nearly enough. "But," he said to my wife, "do you have something in your purse that I could give as a gift to my wife?" Linda opened her purse. She had a lipstick, a sample of cologne, and a nail file. "OK," the merchant said. So Linda got the bracelet for 100 dirhams (basically $10) plus an assortment of cosmetics. And, I had to promise to publicize his shop in my blog.

So here it is: When you are in Marrakesh, be sure to visit Kounouz Gallery d'art & de Bijous, Chez Zekrioui, located at Rue Laksour Tarik sidi El yamani No. 10.