See Morocco, One Of The World’s Most Popular Tourist Destinations In 2 Weeks 7/2023 (Stop 8 – Marrakech)

From Casablanca, I took a train to go south to Marrakech, one of the top tourist destinations in the world. It was only a two-and-a-half-hour ride. As the train approached Marrakech, the landscape outside the widows appeared undulating and pinkish. I thought it was a vast field just plowed for replanting. Soon my neck was sweating in an air-conditioned first-class cabin. We were running into the desert. The earth was red hot.

I stayed in the old part of the city. And how distinguished it was. The houses were connected by cobbled stone alleys too narrow for cars. The buildings, and the old city walls, were all peachy, like the land around it – it looked old without being ancient.

I would soon stumble onto a big square, the Jemaa el-Fna Square. It was like no other, a public square almost like anyone could bring a table or a mat to set up shop, to promote or show off. There were a few groups of snake charmers, game stalls, food stalls, merchandise stalls, and traditional music bands. Drumbeats, flute, laughter, and voices all compete for and attract attention. It was a market behaving like a carnival.

The old souks of the old city are Arab street markets, made up of a labyrinth of narrow cobbled stone streets, where shops sell all manners of products, including artisan products. Shopping here is for those with taste and shallower pockets, the more distinguished and discerning.

Enjoy Moroccan dishes from the rooftops and street sides. A tagine dish, stewed chicken cooked with olive and lemon, eaten with bread tastes homely and uniquely Moroccan. Couscous is a must-try. Cooked the Morrocan way, is soft, light, and fluffy. You enjoy it without chewing.

A city moving forward, but it seems to want to do it at its own pace.

So much still to see of its past. I visited a number of them. Among them, the Bahia Palace and Badi Palace. The intricate carvings and the tile designs were painstakingly and artistically accomplished so that the creator could boast, the visitors in awed admiration. The inner courtyards were expansive, allowing the eyes to rove and the feet to wander. No neighbors’ walls or windows were taller, under a sky so clear and high – these are sanctuaries of inner peace. That’s the marvel, to raise something so beautifully pleasing from a ground so unkind.

Jardine Majorelle is a small garden in the city center with a French name; it was created by a French. I came in the morning, the sun was still in its stupor, the birds still singing their praises. Small but every inch was designed to be picture-perfect. The giant cacti and the tall skinny palm tree with bushy hair of green leaves stood tall and stood out. The bold use of cobalt blue on pots and buildings was contrarian and audacious. A brilliant idea, not just in its design, but to nurture something green on the ground so brown and parched.

It has been hot. There was no rain, no clouds, no river, no sea, not much grass, and few trees. Even the buildings and walls are glowing in red, as though in a kiln. Streets and walkways are concreted or paved with cobblestone, or dirt left to face the sun. White faces on the streets looked flushed and drenched. My water bottle in the backpack became warm and undrinkable. My mobile phone warned me that it had to cool down or else, so I had to look for an aircon room to make her comfortable.  

While I complained, the birds were still singing from branches, the Moroccans still looking pretty cool.

Click here to see all the stops on this trip