We arrived at around 8.30 in the evening. Marrakech is two hours behind Spain. We got picked up at the airport by the hostel. As we drove through the city the taxi man was very nice and showed us the main areas. We then met one of the hostel workers at the main square and he brought us the rest of the way to the hostel. We walked through the medina which is the main square and market area. The markets are called souks. The place was really lively and there was so much going on. There were people with monkeys and snake charmers and hundreds of stalls selling everything from clothes, shoes and souveniers to spices, henna tattoos and orange juice and also hundreds of food stalls. When I was walking through the square I really liked it. I loved looking around and seeing everything that was going on. There was a really good atmosphere and lots of tourists about. The area remindied me of Thailand a bit. We got to the hostel and we were really happy with it. We set out bags down and went back out to wander round the market.
The people in the markets were very aggressive at trying to get us to buy their stuff. We were so tired and just wanted to have a look around without being bothered but it's not possible here. Even people in the street who didn't have stalls annoyed to go to restuarants and played music asking for money. The women doing henna tattoos would also grab your hand and just start drawing on it without you wanting it. They said at the begining it was free but then they chase you for money. If they think your Brittish they shout out 'Asda price' and 'Primark price'. Some of them even shouted out sexual inuendos which made us very uncomfortable. But we know that the see tourists as an opportunity for money. We had to walk around constantly saying 'no thank you' to everyone that approached us. If you ignore them they don't be happy and shout abuse. I wanted to look around the different stalls but couldn't without gettign hassled. After a while we got tired of the hustle and bustle of the markets so we dicided to go for some food.
We found a really nice rooftop restuarant and I ordered chicken tagine. This is a traditional moroccon dish. It came out and all it was was a piece of chicken. It was delicious and really tasty but for €7 you would expect a bit more. After dinner is was pretty late so we just went back to the hostel to relax because we wanted to get up early the next day. We bought some drink in the airport because morocco is a muslim country and it is really hard to find alcohol. So we just had one drink back in the hostel and went to bed. Here is a picture of us out for out first meal in Marrakech..
The next day we got up at 9 and arranged to go on a camel ride. It cost 300 dirhums which is about €25 and it included transport, one hour on a camel and some mint tea afterwards. We wearn't going until 3 so we had another look around the markets in that morning before we went. This time we didn't feel like we got hassled as mush as the night before so it was nice being able to look around the stalls properly. You have to bargain with the people aswel and a lot of the time they won't agree but once you walk away they call you back and agree to your price. I bought a fridge magnet to take home as a souvenier and a pair of fake chanel sunglasses (which I love). I didn't really have much money to buy anything else. A lot of things were dearer then I expected! We then went to really chepa and nice place for food. I got a salad as a starter and then steak and chips all for only €2.50 and it was delicious and filling. Everywhere you go to eat also gives you loads of bread which is so nice but so bad. I'd say I put on a stone eating bread over the three days! After lunch it was nearly time for our camel ride so we relaxed on the roof terrace of the hostel until then.
At 3 we went out and met our tour guide, Abraham. He was really nice and friendly. One the way out to the camels he told us some stories and the history of morocco (I can't remember any of it now), it was very interesting to hear at the time. we stopped off at a small shop that sold the tradional head scarfs. We put them on and got pictures taken.
Then we went to the camel site. We were put on a camel each and the three camels were tied to each other and we had a man guiding them along. It was very scarey at first when the camel stood up. I didn't realise how tall they were. We were all safely on the camels and off we went. Two baby camels followed us the whole way around. They were so cute! It was so much fun being up on a camel but after a while it got a bit boring. We just kind of alked around in a giant circle lookin at the same tress the whole way and my legs got sore sitting on it aswel. I think maybe 20 minutes is enough for a camel ride when your not actually goin anywhere. Heres some pictures of us on the camels and the view we had for the whole hout walking around..
The next day we had to leave to we didn't have much time to do anything before we left. We walked round the markets (souks) for a while but I had no money left to buy anything and it was about 35 degrees so it was so hot so be walking around. We also had to have our shoulders and knees covered over there so we were walkin around fully clothed in 35 degree heat. We got some moroccan lunch of cous cous and a kebab and then went back to the hostel and relaxed on the roof terrace until it was time to go to the airport.
I had an amzing time in Marrakech and I didn't want to leave. I loved experiencing a different culture. The atmosphere was really enjoyable and the markets were bearable once we got into bargaining. I wish I could have stayed a few days longer to experience a bit more of morocco. I would have loved to visit a waterfall and stay overnight in the desert. Ah wel there's always next time. I definately hope to go back! Here are some more pictures just to finish off..
The main square
Taxi man that took us to the airport
€7 chicken tagine
Hostel roof terrace
Camel shadow
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