Mischief in Marrakesh

The lure of mysterious North Africa called me in the cold dark evenings in Northern Europe as we struggled to come out of the off/on lockdown of the past two years. The call of the Medina, the smell of the spices, the haggle of the Souk and the promise of warm bright days enticed me to book a break in Marrakesh.

We arrived this evening to Menara Airport considereal to be amongst the ten most attractive airports in the world, to be met by Muhammad who took over and looked after us til we reached our destination. He pointed out the walls of the Old City , gave us a potted socio economic history lesson of Marrakesh with the Maumonia Hotel having centre stage(did u watch Inventing Anna) and then drew up on the side of a very busy street in the Medina, while announcing this was as far as he could go! The frenetic almost entirely male environment caused us to pause apprehensively, until he introduced us to Nourredeine from our Riad , who was standing kerbside with a chap complete with cart!!

Now I had been corresponding with Nourredeine for sometime and had ( wrongly) assumed Nourredeine was female. Apparently access to our Riad was now on foot through a myriad of lanes and alleyways, some full of little shops open for business lots of cats, dashing hither and thither, ( I didn’t look too closely at what some of them carried in their mouths), dozens of mopeds weaving in and out on the unsven surface, causing our trusty guide to become concerned for us. We walked for about 10 mnutes, accompanied by our man pushing the cart with our bags, while wondering anxiously where this was leading. Down another dingy Street and suddenly a magnificent carved doorway announced our Riad. We would never have found it ourselves!

We were welcomed in the courtyard with mint tea and Moroccan pastries and the peace of this tranquil location was welcome after our frenetic walk.

Our room, while splendidly appointed and over looking the Central courtyard, seemed to have one large ,king size bed, despite my reservation stating we were two ladies seeking a twin bedded room! We both enjoy one another company, but not that much!

Our new best friend Noureideine recommeded a restaurant to us that I had reviewed, walked us there through the maze of the Medina, and then returned to escort us back after a lovely meal, to the Riad.

I was woken by the call to prayer from the Muzzeine in the early hours of the morning as the sun arose over the nearby magnificent Atlas mountains and it was then I realised I was in Africa.

Moroccan Majesty!

The sun was up, our Guide Abs awaited us, so off we went to see and learn of Morroccan majesty. The Medina was slowly awakening, streets cleaned of the previous days detritus, but still an unfathomable maze to us. He showed us a landmark Arch and assured us we would find our way back to the Riad! He must be joking! Every trader called us to buy slippers, tee shirts, beaten brass trays or pottery! All necessary requisites to bring home…again! Luckily, feng shui had arrived to my home recently so I demurred as much as possible.

While cool upon leaving the Riad, as we approached the now empty famous Jemma EL Fna Square, the sun came out and the temperature rose. En route to the Bahia Palace, Abs gave us a running and not needed, commentary on local mattress production, the pros and cons of the establishment of the Jewish settlement and how to avoid the Jewish stall holders sales chat! When we did reach Bahia Palace however, he was a fountain of information on the history, architecture and magnificent interior decoration of this ancient Palace. The midday heat was now becoming apparent, as was the noise and increases moped traffic! Dear God, they would drive straight through you and those were the ones chatting on their phones as the maneuvered through the pedestrians!!!

We meandered through the fascinating Medina, stopping here and there for Abs to give us interesting background. At one stage, we saw a beautiful building, that housed a tomb of a ancient Morrocan. Not accessable to visitors, Abs told us that unmarried ladies visit this tomb regularly, walk around the tomb seven times, sprinkle some essence, then put a padlock on a fence near the sarcophagus , in the belief that someone would unlock the padlock and they would land a fella!!! I wondered if I put on a burqa, pretended to be local, would I strike lucky!!!

A couple of hours on the sunny roof terrace set us up for our first night time visit to Jemma El Fna Square for food and entertainment. The heart of the City, the Square, is where its at inthe evening, with acrobats, snake charmers and entertainers. We had booked a nice restaurant nearby with a roof terrace but the sight of dozens of sheep’s heads on the food stalls almost put me off eating!

Another fine restaurant , accompanied by lovely Morrocan wine ( another first) and lithe belly dancers brought what we thought was a suitable end to our first full day.

The wonderful Nourredinne awaited to bring us safely back within the Medina, then , why not..a nightcap! As we sat under a starry sky in the Riad courtyard, listening to the tinkling of the fountain, we has a most interesting discussion on the modern history of Morocco. Nourredine told us of so many amazing facts and figures about his country, not least of the recent establishment of the worlds largest solar power station in the Morocco Sahara, which will supply the Uk with a large proportion of their power, the nightcap became the bottle!!

More to follow….