Neither in desert nor in wilderness

I have no idea what stopped me from translating this post straight away but I’m catching up now.

I went to Morocco in July 2013 with the intention of visiting a friend from high school, who lives with her husband Nabil and son Kamil in Casablanca. Life, however, wrote a different scenario (of which Ania reminds me until today 😛) and I spent only three days in Casa. I visited Morocco during Ramadan and this could be the reason why none of the CouchSurfing hosts responded to my requests. But I found a nice and cheap little hostel right next to the famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square. Before arriving, I read that in Marrakesh you have to bargain for everything, which I learned at the airport, when the newly met friends fought like lionesses to get a lower price for a taxi. Do not think that I like to use a taxi a lot, there is a bus leaving for the city centre but there was no timetable at the bus stop and after 40 minutes of waiting, mentioned Australian and Italian girls and a group of Spaniards remained at the bus stop, with especially the Spaniards looking very confused. In a few days, however, I came to such a skill that I even bargained for my friends, arousing widespread irritation, because they would like to buy that ashtray and go further 🙂 I was called a Berber by the traders, I was looked at as if I was taking their only beloved daughter from home but I was tough and continued to bargain. As you have already guessed, it gave me a lot of pleasure 🙂 The taxi driver smoked one cigarette after another, but as he explained it, because of Ramadan he did not smoke all day. I do not know if crossing the red light is also the fault of Ramadan but the driver, with a cigarette in his mouth, calmed me by pronouncing the only English word known to him, i.e. OK 🙂 From him speaking French I understood that he had been doing it all his life but considering his age he probably started on a donkey…

As I mentioned before, the hostel was located next to the UNESCO-listed square and in the evening there is a wonderful atmosphere (although everyone wants you to buy something). In the evening dozens of stalls are set up there, where for a small amount of money you can try local delicacies: shashliks, couscous or tajin.

Jemaa ef-Fnaa square in the evening

There are a lot of people in the square who can tell you something, sell you something, show you how to charm a snake or let you play with a monkey (by the way, these monkeys looked miserable) – all for a fee, of course. In Marrakesh, everything has a price, showing directions, taking a photo, etc. It was very annoying at first, but I talked a lot with young Moroccans working at the hostel (Abdel and Jaouad became good friends after a few days) and they gave me a completely different view of this subject. In Marrakesh, people can only earn money on tourism, society is poor and there is no system of benefits (one of the five pillars of Islam is charity or alms-giving, so theoretically the Muslims should give away some of the property to the poor) so everyone has to manage somehow. You can buy a pack of cigarettes and sell them to people on the street or you can offer help in finding an address in the labyrinth of medina streets (the old town). So if someone spends 30 minutes to take you somewhere, why would you just say ‘thank you’ and go away. Give a tip and then thank them. Of course, some people are really annoying and will follow you, even if you tell them that you know the way. These should be gently disposed of by saying: “La, shukraan” (no, thank you in Arabic).

The name of one of the markets in Marrakesh

I had five full days in Marrakesh so, taught by my experience in Vilnius, I decided to take it easy. I relaxed more than I planned 🙂 The next morning, a group of young Italians arrived in the hostel, they were studying Arabic in Rabat and came to Marrakesh for a weekend. After a morning coffee at the hostel, we decided to go sightseeing together. And that’s how me, Edo, Martina and Giulia became inseparable for three days. First we went to the market (Souk). I do not have to say that the girls were overjoyed, me and Edo a little less. We were taken to the pharmacy, where a really nice gentleman, fluent in Italian, explained what is happening in this place (I’ll disappoint you, I do not speak Italian, Edo translated to me a bit). After making the necessary purchases at the pharmacy, we started (stopping at various kinds of shops and workshops on the way) to walk slowly in the direction of Madrasa Ben Youssef. Founded in the 12th century, the Islamic school is now converted into a museum and everyone interested in culture or Islamic architecture will find something interesting there. I was dazzled by the Moorish architecture during my stay in Andalusia when I visited over twelve years ago. One of the characteristic features are very rare representations of people and animals, geometric or floral ornaments or decorative calligraphic letters dominate. This is one of those things that I can admire for a long time, even though I have never been drawn to architecture.

Really nice things but remember to bargain

In the workshop you will hear everything about production, but a tip or purchase is expected…

I only gave a tip, although I looked pretty good 😉

At the Ben Youssef museum

I spent a bit of time there

The spent the afternoon having a well deserved siesta in the hostel and in the evening together with the Italians and the girls I met the day before, we ate dinner in the square, enjoying slightly lower temperature.

Around the centre you can find a lot of small travel agencies and in your hostel or riad there will surely be some leaflets. There are many offers for one- or several-day trips, whether to the Atlas Mountains, the desert or other attractions. We decided to go to the Ourika valley. If you are a larger group and you have time, you can hire a taxi, for example. We paid 15 euros each for the trip but I warn you that it is only transport. No food is included, the restaurant to which you will be brought will be more expensive than in Marrakesh and the guide needs to get a tip as well. Of course, before we reached the waterfalls, we stopped three times at a small shop or in an oil factory. You can stay on the side and you can just listen and look, you don’t have to buy anything there, but a tip for a tea would be nice 🙂 We finally got to the waterfalls and they did not impress me much, a bit like our Kamieńczyk fall but it was nice to sit by the water in that heat. As already mentioned, there are a lot of excursion options, I would like to go back to Morocco to go to the desert, go to the Atlas and visit the north of the country (and visit to Ania ;))

And that’s how we make argan oil – and now everyone can leave a fiver 😉 

If you want to cool down…

A bit overrated, don’t you think?

The next day was the last day with the Italians, they were going back to Rabat. We went for a walk around the city, drinking tea here and there and I decided to visit them for one day in Rabat and then they left 😦 Taking advantage of the beautiful sunset I went to see the Koutoubia mosque, with a 77-meter high minaret. The mosque is a few minutes walk from the square and you can always follow it if you get lost. If the view of the mosque seems familiar to you, it is probably because the Giralda in Seville was copied from Koutoubia. The mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by Almohad dynasty and is the largest in Marrakesh. It is also called the book sellers’ mosque because they used to set up their stands near the mosque, selling manuscripts. A small curiosity, the mosque was dismantled after the construction, because a mistake in calculations was made during the construction and the mihrab (richly decorated prayer niche) was not directed towards Mecca.

The Koutubia mosque at sunset. These spread mats serve the faithful to pray

So beautiful…

In next entry I’ll describe the rest of Marrakesh and my visit to Rabat.