First day in Marrakesh

Suds and I met in the Paris airport and boarded our flight to Casablanca, Morocco. I knew that Morocco was a Muslim country and tourists were to dress conservatively or risk drawing unwanted attention to themselves. I had my sarong in my carry-on ready to cover my shoulders, but when we disembarked I noticed most people ignoring this advice. I saw bare shoulders and tank tops everywhere. That all changed when we got through customs. The locals there waiting to pick up friends and family from the airport were in burka's, headscarves and robe-like dresses that covered them from head to toe! Suds immediately said I had better cover up! We waited for the train for about an hour, went 3 stops and waited nearly 2 hours (the train was an hour late) then a 3 hour trip and we were in Marrakesh!

We got off the train into the taxi hawker chaos! My trusty guide book said a taxi should be 10 Dirhams, so why were they all offering a ride into town for 50? I am starting to hate guide books and their stupid advice. We got a guy down to $40 and away we go. He was shocked we didn't have reservations and just took us to a place he knew of. In Marrakesh you can stay at a hotel or a Riad. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or central courtyard open to the sky. Very cool. The place he took us to only had a suite available at way more than I anticipated spending. I wanted to try to find something cheaper but Suds was hesitant to. It was too crazy out there and we didn't even know where we were or where we were going! We bargained with the owners and got the price from 700 Dirhams to 500. After a shower and some complimentary mint tea and nibbles we headed out. (This is us having breakfast on the terrace of the Riad)


Our first impressions are of the chaos everywhere! I think it has been the most intense culture shock we have experienced. So different from what we are used to it was hard to even tell right from wrong. Everything seemed topsy turvy. Traffic was insane with no lanes or rules, people were in the streets walking, socializing or selling stuff. Men wear pajama like outfits with a long loose top and pants and a knitted hat on their head. It is acceptable for men to hold hands as friends. It is odd to see at first, the men are really touchy feely with each other. Women are in burka's or long loose robes with hoods on the back (think KKK robes) and head scarves. The roads are paved but everything is covered in a reddish dirt. The streets are a maze of twisty dark alleys with doors on the sides going into homes. The buildings are made of reddish stone and mud and none are over 2 stories. The men seem to do a lot of sitting in cafe's and hanging out in small groups in the alley's or in front of stores. The people are known to be really friendly and eager to help, but are just as likely to ask for a tip for the assistance.

Leaving the riad we attempt to find on e of the places recommended in my book. No one we ask is sure where we are on a map and so decide to hop in a taxi to get there. He over charges us of course. They can spot a wild eyed rookie when they see one! Twenty Dirhams to go 3 blocks.... We check out a few more places to stay and find some OK ones for about $300. Turning a a corner we spot a young guy stashing a bottle of wine in a hole in a wall. He sees us see and come over to explain. Alcohol is illegal in Morocco. If a police officer even smells it on your breath you can be arrested! He is stashing the bottle for later on. He is quite nice and starts to show us some more places to stay. His English is OK (French and Arabic are the predominant language here) and we chat for a time with him. His name is Hicham he is 27 and has a wife who is a professor in Berlin. We are getting hungry and he takes us to a restaurant where 3 course are $150, not bad compared to other places we had seen so far! He sits and has a beer with us till our food comes.
It was a good introduction to Morocco! We tried a Moroccan salad (tomatoes, tuna, onion, cucumber) Pastilla (chicken and almonds in a pastry crust sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon)
, and chicken cous cous and tagine of beef and prunes. (A tajine is a Moroccan dish as well as a special pot for preparing this dish. The traditional tajine pot is formed entirely of a heavy clay which is painted and glazed. It consists of two parts; a bottom which is flat and circular with low sides, and a large cover which rests inside of the bottom during cooking and is cone or dome shaped, and has a small hole for air to escape during cooking. The cover has a knob-like formation at its top to facilitate removing it.) All was very tasty!


After dinner we head to the famous Djemaa El-Fna square where we are blown away again! It was all just too much for us combined with the jet lag and sleep deprivation. Half of the square is filled with food stalls serving all the foods we just ate as well as kabobs, sausage, boiled sheeps head(yum), fresh orange juice,mint tea, and a spicy cinnamon drink and chocolate cake thing for dessert. Above it all floats smoke from all the grilling. There are people everywhere and Suds kept wondering why they were there? It was about 10PM, shouldn't they be at home? But it is like that every night. I think everyone goes there to socialize and at night it cools off from the daytime 40degrees we suffered in. The other half of the square is for entertainment. There are small groups of people listening to musicians, singers, and fortune tellers and women wanting to sell you henna tattoos . After pausing to look or listen someone will inevitably pop up with a hat and expect a tip of some sort. It gets annoying but you get used to avoiding eye contact and to watch and walk at the same time.
Time for sleep so we started weaving our way through the alleys and miraculously found our Riad!!