I'm approaching the end of my masters! After almost two years I defended my master thesis in Madrid! Sometimes, it was not an easy time to be honest but in the end I'm quite happy with the outcome! As a gift, I took two weeks off where for a week I visited Marrakech with my girlfriend and her sister! I have been to Morocco actually before, quite recently but I only visited Tangier and Chefchaouen for a total of three days. This time, the capital was calling. We met at the Marrakech Airport since I was flying from Madrid. The first impression was different than from the other two cities. We arrived at the square and Marrakech was packed and full of people. You could see directly that it is a touristy city with all the sellers trying to catch your attention. Our first accommodation was in a Riad in the Medina. At the entrance of the street of the stay a guy approached us who we thought would be the manager of our accommodation. But it emerged to be just a guy who wanted some money because he directed us to the right house number. The Medina is also the place where we spend our first day exploring. It is big and the chances are high to get lost in all the Souks. We also experienced that the afternoon in Summer is not a good time to go out since it is just too hot. We had to make a small break to rest. In the evening, the city becomes alive. The square is full of people dancing, singing, playing and the street markets open up selling food, souvenirs, things no one needs. Finding a good place for food in Medina is quite rare because a lot of restaurants are just overpriced but we got the recommendation from our host to go to Snack Toubkal which was even without the active advertising of the restaurant fully packed. For the price I definitely can recommend this place as well.
For the second day we first visited the Palace of the Bahia. Although, it definitely offers some pleasant aesthetics, it is quite touristy and does not offer that much besides some Riads. We had lunch atLa Cantine des Gazelles which we also can recommend, especially the Tanjine de Gazelle. In the afternoon we got lost in the Medina. It is really a place where you can find each time something new! We also visited the Madrasa Ben Youssef which we think had the most beautiful yard. Although the school consists of more of less the same study rooms it was really enjoyable to walk around. On the third day we started a 3-day tour to the deserts to Merzouga. Although it is not a preferred way to travel, there seemed to be no other viable option, so we decided to book a tour with guides and so on. It seemed to be quite a popular tour since a lot of mini vans were heading there. We were picked up at 7:30 and were allocated to a minivan with about 15 people. The drive started by a visit at a viewpoint which was rather unspectacular, followed by a visit at a argan oil producing place. We then headed to Ben Ait Haddou, which is famous for being a filming scene in a lot of movies and series. Definitely worth a visit although we would have liked to spend even more time at this place. After lunch at a tourist trap restaurant we had one stop where people showed us on how they produce perfume and cream from roses and one viewpoint which was called Monkey fingers. then already drove to our place to stay for the night which was in the canyon somewhere in nowhere. Surrounded by mountains the view was great though.
We started the next day at 8am and the first stop in Tinghir where we walked through the fields and visited a Berber family who produces carpets. Although I almost do not remember anything it was a nice experience. We stopped at the Canyon Todgha Gorge which was an unexpected highlight before driving all the way to Merzouga, our final destination. Almost. Merzouga is only the gate to enter the Sahara desert where we would spend the night. We got dropped off at a hotel where we could rest in the pool before starting our camel ride with the sunset in the back. The view of the Sahara desert is truly unique. The environment and atmosphere remind me of the photos that I have seen in the past. While on the camel this experience felt unreal. Unfortunately, we entered a sandstorm while it started raining. Yep, rain in the Sahara! That was the only time that I saw rain in Morocco as well. It was so windy that the sand and rain pattered on our skins. I could tell you, it hurt. I had to hold my headscarf with my mouth, that windy it was. The ride was about 1,5 hours and when we reached the camp I needed a shower badly. Thanks to my camel who didn't get bothered a bit by the circumstances. The camp, somewhere in nowhere, was surprisingly modern although the night was way too hot. In the morning at 5am we took the camels back and had a calm ride before watching the sun going up. Besides one stop where fossils were shown to us, we almost sat the whole time in the van to drive back to Marrakesh. Not that nice but all in all I can definitely recommend to visit the desert once in your life.
The last 1,5 days were rather relaxed. We strolled to the city, also went on a quad tour and also tried out the Hammam which was a great experience. We tried to find a more traditional Hammam and found this one: Hammam Nilo. First I thought it would be similar to going to a sauna but, no! It was less relaxing and more of a cleaning process. First, a body oil was put on my body. In the heating room I had to let it sit for a couple of minutes till then a person put different creams and cleaned by rubbing every part of my body. He then proceeded to shampoo my body and head and after putting around 9638 buckets of water over me he also massaged by body for a bit. For in total of 200 Dirhams that was a great experience.
So that is it. Marrakech and the desert, check! ✔️ especially the desert was utterly amazing. The drive through the Atlas Mountains offers some amazing views and the countryside is underrated. If possible I definitely try to go to the desert again. I probably had enough from Marrakech though. Although the city offers some great aesthetics I am not a fan of the vendors and their constant and aggressive way of selling but I do understand why they do it. Furthermore, I missed some variation in food. Tajine and Couscous are delicious and the way to go but probably I am too used to the variation of the Asian cuisine.