Marko

Yes I know....I have been slack, but unfortunately life tends to get in the road of good reporting intentions.

Anyway here is the gist of May in Morocco.

The flight from Brisbane actually got away early...12.50am !! We had dinner with the kids and a couple of reds to get us relaxed (and sleep). We both crashed as soon as the plane was at cruising altitude. The Cathay seats recline fully and as a nice extra touch they give you doonas to snuggle up in. Breakfast was dim sum with chilli sauce and real coffee!

We are currently sitting in the United Airlines lounge after having a shower ( geez that makes a difference !) Nursing a cappucino and Lisa has had her first green tea of the day. Looking out towards the mountains behind Hong Kong which are shrouded in mist ( or it could be pollution ). We board at 12.30 pm so it looks like a long day of movie watching coming up. We have never flown Lufthansa before.

Australia is a long long long long long way from almost everywhere.

The flight from Hong Kong to Frankfurt was unremarkable, food was OK, seats OK, movies OK. It was on time and the 2 hour stopover in Frankfurt was bearable. Actually the smoked Turkey sausages and mustard and draught Becks in the lounge were pretty good.

The flight to Casablanca was barely comfortable and cold !! Morocco went into daylight saving one week earlier than normal so instead of arriving at 11.30pm it was 12.30am !! Well at least not too much traffic on the road in. The Royal Mansour Hotel is very nice, comfortable and very stylish. We organise an 11am start so we can catch up a bit ! The breakfast is fantastic is a large open coutyard area. We went for a walk to have a look around the hotel area and get our first taste of traffic chaos.

Our room has a view of the King Hassan mosque...quite stunning, its the second largest in the world and was built using public donation.

Our guide is a man called Mohommad and he is excellent ! He makes a real effort. Our driver is a fairly young bloke who drives like he is carrying eggs in the back....thats us, and with the general Casablancan road chaos flying around us ,its appreciated.


The guys pick us up after a very nice breakfast. First stop is the Hassan 2 mosque... the minaret is 200 meters high. A very impressive structure with a sweeping forecourt and view out into the ocean. The tile work is amazing. Its about a 3 hour drive to Marrakech and we leave via the Corniche, the golden mile along the ocean with all the flash restaurants and big homes...very impressive,

The road to Marrakech is a dual lane motorway the whole way. The interesting thing is that there are flyovers in the middle of nowhere, they don't connect as yet to the motorway but they are put in as there will eventually be some development there eventually !! Geez a government who thinks ahead.....where do we get one !






Anyway we arrive and the outskirts of Marrakech looks brand new, lots of new apartment development and the road infrastructure is good. The nature of the place changes when you get to the old city walls and the place starts to look like a 900 year old city.






We get dropped at our Riad, La Maison Arabe, what a great place. You walk up a short dusty non descript alley and you come to the modest looking door but once you walk in....WOW!



The place is decorated like a combination of a Moroccan museum and Yves St Laurents house. We are taken for a walk around the place, it only has 16 rooms and three suites, but it has two restaurants, a seperate bar (you half expect to see Winston Churchill there smoking a cigar!!)



There is also a hammam (bathhouse ) which lisa tells me looks devine !! Our room is on the second floor and has a huge bed, and a bath you could do laps in !! The balcony over looks the small pool which has seating around it, they serve breakfast and dinner there.

Marko

Mohommed and the driver pick us up after we finish stowing the gear and having afternoon tea , afternoon tea is big at the La Maison Arabe!! It was time for a quick orientation. Everything in Marrakech is based on the Koutoubia Mosques central 75meter high minaret. It was built in the 12 century on the site of an 11th century mosque, its looking a bit tired but the size of the place and its position command respect.




We then walked to Djemaa el Fna, the square at the centre of Marrakech, its early , the food vendors are setting up but the place is buzzing, there are acrobats, snake charmers, drummers, monkeys on leads and masses of people. We have a quick wander around the outside of the square before we climb some stairs to the Glacier cafe for some pics. Mohommed is a local and obviously respected as he is greeted by many people.




Jet lag is setting in and the days are so long...the sun sets at about 830pm, so we get dropped back to La Maison Arabe, the usual shower up and change and dinner is booked for 8.30pm at the in house Moroccan restaurant "La Marocaine".




Its a prix fixe menu, choose from starter, main and dessert. Our first Tagine. Lisa had one with Lamb and Quince and I had Lamb with Orange and saffron all washed down with a Moroccan Rose, "Medallion" a shiraz Rose. Lisa hits the wall in a hurry , so we head up to the room to crash. We both wake at 2.30am, look at each other and say WTF !! and go back to sleep, a big day coming.

After breakfast by the pool, Mahommed is there to pick us up.






WE get dropped on the outside of the north part of the Souks.After a short walk through an essentially residential area (inluding a stop in a local bakery) we make it to Ali ben Youssef mosque, the second oldest in Marrakech. Nearby and open to the public is the Medersa, the old Koranic school.The Ben Youssef Madrasa was an Islamic college in Marrakech and was named after the amoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106–1142), It is the largest Medrasa in all of Morocco.


The next stop is the Musee de Marrakech, The building itself is the main reason for visiting this beautiful museum, a former 19th century palace. The exhibits including some contemporary art are worthwhile, but the tile work and general decor are spectacular. There is a small cafe for reasonably priced mint tea or coffee and small snacks. Perfect time for a mint tea !!

The next part of the walk takes in the working part of the souk, where a lot of the stuff that gets sold gets made. No mass produced factories here...all hand made in pretty primitive conditions. The metal workers in particular turn out some amazing stuff. We watched in the leather section while they piled up hides ready for the daily auction.

We walk past a place that had a huge silver bath in front of it and the shop was full of amazing lamps and objet d'art! Yep, lisa bought a meter high silver lamp !! I know hope the shipping process works as well as they say it does !!


The next step on the retail input to the Moroccan economy involves a rug...its a lovely rug but the whole selection and haggling process is very tiring...and thats just dealing with Lisa.


As part of the continueing meander through the souks we come to the Qoubba Almoravid, the city's oldest monument. It is the place where the men would wash before going to prayer in the Ali ben Youseff mosque. It was excavated from the rubble around the mosque in 1948 !!



Nearby is a series of shops selling natural products, for all sorts of purposes, beauty, aroma, health.......male virility !! We have the scenic tour, including sniffs of some wild stuff. I get a massage of my dodgy knee using Argan oil and some other hot stuff, not sure if it was the hot stuff or if it was the massage but it felt better for a while.



We get taken to a restaurant in the new part of town (Gueliz) for lunch, they do a damn good mixed grill and the beer was icy cold !!
This afternoon quad biking !!!

Marko

We head out of town to have a look at the major dam that supplies water (and some power ) to Marrakech, Lake Takerkoust. As you head out of town it gets very dry, very quick !! There are some remarkable looking buildings dotted along the way....which are apparantly new .



We head to a dusty looking car park with a half dozen quad bikes parked out the front, we fill in some cursory paperwork, which I have to sign.. Lisa doesn't....she's a woman and I take responsibility for her !!! LOL



We get goggles and a helmet, one spin around the car park to make sure we are not totally unco and we are off along the wheat fields. It is DUSTY !! As we follow the young fellow along we pass through a couple of very small villages, I can assure you not the sort of places we would want to move to. There are a couple of great spots with views and we stop at one. You can see the Atlas mountains in the distance with some snow still on the peaks.


Its a fun way to spend a couple of hours even if all you can taste is dust.

The days are very long, we get dropped back at the riad and wash off some dust...internally and externally. Our plan is to take the bold step of diving into the seething mass of bikes,donkeys,carts,people and salesmen to find the Djeema el Fna square for dinner. With the trusty map in the back pocket we actually find it pretty easy.



We walk around the food stalls ,every one has a salesman out the front imploring you to eat....all good...all cheap! I don't think I can convince Lisa to try it, she is delicate. We take our time as the place is in full swing with all the entertainment going full blast, its a full on smell,noise,light assault on the senses......and its all good fun !!



We end up stopping at Cafe Argana, a restaurant with a terrace overlooking the square, a great place to watch the show. The food is good and pretty cheap, the tea at the end is sweet and minty.


We wander back to the riad and crash.

baladeuse

I'm enjoying your report, particularly as I'm in the process of planning a trip in September. Love all the details. Just wondering, did you arrange your trip through a tour company, and if so, what did you think of the process? Were you happy with the choices of hotels, riads etc.?

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Marko

I put together my list of places and things and then got an agent to put it together for me. Worked pretty well.

Marko

We head out of town this morning and drive south to the Atlas mountains, just outside of Marrakesh its dry but the closer you get to the mountains the greener it gets. We come across our first Berber villages perched on the sides of steep valleys, tumbles of rectangular mud brick boxes.


The drive starts to REALLY climb
and the snow capped peaks start to look very close. We cross the Asni Valley and the the Imlil valley. We have a brief stop at Richard Bransons luxury hotel just outside Imlil. 1000 euros a day if you are keen!!

We arrive in Imlil and meet up with a mountain guide for the walk to his village, a place called Aghamed, its at a lazy 1900 meters ! Lisa charges up the hill and I struggle at the rear...my knees hurt (thank god for Voltaren !!) . We wander through the village and the meet a local family who show us through where they live. They may us mint tea and we drink it on the roof top with the view of the mountain. Its a rugged landscape, life would be tough for the locals.



We head back down via the local school where we drop off a few packets of pencils and some kangaroo stickers that we had brought along. I think the pencils were most appreciated but the stickers generated the most interest !! Its apparantly one of the few things that Moroccans know about Australia !


We arrive back down the hill in Imlil and head to Kasbah du Toubkal for lunch. On a terrace once again with a killer view we have salads, Cous Cous and Tagine. We find ourselves sitting next to a couple from Sydney, who had left there kids at home and run away to Morocco too !!!


We have the weary drive back to Marrakech.I hope my snoring didn't put the driver off !

We get back to La Maison Arabe and do the three S's. The plan was to head out for dinner but both of us are still feeling weary. We still go for a walk , its 8pm and there is plenty of light...the sun hasn't set yet.



We have dinner at the other restaurant at the La Maison, the "3 Flavours" the menu features European, Moroccan and Asian dishes ! I have been waiting to have "Pastilla" a morrocan favourite, its pidgeon with honey wrapped in pastry like filo topped with a dusting of sugar and cinnamon. All I can say is interesting....and don't worry I won't be serving it at home anytime soon. Another bottle of good Rose bites the dust and the bed beckons.

Marko

Our last day starts with another very nice breakfast by the pool. The orange juice in Morocco is very good and they learnt a lot about pastries from the French.

The original plan for today was for Lisa and I to have fairly relaxed day and just bum around ourselves, but we haven’t managed to get to a few places and we arrange to meet Mohommad in the morning.
The first stop is the Majorelle garden, built by the French artist Jacques Majorelle, basically an enclosed collection of rare plants….coming from the wonderfull garden city it was hardly amazing. It does features some more splashes of colour than you normally see in Marrakech. The vibrant blue goes well with the constant terracotta. The garden also contains the grave of Yves St Laurent....Lisa said a little prayer !!

After a brief stop at a telephone shop to work out why our I-phones can receive calls but can’t make them (shrug of the shoulders and the answer “it’s the stupid Marrakech network !!!”), we drive to the Menara Gardens, once again pretty uninspiring, its basically an olive grove with a pavilion in the middle and a reservoir ( which today was a dirty brown). The reservoir is full of very big very fat carp that are fed bread by the tourists.

The next stop is the Saadian tombs, a collection of Muslim tombs that avoided destruction through the superstition of the conquering mogul. He just walled it up and the people forgot it, it was only rediscovered by the French in the fifties when they did an aerial survey of Marrakech. It was FULL of tourists !!!

Days like this we tend to skip lunch as we have had a big breakfast and are usually full on. We get dropped back at the La Maison Arabe as this afternoon we have a treat booked….the Royal Treatment at the Riads Hammam.

To start with the setting of the hammam is amazing, vaulted ceilings ,low lights, soft music. We are ushered into the change room ,where we strip down to the basics and are wrapped in bathrobes. We are led to the hot room, basically a large sauna where we are both wet down and rubbed with a eucalyptus soap and then left to cook for about a half hour….I sweated the dust of a thousand years out ! The next step involves another hose down with hot water and then a another soap down with “black soap” and then an all over scrub with the magic loofah !! I can see the layers of skin coming off Lisa so I guess the effect on me was even more dramatic. Then another wash down with warm water before we are wrapped in bathrobes and ushered out for some water and nice lay down ( no Bex !).

After a chance to recover from the steam cleaning, we are taken into another room, very low light and two massage tables. I haven’t had many massages I have really enjoyed, but this one was GOOD! Damn its relaxing laying there having your bits rubbed with oil and having nothing else to think about other than tinkling Moroccan music in the background. Lisa tells me that it was a very good massage. Once again we get wrapped in the bathtowels and are lead out for another lay down, this time they serve mint tea. I am beginning to develop a liking for mint tea.

The next stop is our room to continue the relaxing theme, we crack a bottle of Veuve and plan what to do for our last night in Marrakech. We knock that off and after a shower we head downstairs to the courtyard and knock back a half bottle of Rose. We are now TOTALLY relaxed.

The decision is to head back down to the square and try to find a restaurant. The place is happening !! all the food stalls and BBQ’s are going and the snake charmers are charming, the belly dancers are dancing, the drummers are drumming…….and we can’t decide on a restaurant. I convince that we should try one of the food stalls and to my surprise she agrees, the first one we come to with some European looking folk at we take, The people next to us are an older threesome from Belgium. They are very jolly and up for a yarn. The menu is pretty basic and we just say one of those one of those one of those two of those and two bottles of water. It all arrives pretty quickly, nice and hot and very fresh and pretty damn tasty……and very cheap. Apparantly all the food comes in that afternoon, is cooked and all leftovers are given to the poor, the exercise gets repeated the next day.

We make a weary way back to La Maison Arabe to pack. Big road trip tomorrow.

Marko

We say our farewells to La Maison Arabe. I can thouroughly recommend the place, service and presentation is immaculate. Position pretty damn good too.






Today we head over the mountains to Ouarzazate, which is considered the gateway to the Sahara. The drive is breathtaking !!! Steep cliffs, snow capped mountains, sheer drops right at the side of the road. Berber villages stuck like glue to the sides of mountains. The vegetation changes abruptly when you reach the top of the mountain and pass through the Col du Tichka at a lazy 2260 meters...its noticeably cooler !!! Much to Lisa's annoyance I buy some rocks....long story. If you like gemstones and fossils buy here, cheaper and the quality is good. Next stop Ait ben Haddou !!! One of my highlights !!

Marko

As you come down the other side of the Atlas mountains it becomes progressively drier and the vegetation gets sparser. We are getting closer to the desert.

Our next stop is Ait Ben Haddou.

Built in the 11th century, it remains situated at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains along the Ouarzazate River. From its hilltop position, it gave the ancient village a commanding view of the surrounding area. Appearing out from the harsh desert landscape, it was a major stop for camel caravans carrying salt and other commodities across the Sahara. Once a busy teeming city, it now stands as a ghost town. Earlier in its history, thousands of people made Ait Benhaddou home. Approximately 700 residents still live in the area. Here we see our first "Blue Man", a guy from the desert.

Interestingly, Ait Benhaddou has been used as the backdrop of many films such as the Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth and Alexander. Interest of the film industry in this area has led to protection of the unique buildings and historical monuments. Its here we see our first "Blue Man", someone from the desert dressed in vivid blue.
All in all a very impressive place....put it on your bucket list before it disappears!!

Marko

We roll into Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara. We are staying at the Berbere Palace, who's claim to fame is that its where the "stars" all stay when making movies in the area. Its a stock standard hotel room that smells of dust. Lisa has a camp and I go for a long walk around the main drag.


The place was empty as we arrived but as we cut the dust with a beer a conference group of french electrical salesmen arrive and cover the place. They all happily paddle in the huge pool which is freezing cold !! So cold that I actually stand knee deep in it to reduce the swelling in my knee !!


Dinner tonight was Italian !!! With another investigation of Moroccan Rose.

We breakfast amongst the purveyors of french TV's and Kettle and I ponder the quality of french breakfast cigarettes.


The boys pick us up for a tour of Skoura, a small town in the middle of an oasis of Palm trees. Its hard to beleive but it actually gets MORE desolate and dry as we drive out of Skoura. We pass by the Dam which is the water supply for Ouarzazate and even the water looked dry.

We arrive on the outskirts of Skoura and the palm trees just seem to pop up out of nowhere. We pull up in the main drag and its particularly uninspiring. we turn around and stop at a renovated kasbah on the edge of town and we have a look around, interesting but I think I would give it a miss...too many stairs. Ait ben Moro is the name of the place, we stop for a drink....I had a moroccan coke, which tastes just like coke from Oz.


Back in to Ouarzazate and we visit the Kasbah Taourirt. The el Glaoui clan controlled one of the major southern caravan routes to West Africa and were given extensive power by the French during colonial rule in exchange for keeping the southern tribes subdued. The Taourirt Kasbah was built in the 19th century and reached the height of importance during the 1930s, when the el Glaoui powers were at their peak.

The boys then take us to the real people Souk, the markets for the locals, in a dusty dirty enclosure of rocks they sell EVERYTHING,shoes,clothes,carpets,meat,vegetables,s pices,olives, cooking equipment ! The lot, really interesting and I am pretty sure we were the only non locals there. The mix of people is very diverse.If you can, go there,its getting to the real heart of Morocco.

Marko

Sorry, I don't like it here.


Its too frickin dusty !!


We decide to eat in after a delightfull stroll through the tree lined and green avenues of Ouarzazate. (NOT)


We elect to try the Berberes Palaces signature Moroccan restaurant. lovely surroundings, virtually empty ( only two other tables occupied as the French Harvey Norman(walmart) people have left).


I have an entree of Pastilla, which is basically pidgeon pie....except sweet !!! It was followed by a Tagine of meatballs and egg...not bad, but a hell of a lot more expensive than the meal down at the local square. The wine, a cabernet; Caesar..Elixer of the emporers.


Off for a good nights sleep (dust willing)

Marko

We try to fill in the morning by sleeping in ,having a long breakfast and packing our (very heavy) bags. We bought a leather cabin sized bag in Marrakech to take the overflow...thank god we did.


The nice man at the chaotic check in at Ouarzazate kindly tells me that Air Maroc will be giving us the gift of our overwieght luggage . We say our farewells to the boys, they did a great job, kept us safe and informed and I can certainly recommend them ( send me an email if you intend to go).

The flight is late. We arrive in Casablanca about two hours late. The plan was to get picked up by an english speaking guide who would give us a quick tour of some places and then drop us at dinner and look after our bags. The poor bugger who picked us up had about as much english as I have Arabic. He gets on the phone and picks up a one toothed, cigarette perfumed, coughing english speaking guide, who proceeded to tell us all he knew..........4 times.


We get dropped at one of Casablancas more favourite restaurants, "Du Port de Peche", a seafood place and they are busy !! We manage to order and the food is quick, entree ,Prawns Pil Pil (chilli prawns) followed by grilled Monkfish steaks.
Its was a nice dinner but we must now prepare for the overnight flight to Toulouse, via Frankfurt. I had a couple of beers with dinner but as we need to stay awake until 1.50am that will do. We both spend a couple of hours pacing the melange of humanity that makes up the departure lounge of Casablanca airport. There are flights to places I have never heard of !! There are dusky maidens in 7 inch heels with decolletages that defy gravity as well as full burka covered ladies. We finally get on the plane and I am asleep before the plane takes off.

If you haven't seen Morocco, put it on your list ! Amazing place, next time will include Fez and the coast.

Leslie_S

Marko - great trip report - thanks so much for writing. If you do return maybe add a night in the dunes, too. We really enjoyed that.

Marko

Hi Leslie....doubt if I will convince Lisa to return to Ouarzazate!!