Morocco has always been a must-visit destination for me, and this year I finally got to go on a fast-paced and varied two-week organised trip full of natural and cultural riches.
I once again travelled with Intrepid, my small group company of choice, and found myself sharing the trip with a great bunch of people, mostly from Canada and Australia. The trip did involve a lot of time spent on the road. I was very tempted to do the 18 day tour which includes the famous blue city of Chefchaouen, but from past experience I knew that two weeks of intense travel is my natural limit. It does feel like an unfinished business, so hopefully I can tack it onto some future trip.
Bonjour! Somehow I forgot all about Morocco’s past as the French protectorate, and didn’t expect French to be the dominant Western language, from signage to greetings from the shopkeepers. At times, it made guessing the meaning of menu items quite interesting. The official languages of Morocco are Arabic and Berber, the language of the indigenous people who lived in North Africa before the Arabs. The strikingly geometric Berber alphabet is quite unlike any alphabet I’ve seen before.
Weather: A hot day here and a shockingly cold day there aside, the temperatures mostly hovered around the mild low 20s, with a couple of rainy days.
Food: It’s a crime to visit Morocco and not have a traditional meal of tagine; I tried all sorts including chicken, beef, fish and vegetable.
Some people find Moroccan food a tad on the bland side, but having grown up on the blandish Russian food the lack of kick was not an issue for me and I really enjoyed it. I also loved the refreshing traditional mint tea, and bread with olives you get as a complimentary starter everywhere you go. On the weirder end of things, I tried a pigeon pie, which might as well have been anything since the filling was mixed with nuts and spices.
Hassan II Mosque
To be honest I could see why our tour didn’t spend any real time in Casablanca. It’s the largest city in Morocco and the country’s business centre, but any romantic aura its name evokes thanks to the classic Hollywood film is quickly dispelled on arrival. There’s just not that much to see or do there, and many of the city’s beautiful Art Deco buildings look like they need a good wash.
That said, I did enjoy the six-hour day tour with a local guide, which included a walk around the medina (old town), a pastry shop where we could taste a selection of local sweets, and a visit to the opulent Hassan II Mosque that is Casablanca’s one genuinely awe-inspiring, magnificent sight:
Volubilis
On our way to Fes, we visited the ruins of Volubilis, the ancient Roman city considered to be the best-preserved archaeological site in Morocco. Its best features are the mosaic floors, which came to vivid life when our local guide splashed some water on them.
Fes
Every city in Morocco we went to had something to offer, but Fes was easily my favourite. We saw the intricately decorated Royal Palace in the morning before diving into the colour and chaos of Fes medina, a maze of 9,000 alleys and dead-end streets where even the locals may get lost at times. Fun fact about the famous leather tanneries: you’re handed a small bunch of mint before stepping inside the leather shop, to protect your senses from an overwhelming smell.
Sahara Desert
I’ve done the camel ride in the desert twice before in Egypt and India, but the visit to Merzouga Dunes on the edge of the Sahara Desert was still the highlight of my Moroccan trip. There is just something special about this experience that transports you into what feels like a different world. Because of the strong evening haze, the sunset was a bit of a non-event, but the next morning we were treated to a marvellous sunrise.
Todra Gorge
A very different side of Morocco: lush greenery in between the towering red walls of the gorge. Though our hotel wasn’t the best in terms of quality, it was hands down the most stunning location we stayed in on the trip. While there we also visited a carpet shop, where I would have been very tempted to buy something gorgeous if my one-bedroom apartment had more space.
Lights, camera, action!
A stop at the Atlas Studios near the city of Ouarzazate was a lot of fun. The most impressive sights there are the enormous sets inspired by Ancient Egypt, where movies like the 1999 The Mummy with Brendan Fraser were filmed among others. Other sets included “generic” Moroccan town streets and an Asian temple used in Martin Scorsese’s Kundun. Later in the evening, we had a walk to the historic UNESCO-listed fortified village of Aït Benhaddou, another popular filming location for movies like Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia.
Essaouira
After the hectic pace, a stay in this port city and resort with strong Mediterranean vibes was a godsend. It’s a touristy place for sure, but the atmosphere is very relaxed and pleasant. I spent the two free days strolling around the medina, shops and beach and enjoying the tasty and fresh seafood.
While Morocco is a cat country, cats in Essaouira are literally everywhere, and clearly expect nothing bad from the humans since they allow you to get right in their face. You regularly see the locals feed the cats, and this being a fishing city fish heads are surely on the daily menu.
Marrakech
The first evening in Marrakech was a true sensory overload, as we went for dinner to the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and market place:
Overall I can’t say that I loved the city, but Marrakech does have many places of interest to see and explore. Without a doubt, the highlight for me was the Majorelle Garden, created by the French artist Jacques Majorelle and later purchased and restored by the fashion designers, Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. I loved the eye-popping colours and the collection of cacti.
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