The city of Marrakech is one of those places on earth which lives up to the hype. It is an amazing medieval city contained within 12 kms of walls or "ramparts" surrounded by a Francophile "Ville Nouvelle", surrounded by palm groves and overlooked by the High Atlas and with an amazing culture and vitality. Traditionally there has been nothing between the backpacker's holiday and the expensive up market experience as exemplified by the famous Mamounia Hotel where Churchill stayed and luxurious Riads (Garden Houses) in the Medina. However the onset of budget flights from the UK and internet hotel booking allows you to put together your own package. I did including flights, transfers and hotel for £80 a head for 3 nights / 4 days and in the process probably saw more of the real Marrakech than people on expensive packages. Let me tell you how.
I went down to Marrakech from London for the first time in December 2006 spurred on by Ryanair opening up from London Luton and being able to obtain a round trip for £37 including taxes - Since Gordon Brown introduced revised APD from the 1st February this tax has jumped to £40 from the UK alone as Morocco is outside the EU and long-haul so it is taxed at the rate as a ticket to Australia - how fair is that? I booked a budget Ibis Hotel because you know what you get and the price of 440 Dirham per room meant that 3 nights / 4 days equated to 80 travel, board and transfers per person - a bargain compared to advertised packages particularly as I saw the same Marrakech they charge £300 / £450 for!
Koutabia Mosque
The taxi rank at Al Menara Airport is an exercise in chaos and here, as everywhere else, prices are negotiable. The petit taxis are Peugeot 205 type cars and don't impress and the Grand Taxis are Mercedes 200's and more practical. They'll ask 100 dirham for the 2.5 mile trip to the hotel but expect to pay 70 in and 50 Dirham (the official fare) back.
The route from the airport is through a scruffy Quartier Industriele but the hotel is a pleasant relief. Whilst 2 star, it is an attractive hotel with secluded gardens and a good pool. The railway station doesn't intrude as it has about 8 services a day and means there are taxis and shops beside the hotel.
The public areas are decorated in traditional Moroccan style and the rooms are good sized and clean. The only real negative was the bar - both times we used it we had "problems" with either short change or being kept waiting over an hour for change. We stopped using it as we didn't feel comfortable - friends who have been there since reported exactly the same experience so there appears to be a little operation there requiring management attention. Breakfast was good in the pleasant restaurant but when we used it in the evening it was good value and competent but the food was dull (an achievement with a Moroccan brochette!) - still it was a safe bet and well priced.
Ibis Hotel
Information at the hotel was in short supply with no leaflet stand. We arranged excellent tours to the Atlas Mountains and of the Medina and while the receptionist was very helpful and gave good advice but there was no price list or receipt and you got the impression that this was a direct transaction between the receptionist and the company. We had a minibus for two of us with a driver and guide and this would be the same price (and really good value) if shared between a few guests.
The Hotel was a gentle 15 minute stroll through the Ville Nouvelle to the Medina and the Gueliz had a very continental atmosphere with good cafes and hassle free shopping in the "Prix Fixe" shops - a lot easier than the hustle and hype of shopping in the souks. Despite any niggles this is a really good value and comfortable base for a Marrakech trip. There is a newer Ibis now open in the Palmeriae but this one has the advantage of being in walking distance of the Medina and the facilities of the New Town and closer to the airport.
Marrakech or Marakesh known as the "Red City or Al Hamra," is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and the name Morocco itself derives from Murrakush. Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco and also has the busiest square in the entire continent of Africa, called Djemaa el Fna. The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers and musicians by day; and food stalls by night, becoming a huge open-air restaurant.
Marrakech Street Scene
Like many North African and Middle Eastern cities, Marrakech comprised both an old fortified city (the medina) and an adjacent modern city (called Gueliz). It is served by Menara International Airport (RAK is the code for the city) and a rail link to Casablanca and the north. You can obtain a guide through the hotel desk but the cheaper way to do it is through the tourist office in Place 16 Novembre for around 150/200 dirham. Our guide was called Feta,(call me Feta, same as the cheese!) who was very knowledgeable about the area, history and culture and a really interesting personality. I would certainly recommend a guide the first time you go through the Souks and to give you the background to the city and culture
Ben Youseff Mederesa
The souks are hugely confusing to the uninitiated and I'd recommend starting at the Ben Youssef Mederessa and work your way down to the great open air theater which is the square called Djemaa El Fna, literally in Arabic, "The Square of the nobodies". The "nobodies" were the executed prisoners whose heads were displayed on spikes in the square in days (long) gone by. No doubt they would have agreed with the description of themselves! Take a taxi to the Ben Youssef Mederessa or arrange to meet your guide at one of the gates to the Medina you won't find it yourself. The Ali Ben Youssef Mosque and Mederessa are well worth a visit - this is the oldest surviving mosque in Marrakech. Generally mosques in Morocco (Other than the great mosque in Casablanca are not open to non-muslims. You can visit Ben Youssef as it is no longer in use as a mosque). The Mederessa is a place of peace and meditation with stucco decoration as well as zellij. Next door, The Marrakech Museum is housed in a 19th-century palace. Having fallen into neglect it was acquired by arts patron Omar Benjelloun and reopened as a museum in 1997. Items on display include archeological artifacts, ceramics, jewellery, traditional weapons, garments and uniforms, historic documents and calligraphy, as well as contemporary art exhibitions. After enjoying the exhibits visitors can relax in armchairs dotted around the exquisitely tiled inner courtyard.
Djemaa El Fna
Next follow your guide for a spectacle from the Arabian Nights through the Souks or covered markets. Here you sense the atmosphere and vitality of a medieval city. For here everything is made from scratch and in particular I found the metalworker's souk an assault on the senses with torches, burners and furnaces conquering up a vision of the underworld. There were insights into the amazing craftsmanship this city is deservedly famous and the spectacle of a family of 6 in a space no bigger than a desk making nails by hand. In the midst of all this you spy cats oblivious to the surrounding chaos snoozing. We were not very good a bartering, but by the end of the trip the shop keepers said we were like Berbers. Generally in the Souks they ask for about 4 times the "real" price so be prepared to bargain. You should first look at a "prix fixe" shop to get an idea of prices and aim to pay less in the souks. Remember your luggage allowance; it isn't a bargain if you have to pay six pounds / Kg to an airline to get it home! There are 14 main Souks and whilst not obvious to the visitor there is a definite structure.
Souk Marrakech
One word of warning if you are buying leather goods. Traditionally cured leather is tanned in a mixture of camel urine and pigeon droppings (just sniff it and you can tell!) but if you are buying it to use in damper climes it must be leather which has also been silicon treated and this is always more expensive. Feta mentioned that he had previously brought this Irish guy called "Ivy" around and he kept sending him his friends who needed a Marrakech guide and he was coming there in 2007 for a family celebration. When he showed me the number, in his mobile, the penny dropped that it was Edward Guinness, The Earl of Iveagh! Feta is a good Muslim and not a Guinness drinker!
Eventually you'll emerge from the enclosed world of the Souks to the focal point of Marrakech, The Djemaa el-Fna, a vast square in the old town and backdrop for an amazing theatrical spectacle. The drama is most intense at dusk when lanterns blaze on rows of open air food stalls filling the area with mouthwatering aromas. Jugglers, storytellers, snake charmers and even acrobats and clowns vie for the attention of the jostling spectators who listen intently or fall about laughing depending on the act, while Hustlers, merchants and vendors work the crowd. Be aware if you take pictures they'll expect to be paid, 5 dirham is normal.
Mustapha's snails - Djemaa el-Fna
The food stalls are all licensed and you should try the fresh orange juice at 3 dirham a glass. You can get a hearty meal from the many stalls consisting of a spicy lentil & vegetable soup called Harrisa, a main course with rice and vegetables and a pastry for two pounds or less. Or try some of the specialty stalls such as Mustapha's snails which are deservedly popular at only 5 Dirham (38p) a bowl and are definitely fresh as you can see them swimming around in the basins of water underneath awaiting their moment of glory in his steaming cauldron! If you fancy relaxing more there are any number of restaurants around the square where you can sit on a terrace or balcony and enjoy the spectacle whilst enjoying a tagine.
Overlooking the Djemaa is the Koutoubia mosque whose 210 feet high minaret dominates the skyline and at dusk, hearing the sound of the call to prayer echoing across the city can be an incredibly evocative experience. Although the zellij and painted plaster which adorned the outside of the Koutoubia have disappeared the decorative panels remain and are a mind boggling illustration of the possibilities of Islamic design.
Another low cost option is to take a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour which also leaves from opposite the tourist office. Your ticket lasts for 24 hours and allows you to travel on two routes. An outer route which brings you around the Palmeriae (The Palm Grove), of Marrakech and an inner route which brings you around the medina.
On the outer route stop at the Jardins Marjorelles. These iconic gardens were designed by the French painter, Jacques Marjorelles who brought an artists eye to the gardens with his wonderful use of colour. In amongst the cacti, bamboos and bougainvillea is the magnificent blue villa housing Museum of Islamic Art. The gardens and museum were restored and are owned by Yves St. Laurent and his partner who have a house in the grounds.
Jardins Marjorelles
On the medina route alight in the Kasbah district of Marrakech just beside the Mellah, the ancient Jewish Quarter. Off this square through a narrow passage which gives no clue to what is beyond are the Saadian Tombs. This burial ground in Marrakech was created by Sultan Ahmed el Mansour of the Saadi Dynasty in the late 16th century as a cemetery for himself and his successors. In all there are 66 indoor tombs, decorated with intricate mosaics. The central Hall of Twelve Columns, containing the tombs of Ahmed el Mansour and his family, is dark and lavishly ornate with a huge vaulted roof and grey marble from Carrara, Italy. Outside, there are hundreds more tombs among the palm trees in the serene gardens.
Restaurant - Atlas Mountains
Overlooking Marrakech are the Atlas Mountains and a trip up the Ourika Valley with a guide, driver and minibus will cost around 700 dirham if arranged through the hotel. If you can get a small group together this is well worth doing and will give your trio a different dimension. This was how we found ourselves leaving Marrakech and being stuck behind a snow plough with army conscripts clearing the road, there is a ski resort up here at Oukamaiden. The Berber market at Caid Al Oukri was a revelation with forges repairing 30 year old farm machinery, stalls selling second hand plastic bottles and tooth pullers doing a busy trade and not cheating on their customers who felt everything! We stopped at a restaurant which could have come from Shangri La. Indeed with the snow capped peaks and fortified villages called Kasbah the landscape could almost pass for Tibet and indeed the movie "Kundrun" about the Dalai Lama was shot here. For me though the finest meal I had in Morocco was in a Berber village in the Atlas Mountains with no paved roads and a well to draw water. There with our Berber guide Haj we met his niece Fatima who welcomed us into her simple home, showed us her Hamman and laid out a table for us. She brought a kettle of warm water to wash our hands and a snack of flatbreads, butters from both goats and cow milk and olive oil from her village press. There we broke bread and shared and reaffirmed our common humanity in a way that people have done since biblical times.
Caid Al Oukri - Tooth Puller
The Atlas Mountains extend about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, including The Rock of Gibraltar. The highest peak is Jbel Toubkal, with an elevation of 4,167 metres (13,671 ft) about 5 miles and is the second highest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro. The second highest mountain is the M'Goun of 4071 meters. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert.
Atlas Peaks
The Marrakech you’ll see is an ancient and revered Islamic city but with a reputation for tolerance. Partly this stems from the mix between Arab and Berber with 70% of the people being Berber, a distinct people with a more welcoming and tolerant tradition who are intermingled with all levels of Moroccan society including the Royal Family. Furthermore it always had a tradition of trade and visitors with a large Jewish quarter called the Mellah. This is the Arabic word for salt as the Jews largely made their living from the lucrative trade in salt and sugar. Whilst there is no longer a significant Jewish population and Jews in Morocco enjoyed mixed fortunes over the centuries. Morocco has never been strongly anti-Semitic and the present King’s grandfather refused to let the French Vichy Government implement the Nazi race laws in French controlled Morocco and didn’t obstruct Jewish emigration to Israel. In the Ville Nouvelle you may feel you were in metropolitan France if it were not for when you sit on a cafe terrace within 5 minutes somebody has offered to polish your shoes, sell you a newspaper and sell you a single cigarette.
The combination of the walled Medina, the Souks, the gardens, the mosques and palaces, the vitality, atmosphere and tolerance makes Marrakech is unique place which is only four hours away from London but otherwise a world away from Europe. If you go on a budget you have a far better opportunity to savour and experience the real city and people. Go soon!
Photos on;
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=5458&l=35b36&id=723587781
travel
No comments:
Post a Comment