Marrakech (Part 1)

***Dec 22-26, 2007... You can find some of our photos here***

Dusty and smelly. That's my first impression of Marrakech. But quickly, it was turned around by the lively Jemaa el-Fna Square and the mazes of local souks (markets).

Medina (old town) is the heart of Marrakech. Most of the tourist happenings take place there. Narrow alleys, mostly for pedestrians, horse and donkey carriages and, of course, flies... I mean, motorbikes! Oh yes, they are like flies roaring all over you. You feel like your life depends on them. Sometimes, I think they run too fast and at times you don't know where they are heading to. Amazingly, during our stay, we did not see a single accident! It must have taken quite a skill to ride a motobike there!

The dusty, muddy and stoned-path alleys reminded me of the old poor parts of Jakarta, like Karang Anyar or Pasar Minggu where I used to visit my Grandpa at Eid (when I was a little kid). Strolling through, I enjoyed watching local people. As dirty as you can imagine, but it is less disgusting than, say, India (sorry, no offense). At least, I did not see any human dirts or perhaps there was a few trashes. The pink houses are also trademarks of the old town.

Jemaa el-Fna Square was our first place to hang out. Always busy day and night, weekdays and weekends! Orange juice stalls and snake charms during the day (I don't enjoy watching snakes, though). Traditional musicians, food stalls, belly dancers... at night. I have never seen such a variety in a square before in my life. Very lively.

The mazes of souks... a place to practice your bargaining skills. Oh, I enjoyed it a lot. It feels great when you can get a stuff at the price you think is reasonable (although you never know whether it's a good value). In general, the merchants are more 'friendly' than those in Istanbul, for example. You can bargain hard without them getting upset (that's a good start). You can even come back after a while and continue your bargain... and they still welcome you in a friendly attitude. Talking to our fellow guests at Riad Zara, I think we bargained much better than them (of course the white people are not used to it). We take advantage of two things: being Indonesians and speaking French (oh, this is a good thing about Moroccons... they speak French as well as they speak Arabic.) The variety of the stuffs are also interesting. From conical spices, glass-stained laterns, leather, local cactus silk to colorful carpets. If you want to explore the whole souks, you need at least two days. You'll never get bored, unless you are not an art person.

Couscous and tagine are of course authentic. I had been skeptical with them, but the local tastes changed my perception. I just loved them! We tried different restaurants. They tasted somehow slightly different. Still, you loved them all. And don't forget the hot sweet mint tea. Though I found it a little too sweet.

Historical monuments... there are a few. We did not have much time to visit them all, but I think we visited the highlights, like the amazing Medersa Ben Youssef (Quran school) and Palais La Bahia. The landscape and decorations reminded me of Andalucia (Southern Spain), which is just their neighbor. Riding a horse-carriage is a good way to get introduced to the old and new towns. Only 10 euros for one hour. Not bad at all. Plus, Nadia liked it very much.

Indonesians... please note: you do not need a visa to enter Morocco! Isn't it amazing? Gee... for the first time in my life, I don't need a visa to travel outside South East Asia countries with my Indonesian passport. It was very unfortunate we did not have a chance to try one of the hammams nor did we visit the Atlas mountain area for a day-trip. I heard Fez is also nice. It is probably a good reason to come back.