Marrakesh & Ouarzazate, Morocco

Next on the Moroccan tour was Marrakesh, about 3 hours drive south from Casablanca, again on excellent roads with tolls of about $10 in total for a one way journey. Our target destination was the edge of the Medina and a Riad called Jnane Mogodor but the closer we got to the Medina the more intense the traffic became with motorbikes, bicycles, donkeys, horses, caleches (horse drawn carts) in addition to the foot traffic. By chance we found a parking garage next to the Medina entrance, ditched the car and walked into the Medina to find our hotel.

Glen at the entrance to one of the Souks

You make a lot of friends in Morocco. People start talking to you occasionally to help but mostly to sell you something or get you inside a store. The Medina in Marrakesh, while not huge, is certainly complicated to navigate initially. A random Berber quickly showed us the way to the Jnane Mogodor, offered us some hash(which we declined) and then left as quickly as he came after we tipped him.

The Jnane Mogodor is a traditional Moroccan Riad which is a house with an internal courtyard with most of the windows facing inward. It's a way of not making an obvious statement about wealth by having few windows to peer through from the outside. They are a great place to stay and our one had a two story rooftop terrace which we enjoyed in the evenings and for breakfast.

I was expecting the Medina to be filled with snake charmers and belly dancers but the reality was there were orange juice stands and lots of very similar looking food stalls which didn't look too appetizing. We found a nice rooftop restaurant overlooking the Djemaa El-Fna square after wandering around some of the labyrinth of souks and alleyways.

The following day we drove over the Atlas mountains to Ouarzazate, stopping at the hugely impressive Ait Ben Haddou kasbah where we walked around and had lunch. Ouarzazate and the surrounding area has been used as a film set for a bunch of movies and tv shows from Lawrence of Arabia to Game of Thrones (the Ait Ben Haddou kasbah is Junkai in Game of Thrones). It's a long way to come for a day trip but we wanted to see it while we had the chance. The 200km drive over the Atlas mountains took about 4 hours with Glen at the wheel. It could have taken a lot longer but Glen likes to walk slow and drive fast. It's a superb drive and the scenery is nothing short of spectacular.

Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah

Ouarzazate is known as the doorway to the desert. It's a beautiful location and its not particularly busy. It is a sprawling city but the area around the Kasbah is easily explored on foot but not much of the Kasbah is open to the public. Beer is very hard to find in Morocco but we found a nice rooftop restaurant serving Casablanca with commanding views over the valley and off toward the Sahara.

The Kasbah at Ouarzazate

Our final day in Marrakesh saw a return to the main square in the Medina where I found my snake charmer and explored more of the alleyways. Inside the Medina there are no cars but it's still a hazardous place to walk because motorbikes are constantly forcing their way through the foot traffic. The horses and mules add to the confusion but in a wonderfully chaotic way, it all seems to work.

Cobra in Marrakesh

In the late afternoon we retraced our steps back to Casablanca's Mohammed V Airport, returned the car and checked in for the four hour flight to the Cape Verde islands.

Casablanca & Fes, Morocco

We rented a car, with full insurance, from Hertz at the airport in Casablanca so we could make our own plans and have the flexibility to pick up my niece (Glen's daughter) Teresa from the airport on April 5th. On our first full day we decided to get away from Casablanca and make our way to Fez for the day.

DAY TRIP TO FEZ
Fez is about 250km from Casablanca but the roads are excellent and the nominal tolls make it very worthwhile. Fes is a remarkable city; the medina is the largest medieval Islamic city in the world and a place where getting lost is an absolute certainty. GPS on the phone was no good and there are very few open spots to try and get your bearings. On our way into town we pulled into a parking spot but we quickly met a guy on a motorbike who encouraged us to follow him if we wanted to see the medina. He led the way and we followed him to a lookout point where his 'brother' emerged to offer us a tour of the city - we only had a few hours so we listed the things we wanted to see, he added some other stuff to the mix and off we went with our guide, Adine, in the backseat barking out directions. He kept saying 'right' instead of 'left' but we made our way around the new city streets to a ceramic factory for a quick stop, then to a parking spot on the edge of the medina, the old city, where the fun began.

Glen, Adine & I overlooking Fez

The medina is enormous and the layout means that it's incredibly easy to get lost and/or separated from people. At various points we lost Adine, his girlfriend Susana who came along for the ride, and another helper who we never formally met but acted like a spotter, calling out from up ahead, pointing down this alley or that, warning of steps, donkey dung, donkey's etc. As is custom in places like this we were directed to various shops but we never felt pressured to buy anything. The carpet store was absolutely enormous and so were their prices but our main goal for the day was to get Fez hat. Our lucky salesman was insistent that Glen and I dress up for a photograph which made for some good light hearted banter. With hats successfully purchased we meandered through the maze, watching the locals go about their business, avoiding the animals taking lots of photographs.

Fez from inside the medina

We were on a time crunch because we had to be back at Casablanca airport to pick up Teresa who was due to land at 9:30pm that evening. As it turned out we were an hour late thanks to a combination of a late departure time from Fez and some conservative driving on my part as we drove into the setting sun with a dirty windshield and poor wiper blades. By 11pm we were having a delicious dinner at a Moroccan tapas place and enjoying a difficult to find local beer.

CASABLANCA
We stayed at a place called Jnane Sherazade in the Habbous district of Casablanca about 15 minutes drive from the King Hassan II Mosque. The mosque is the largest in Morocco, the third largest in the world, and has the tallest minaret. It's setting on an outcrop looking over the North Atlantic is stunning but the area surrounding is dirty, muddy and not well maintained. We parked and wandered around the grounds, Teresa had her hands painted with henna and we soaked up the atmosphere. Each time we'd parked our car somebody always seemed to appear out of nowhere to help guide you in or out of the parking space. Presumably looking for a tip, but not obvious about it, I never asked for help so I never gave any money. It was one of those curious things where maybe I misread their hospitable gesture.

King Hassan II Mosque

King Hassan II Mosque

MOROCCO QUICK GUIDE
Capital: Rabat
Currency: Moroccan Dirham (USD$1 = Dh8)
Language: Arabic/French
Drive on the Right
Beer of choice: Casablanca