Returning to a place that you have experienced so intensely and therefore consider very important is always a little scary. You fear ruining memories that perhaps have unconsciously embellished your memory over the years. I lived Morocco like this until a few days ago, when I landed in Marrakech.
After 8 years I return to Morocco and I fly directly to Marrakech, the city whose meeting/clash could be decisive in how we will experience, from that moment on, what I consider to be a magical country.
Marrakech is beautiful it is also the most touristy city of all, which here means “most full of traps and annoyances” that can be almost unbearable for the quiet and unaware tourist.
It is often misinterpreted, in my opinion, as the “not Morocco”. I, however, believe it is the city in which the aspects of the country and the Moroccans are emphasized and reach their peak.
A noisy summary of a very particular country and people. Nel bene e nel male (the good and the bad).
Which is why I would strongly recommend leaving it as the last city, at the end of the trip you can be ready for the grand finale.
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Noise and Arabic music that seem to stop only at recall of the Imam which 5 times a day invites the faithful to pray, as long as there is light and the sun still illuminates the dark and narrow streets of the souks life seems to never stop. Not a moment of peace, rarely an empty street.
People pour into the streets early in the morning mules and scooters occupy the small labyrinthine streets where even you on foot have to navigate to follow a path that is never precise.
It is in fact useless to have maps in the cities of Morocco, it is often difficult to find a point of reference, the beauty, as Mohamed one of the guys who work in the riad where we stayed, says, is in getting lost, not in knowing where to go. And that’s how I walked around Fes for 3 days. Losing myself.
Taking enough time to savor the spicy taste of Morocco and its insistent but at the same time fun and curious people.
Marocco – The Bad
A trip to Morocco is full of ups and downsyou have to be energetic to get out alive and love it, endure the constant calling and the dialectic in Italian of the sellers in the souks in the Medinas.
Who wants to accompany you, who wants to sell you something, who wants to “brush up” on Italian and then still want to sell you something. They don’t abandon you.
They follow you, or rather no, they precede you. They know full well that you are lost. It is impossible to find your way around the streets of the city’s Medinas, even with a map in hand. You will have to ask sooner or later, and as soon as you do the same script will repeat itself.
You ask for directions and he immediately tells you to follow him. He walks a few steps ahead of you, every 30 seconds he turns to check that you are following him and pointing out a point further away and he does it with so much confidence and authority that you don’t know how to tell him that you don’t want to be accompanied. They don’t seem to want to listen.
You have to be ready for this when you land in Marrakech!
You must be ready to feel like the object of interest of a slew of men who seem to have nothing to do all day except wait for the unfortunate tourist who just wants to know if the Koran School is on the right or left.
You’re afraid to ask for directions, the price of a souvenir, or any information. Or if you’re in the mood, and it can happen, you know that you’ll have long, long chats and you won’t come away empty-handed.
They are too good at not making you say no, it’s very difficult not to buy anything. They always win!
Marocco – The Good
Once you face Morocco with a clear understanding of what has been written above, it will be easy to move on to the next step, the good that gives the visitor a journey through time leaving well-imprinted images of unique and picturesque life scenes.
The further a country, its people and its culture are from ours, the more this impresses us. Morocco is so close to us and yet so different. A trip to Morocco is a journey into the past.
There are no McDonalds or restaurant chains here. Pre-packaged bread and frozen food are not sold. Fruit and vegetables are transported in carts pulled by mules.
Men wear long tunics some with pointed hoods, in particular you will see so many of them in Checfchouen the blue city, so much so that they look like elves, the women keep their heads covered, some even wear burqas.
Two separate worlds who interact in public very rarely so as to make the male population seem evidently larger than the female one.
A trip to Morocco is a journey into a culture and strong and very lively traditions, in which the sense of hospitality in my opinion it continues to be the key factor.
Forget those who harass you on the streets because they want your money. You know this happens so be prepared but don’t think everyone is like this.
Just move away from the tourist centers, and I literally mean the main square or the Fes tanneries just to be clear, to leave the bad behind us and instead being able to fully enjoy the vouchers (the goods), of those who accompany you home because they just want to help you, who put double padding in your sandwich without raising the price, who give you the fish as a gift or who when they see you again they hug you and invite you to sit down because in the evening you made them laugh before.
A trip to Morocco is a journey that engages all five senses. Strong and intense. Without a shadow of a doubt challenging and tiring. A real journey and as such it cannot leave you indifferent.
Read also: Chefchaouen – Andalusia in Morocco on the mountains of Rif
