A short trip to Marrakesh

I always dreamed of going to Africa one day. I barely remember my trip to Kenia 5 years ago, which was an amazing experience. Everything is soo different in Africa. It's like you are going to a totally different world. Marrakesh has been my first suggestions as it is one of the only countries out of Europe that gets approached by Ryanair.

As I was not sure about the safety in Morocco I asked a few friends to come with me. As finally one friend confirmed to come along, I insisted to book the tickets directly.

About ten days in advance we booked the flight tickets to stay for three nights.

My friend was not too much into staying in a hostel just like I use to, which is why we booked a relatively cheap Airbnb for around 13 Euros per person.

I fully recommend this hotel or so called riad. Riads are the traditional houses with little courtyards inside. We also had a small pool and a terrace to overlook the city.

Just after landing in Marrakesh Menara Airport it did not take us long to get out of passport control and leave the airport.

After heading out of the building a crowd of people was awaiting us. Drivers were offering a ride to the city which is around 20 minutes away due to the traffic. A reasonable price for the drivers is 5 to 7 Euro. The bus to the city is about 3 to 4 Euros.

We booked our own taxi in advance which was offered from the hotel.

The driver took us to Djemaa el-F'na, which is the central market place in Marrakesh. Especially at night it becomes a bustling and vivacious venue. People are selling their products or show their talents earn some money.

You can hop on on a horse - drawn carriage or just have a stroll around the city. Extraordinary but in a negative sense have been the trained snails and monkeys which are held on a leash.

To get to our airbnb we had to cross the square and walk around ten more minutes inside the narrow streets deeper into the city. In the afternoon these streets turn into the bustling souks where you can stroll around. Souks are the traditional marketplaces which all specialise. You can for example find the leather souk, the jewellery souk, the carpet or the poet souk. You can also watch some Moroccans manufacture their products next to their store.

The currency in Morocco is called Moroccan Dirham, ten dirham is around one Euro. In general I expected Morocco to be cheaper as Germany but my expectations did not get fulfilled. Especially Marrakesh as a tourist city did have high rates on certain things even though I found some good deals.

You will often get across the term 'Medina' which is the old part of the town. The 'medina' can be found in several African cities and often includes mosques, small streets, a market place and is walled.

Interesting for me has also been that most of Moroccan people are muslems and pray five times a day as our taxi driver told us. There are certain times when you do your prayers which connects people. Also he told me that they are not so strict, so I you have to work during prayer time you can postphone it and pray later.

All around the city centre are build high towers, so called Minaretts, on which the Muezzin call for prayers five times a day. It is impressive to hear the Muezzing start the prayers all around the city from all directions around you. In the morning I sometimes woke up to the prayers.

Another sights next to Djemaa el'Fna I totally recommend to visit is the Koutoubia mosque. Even though non muslems are not allowed to get inside, the mosque is an important symbol for Marrakesh as the tower is 70 meters tall and can be seen from far away.

We also heared a lot of about the 'Sadian tombs' and 'Bahia palace' but did not have the time to visit.

A great tip to calm down is the 'Cafe des epices' where you will have an amazing view over the city. Surely it is not an insider tip but a good stop to have some Morrocan tea.

It is not common to drink alcohol in Morocco but residents told us that they drink tea instead.

Food you should definitely try is the Moroccon tajine, harira or couscous. Tajine is named after the bowl it is served in are slow cooked stews made of meat, poultry or fish together with vegetables and added spices or nuts.

My favourite dish is the traditional Moroccan harira, which is a soup made out of rice, lentlis, chickpeas, tomatoes, flour and spices.

As a highlight of our shorttrip we booked a tour on Airbnb which included a camel ride, a visit to the Aloe Vera factory, a tour through the Atlas mountains and the most amazing meal I had in a long time.

Even though the camel ride was not directly in the desert (as it is a bit further away), it was impressive for everyone. After getting dressed in the Djellaba, which are the traditional berber - robes and a turban, we rode for about 30 minutes. Of course we took a lot of pictures and in the end no one wanted to get off.

After saying goodbye to the camels, we drove further into the mountain range. By the time we got to another berber town we got out of the car and walked further by foot. During our 1,5 hour walk in the Atlas mountains, we had amazing views over the region, saw imposing waterfalls and had interesting conversations with the Moroccan people.

By the time we got tired, we stopped at a local restaurant to have an super delicious meal which was served in three courses.

During every stop we had we got served mint tea, which is why I drank around 8 cups of tea on this day (never drank that much tea in my life).

Have you ever visited Morocco? Or another African country? Or did you plan to visit? I would be happy if you gave your opinion, ideas and recommendations in the comments.

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