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Berber vilage nicknamed Oxford
IN THE MARKET PLACE...
Kasbah - chaotic streets
Jemma El Fna
I will be taking a 1 week tour of Morocco covering Casablanca, Fez and Marrakesh, Oct 19. What can we expect for weather and what kind off clothing should I take? Will it be hot, rainy, cool in the evenings? Any suggestions appreciated.
Susan Lynch
We have just come back from a few days in Marrakech & the weather was v hot. Most tourists wore combats/trousers & T shirts/vests. Very few wearing v short skirts or tiny shorts. Evenings were still warm.
Noone can predicte what the weather is going to be;however, i would forecast that it is going to be cooler and little warmer.
Check the weather data on yahoo.com.
In Marrakech I saw many public baths. Most of them are mixt, what means that some days in the week women use them and the rest of the days men do. From outside - I didn't get in - it didn't seams to be very atractive for me, but who knows if inside was a wonderful place (remember that a very old and poor wall can hide a incredible rich palace. I asked my guide if people use to go to the public baths much, and he told me that as the houses don't use to have bath they do.
Best way to get around Marrakesh and it's sites are by foot, don't do all the sites in one day as there is too much to see. Break it up and spread it over a couple of days, have some long spells in the cafes and just watch the world go by while drinking mint tea.
Everything is within walking distance if you don't mind walking for the majority part of the day, unless things you want to see are further afield.
Getting around by foot is a great way to get those good shots that happen at the spare of the moment if you are in the right place at the right time.
Click on 4 more photos.
Wandering around Gueliz, I came across this street with quite a few similar cafes in a row, with tables on the pavement. The smell of grilling meats was too tempting!
These cafes are mainly frequented by local workers or residents - They're basic, nothing fancy (or fake "authentic" tourist types!). Clientele - Mainly males of all ages, a few couples (The women wearing headscarves/ jellabahs)
Mixed grills, Grilled chicken, tagines, omelettes.
All very reasonable (Omelette with chips and rice 11dh, salad 10dh, mixed grill with chips and rice 34dh)
I felt very comfortable, and thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I was approached by a few street hawkers selling kilims, shirts, cd's etc, but there was no pressure, as they approached everyone else (ie locals) in the same manner. I think the young waiters were a bit surprised to serve a lone female tourist, but they were friendly and polite.
The Sandwich Toubkal is opposite the Hotel Tachine - which is a popular budget hotel. It has a rooftop mirador open 0900 - 23.00 hours- purchase of an alcoholic beverage is compulsory (whether You drink it or not) before you can be admitted!
I didn't realise til later, that I'd walked down this street many times before on my previous visit, as my hotel (Oudaya) was only a few metres further down the street. I enjoyed fresh local bread, served with 3 sauces in bowls - tomato, chilli, and mayo,
salad ( lettuce, tomato,onion, grated carrot, beetroot) all fresh and nicely presented on a large plate
1/4 grilled chicken, fries (crisp and not too greasy! Mmmm!)
rice and a salad garnish . Plus a can of Fanta and a small bottle of water.
There was too much for me to eat, and I'm afraid that I had to leave some. This all came to 33dh! (About £2!)
The Medersa Ben Youssef is an example of 16th century Andalusian-Arab architecture. It was originally built as a religious college and was in use as such until the 1960s. It is now fully restored and contains a beautiful marble washing pool, as well as some fine examples of wood, plaster and stuuco work. A combined ticket for entrance to the Medersa, the Marrakech museum, and the ruined ancient mosque, can be purchased for a reduced cost. Unless you are pushed for time, I would certainly recommend you try to visit all three.
marrakesh is one of the most interesting cities i have ever been to.
it's sitting right by the atlas mountains and the sahara desert and is a crossroad for travellers of all sorts.
because of that it has a very facinating mix of ethnic tribes and lot's of travellers from around the globe who come to enjoy the atmosphere of this magical town.
it's a wild place with lot's of people everywhere and you can easily be blown over the first couple of days because of culture chock, but stay put and you will find that you have enterd one of the most facinating places on earth.
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