Finally and unfortunately got to the end of this trip. I was anticipating Marrakesh so badly, I had been dreaming of visiting the city for so long. And yet, I was only there for a day and a half. It is now enough to know I want to go back one day. So colourful, so warm, so beautiful. So alive. Marrakesh definitely hit a spot in my heart, and oh how I wished I could have stayed for at least a few more days. The sun was finally out and the palm trees were a reminder of how exotic that place was for me.
We started the day in Marrakesh by queueing to visit the Jardin Majorelle, made famous for becoming part of the residence of Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé. The gardens were created by the french orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle and the cubist villa was designed by Paul Sinoir. Today, aside from visiting the gardens, the residence is also open to the public housing the Yves Saint Laurent Museum and the Berber Museum. I only visited the tropical gardens, enchanted by the amount of different cacti you could find, having the palm trees in the background. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to charge my camera and had to limit the number of photographs I was taking. But in way that allowed me to observe the surroundings with my own eyes for a lot longer.
We had come from Tangier that morning, spent the night in a train and hadn’t had the opportunity to have a proper shower. After this visit, it was then time to go back to our hotel to freshen up. And I was excited, despite feeling the exhaustion taking a lump in my body.
The afternoon was dedicated to exploring the medina of Marrakesh. I was dreading to get lost, but it all went well… my only constant scare were the scooters, passing through the narrow busy streets at unbelievable speeds, while polluting the air with its smoke. For me it was even hard to breath at times… I would need more days to be able to get used to that, but I only had one afternoon. So, I adapted. Got hold of my camera and took care not to bother the locals or call attention to myself.
Before going on this trip I bought Lonely Planet’s book on Morocco. One of the first advices in regards to Marrakech was “Prepare for your senses to be slapped”. Sorry to break the news to you, but there is no preparation for this. Which in a way is excellent because I know I’m experiencing something unique when sensations I was not familiar with invade my body and soul.
My eyes were sending so many diverse messages to my brain – colours, crowds, scooters, need to be aware but also need to check that out, what a lovely souq, what nice products these are. It’s all so hectic, so beautiful, sometimes ugly, sometimes decrepit, sometimes luxurious. My nose was telling the story of what my eyes couldn’t exactly see – the smell of the smoke from the scooters, but also the smell of warmth, of leather, of spices, of fabrics, of transpiration, of electricity… no, the electricity wasn’t my nose. My skin. Goosebumps despite being hot, not because I was scared but simply because I was electrified with so much there was to see.
The medina itself is an attraction you cannot miss, but most of other points of interest are within its premises and are a good opportunity to calm down your senses. We went to visit the Marrakesh Museum, which seemed to be relatively off radar and I absolutely loved. It was simply stunning, exhibiting art works from local artists. It was also mostly empty, which made the experience even better.
The day before we still had the chance to visit Bahia palace and explore the medina a tiny bit more. I had my flight schedule for the afternoon and really didn’t want to go back. I was loving my travelling and loving the country. Loving to be challenge with such different ways of life.
Marrakesh marked the end of this North Morocco adventure and the desire to go back one day and explore the South will stay with me.
In the meantime, I’ll continue in my very own personal crusade of exploring the world bit by bit.
Hope you enjoyed my gallery 🙂
Love, Nic
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Come fly with me: @nic.in7
And don’t forget to check my other posts on Morocco!
The Winged Bone 