Marrakech In 2 Rich Days

23/05/2019

Which is my favourite place in Morocco? Maybe Fes? Maybe Marrakech?
I don’t decide. I appreciated both of them. In different colours, in different shapes, history and social authenticity merge well with modernity, allowing excellent vacations.

Djemaa El Fna – Always on

The heart of Morocco beats in Djemaa el-Fna, where everything happens, and everything has a price, in a non-stop touristy happening.

The size of the square, very uncommon in old Moroccan quarters may explain this intense merging of business and popular arts.

The square is a living stage, performing for tourist everything that may lead to a deal.

Medina – Not impressive

I must confess that I was not impressed by the Medina, in Marrakesh.

After visiting Tetouan, Tangier, Casablanca, and specially Fes, this Medina seemed a common commercial quarter, without the strong sensations lived in Fes.

Of course, for a first contact with Moroccan way of life the sensation may be totally different, but… this was what I felt.

Fantasia Moroccan chez Ali

It’s a cliché. Yes.

It’s tourist trap. Maybe.

It’s pastiche. No doubt.

But it’s funny, especially in a mild evening after the furnace of the day in Marrakech. Don’t worry searching its location and reservation mode. Just look around at your hotel reception or wait for your guide’s suggestion.

Hotel Nassim – Small but reasonable

Located at walking distance from Djema-al- Fna, this hotel in Marrakech has a reasonable quality and service.

The rooms and common area are good, but the pool… is the smallest I ever saw in any hotel.

Imagine 42º Celsius, and space for only 3 simultaneous bathers. Well, 3.5, when it included Horacio.

Address: 115 Bd Mohamed V Gueliz Marrakesh
Price Comparison: about average
Price: US$40-80

A different dinner

Touristy, no doubt, but a very easy and simple way to try (in comfort) a small experience of Berber life: in Marrakech a typical restaurant is a meeting point for tourists to watch some horse and camel rides and enjoy a lamb dinner with folk dances.

Artificial but nice, with the usual opportunity for the tourists to dress in local style, and not too expensive, if you think that all those performers are being paid.

After the mandatory Berber dinner, in a very large tent, we had a demonstration of what it seemed several and different folkloric groups.

Maybe it was only a professional group showing different costumes, but it was well conceived, and the few dances performed really seemed a little different from each other.

The ambiance was inviting, we were in costume, so we did try their dances.

Well… we really had fun.