Morocco Trip Diary: Marrakech.

We started our Morocco expedition in Marrakech and arrived on Christmas day. We stayed at Dar One which is tucked away inside the Medina and absolutely beautiful. We can't recommend it enough if you end up going to Marrakech. Upon arrival, we were dropped off in the street because the old streets couldn't fit a car. We were then led with our luggage through labyrinthine little streets with no signs and sharp turns. It was an incredible introduction to Morocco!

For our first night, we made a reservation at Dar Marjana for dinner. This dinner turned out to be our best meal in Morocco. It also was a many-course (too many to count), three and half hour meal that we were not fully prepared for. Of special note, the lemon chicken tajine and the sliced orange with cinnamon and sugar were definitely highlights of the meal. Exhausted and beyond full, we slept hard.

Our next day was a full day of all things Marrakech. We booked a guide for the morning and he started us off at the Bahia Palace. The gardens, courtyard, and tile and woodwork were stunning.

We also walked through the Jewish quarter and wandered back streets. There were so many gorgeous doors and knockers and details in Morocco, it is impossible to recount, but Ben and I especially loved this door and this knocker.



Later, we walked through the Saadian tombs where members of the dynasty were buried.

We passed by the Bab Aganou gate to the Medina, the oldest gate dating back to around 1070 and stopped by the Koutoubia Mosque.

We then proceeded into the souks. The Medina is full of energy and packed with people. Motorbikes, donkeys, souk after souk selling everything you can imagine. I mentioned to our guide that I was in the market for some Moroccan Argonne oil and he insisted we stop by his friend's shop wherein we were taken into a backroom, given massages, and a full tutorial in all things herbs, spices and medicines that we should buy. I left with oil. Ben left with spices.

We finished in the main square, the Jamaâ El Fna Square and bid farewell to our guide. At this point, we continued on. We decided to head out of the old city and go to the Majorelle Gardens, which were owned and given to the city by Yves Saint Laurent. It is an interesting 12 acres of botanical gardens and of course defined by his singular, gorgeous blue color throughout.

Finally, we decided to visit the oldest merdersa in Marrakech, the Ben Youssef merdersa. It is no longer used as a school but again, the tile and wood work were stunning and impressive.

At this point, we took a breather and headed back to Dar One for a rest. Of course, I can't put words to all of the sounds, movement and nuances of the city. And there was also plenty of confusion, particularly when we got lost in route to the gardens and wandered in frustration for a good bit. But man, we took Marrakech by storm!

To cap it all off, we finished the day by heading back to the Jamaâ El Fna Square for dinner. Walking up to the square around 8:00, we were astounded to see the transformation that had happened since we left it in the afternoon. Hundreds of food stalls had taken over the square in a swarm of activity and groups of people.

It was at first disorienting and invigorating. Walking through the food stalls you are followed and grabbed and begged to eat at every stall. There were snails, juices, dessert carts, meats of all kinds, and more. After circling the stalls several times, we settled in on No 31.

We sat down at the metal counter and were served up sausages, skewers, couscous, tea and more. The food was in the end, so-so. The highlight was when they all but forced us into the open kitchen to take pictures with them. And we finished it off with unbelievably fresh juice. 

And that was all just in our first 24 hours! Don't worry, I will try to summarize a little better in future posts, but it gives you an idea of how fast everything started moving and just how amazing the country is.