Reply With Quote'Marrakesh travel recommendations?' Gareth.hayes, September 2018.
Sweet mint tea.
Heading there for a break in October.
Starting to put a list of things/places etc.
Any experiences?
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
'Marrakesh travel recommendations?' Gareth.hayes, September 2018.
Sweet mint tea.
Been about four times and loved it every time loads to do
Visit the main square at night so much going on and the street food is brilliant
Do the carriage ride round the old town negotiate price
When walking in the square just say a firm NO and keep walking they get the message, stop and you have had it
Do the Atlas Mountains 4x4 Safari
Visit The Gardens, they really are beautiful
This covers the essentials. Plus the souk, of course.Originally Posted by hilly10
We hired a car for a day and drove over the mountains to Ourzazate stopping at one of the sites used as a location in the Gladiator movie and hiking one of the gorges.
Marrakech and the Atlas are in my top 3 favourite locations. Amazing people, food and culture.
We caught the coach to Essaouira, long day but worth the visit and to be by the sea for a day, and the Majorelle gardens are stunning.
https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/majorelle_garden
I used to help a motorcycle tour company do trips to Morrocco and have run four tours of my own .
Must have been to Marrakesh a dozen times.
Do the Jemaa el-Fnaa square at night, eat a Pastilla, avoid the sheeps heads, and the fish is incredibly boney.
The square is also a pleasnt place during the day to sit and have a coffee, try and get an upstairs seat at one of the many coffee shops.
Visit the Yves St Laurent museum and gardens.
Don't just stick to the street food, there are some fantastic upmarket restaurants serving top quality food at very very reasonable prices.
Try and get out of the centre of town at night and watch the shooting stars constantly criss-crossing the night sky.
Hire a car and drive over the awesome Tizi n'Tichka pass, stopping at the small cafe on top and having a Berbar Omelette, then onto Benhaddou, the town they used in the film Gladiator and also in a Star wars film, then onto Ouarzazate for lunch. Total mileage approx 110.
Once you reach the top of the Tizi n'Tichka pass and start to head down on the other side you'll notice the landscape change and the temperature rise as you head towards the desert.
Shame you haven't got time to visit Zagora (100 miles further on from Ouarzazate), all the vibe of a frontier town with expedition 4x4 vehicles heading in and out into the desert and where the famous "Timbuktoo this way" sign, and the Dades and Todra gorges (approx 80 miles from Ouarzazate) .
I'd definitely go to the Atlas Mountains, dinner or a drink at La Mamounia (Churchill's favourite place to stay) and visiting Jemaa el-Fna. The Majorelle Garden is worth a visit too and shouldn't be too hot.
Be aware as possible of your money/surroundings and I'd avoid taking anything too expensive. Also, haggle for everything you buy in/near Jemaa el-Fna (it's expected there and you'll get ripped off if not) and don't drink the orange juice. Taxi fares are also very much up for negotiation.
Went there a few years ago, some of the guys trying to get people to eat at their stall on the market was interesting....."100% guarantee, no diarrhea".
I was told when haggling, aim to pay around 25% how true that was I don't know as we didn't buy much
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Dare I ask, why specifically the orange juice?
I am reminded of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents: "Don't eat the green wobbly bit". ;-)
It was watching the food stall guys in the El fnar, fnar square 'wash' the plates by dipping them in a murky bucket, quick wipe with whatever came to hand before serving up the next portion of snails/whatever to the next customer that really sold the experience.
Great advice. I have a framed picture of me and my sister at the Timbuktu sign on our office wall.
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Since it's freshly squeezed and handled by God knows whom I leave the rest for your imagination
Fas est ab hoste doceri
Ah, I see, thanks. I'll try not to imagine it, actually. ;-)Since it's freshly squeezed and handled by God knows whom I leave the rest for your imagination
Yep, because it's impossible to imagine what happens next without using words 'both ends' and 'projectile'
Fas est ab hoste doceri
LOLYep, because it's impossible to imagine what happens next without using words 'both ends' and 'projectile'
Well I thought the fresh orange juice was yummy and drank several glasses; no squits, fortunately.
Eating in the square is great and I'd say there's little risk of food poisoning as everything is fresh and cooked at a million degrees.
I'd agree with what has already been said - a visit to the Jardin de Majorelle and a drink in the garden of the Mamounia hotel - I drank a local beer (brewed in Casablanca, I think) and smoked a cigar under the lemon trees and the stars, which was a simple but perfect pleasure.
The problem with the 'self-appointed' guides who will try to latch on to you is you never know whether you've got a good'un or not. I was lucky, an extremely friendly bloke took me to a mosque, which I probably wouldn't have entered alone, and then took my the Berber souk, which I also wouldn't have found. In an emporium in this souk the shopkeeper made me a cup of mint tea and it was all really soft sell. I was going to buy a knick-knack justto be polite and ended up buying a carpet!
A little later another one of these dragomen tried to attach himself to me and wouldn't be shaken off. As we passed a street cigarette seller he said 'just a minute, I need to buy some ciggies', and on receiving same said to me 'pay him then'. He didn't take kindly to being told to eff off.
Anyway, here're a couple of piccies, not good quality as I took them with an Olympus XA and scanned the prints
^^^ Very atmospheric shots!
These are greatWell I thought the fresh orange juice was yummy and drank several glasses; no squits, fortunately.
Eating in the square is great and I'd say there's little risk of food poisoning as everything is fresh and cooked at a million degrees.
I'd agree with what has already been said - a visit to the Jardin de Majorelle and a drink in the garden of the Mamounia hotel - I drank a local beer (brewed in Casablanca, I think) and smoked a cigar under the lemon trees and the stars, which was a simple but perfect pleasure.
The problem with the 'self-appointed' guides who will try to latch on to you is you never know whether you've got a good'un or not. I was lucky, an extremely friendly bloke took me to a mosque, which I probably wouldn't have entered alone, and then took my the Berber souk, which I also wouldn't have found. In an emporium in this souk the shopkeeper made me a cup of mint tea and it was all really soft sell. I was going to buy a knick-knack justto be polite and ended up buying a carpet!
A little later another one of these dragomen tried to attach himself to me and wouldn't be shaken off. As we passed a street cigarette seller he said 'just a minute, I need to buy some ciggies', and on receiving same said to me 'pay him then'. He didn't take kindly to being told to eff off.
Anyway, here're a couple of piccies, not good quality as I took them with an Olympus XA and scanned the prints
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Exactly! Some of the sellers in the main market sell 'fresh' orange juice but it's often squeezed and left sitting for a while and we had some very bad experiences after trying it...
Ick.
Thanks for the warning.
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