Marrakesh and Ouarzazate

Because I’ve been traveling quite a bit, people often ask me where I liked it the most. Of course, not an easy question. Every place has something interesting. But I’ve left my heart in two countries so far – Iceland – because of the beautiful nature – and definitely Morocco! Because of nature, but also for colorful culture, fantastic food and Moroccan tiles! And last but not least, my favorite serie – Game of Thrones was filmed here, as well!

Two months after our trip to Northern Morocco, half of our initial team – me and Romanian girl Emilia, have decided to explore also the Southern part of this colorful country. Emilia is a great travel partner. She has a driving license, speaks some French (and that is really useful in Morocco), and same like me, she loves Game of Thrones, Moroccan Tajine, she likes to take pictures, and we both just love Morocco … Morocco is like a trip to stories of Thousand and One Arabian Nights!

Day 1

Atlas Mountains

Early in the morning we arrive to the capital of Casablanca with our Etihad flight and at the airport from the car rental SIXT we pick up a stylish car – red Fiat 500. Ideal vehicle for two girls like us. But not so ideal anymore for a stressful drive through the Atlas Mountains, as we find out later. We head south all the way to Sahara Desert to the town of Ouarzazate, which has become famous throughout the world for its Hollywood movie studios. We pass Marrakesh quite fast, but beyond the gates of the Red City (as Marrakesh is used to call for the reddish color of its houses) the road is getting worse. The road leads through the Atlas Mountains, which is beautiful but dangerous. The road is narrow and winding, which our little car can still handle, but rocky terrain, bed roads with sometimes even frozen snow and large tracks driving in the opposite direction are a way bigger challenge. I often feel like we would just get blown off the cliff! Emilia is not exactly the most experienced driver, but I have no other choice but to trust her. At least she drives slowly! Although instead of the planned 3.5 hours, the journey from Casablanca to Ouarzazate will eventually take us eight hours! However, the sun shines and view is beautiful so we do not worry about it that much. Atlas is a kind of a paradox mountain. Tropical cactuses grow on the sunny side of the hills while thick snow covers the other side of the mountain road. On some places we even see children building snowmen! In many places along the roadside beautiful natural souvenirs are offered – fossils, crystals and geodes in incredible colors.

The original plan was to stop in the town of Ait Ben Haddou, which became famous thanks to Khaleese, but when we finally reach its gates, sun is down and in darkness it would make no sense to visit. We therefore postpone Ait Ben Haddou for the next day and continue straight to Ouarzazate. There are many beautiful oriental hotels and riads in Ouarzazate but we have booked an Atlas hotel that is directly connected to the Hollywood Atlas Studios and the entrance fee to the studios is included in the room rate. And that’s very comfortable. It’s already a late evening when we park in front of the hotel. In the next moment, we are unlocking the door to our room and jumping out of the enthusiasm! It’s like an fairy tale! That will make us sleep as princesses…

Day 2

Ouarzazate and the Bay of Slaves

The next day we get up early in the morning. We have a lot of plans for this day and moreover later we will have to drive back to Marrakesh through the Atlas Mountains. We would like to take most of this road in the daylight. For a long day full of experiences we need to refuel with energy from our hotel breakfast in the traditional Moroccan style. On my table are my favorite semolina pancakes – Mesamen, Beghir pancakes, strong Moroccan tea with mint leaves, honey, cheese, olives, jam, eggs and fresh orange juice. We get tickled by the morning sun rays, which we enjoy by the pool for a bit, and then we set out for the movie studios…

Right in these studios were movies like Babel, Gladiator, The Passion of the Christ, Asterix and Obelix, Kundun, Prince of Persia, Mummy, Atlantis, Treasure of the Nile or Lawrence of Arabia filmed… I feel like I’ve travel in time. For a while we are in the mysterious Tibetan temples in the Himalayas, then in ancient Egypt, there is even an exact copy of the Egyptian temple of Abu Simbel or the entire traditional Arab village. All scenery look like real historical monuments! Out of perfect illusion you will get by touch. Just under your fingers you can feel that you are not touching real stones but only very sophisticated and precisely painted polystyrene!

In the afternoon we take our car and head to the town of Ait Ben Haddou which was introduced to the world in a few particular episodes of the series Game of Thrones. It is a very simple ancient Berber town behind the walls that grows out of the desert. Exactly at this place Khaleese – Deanerys gave freedom to Yunkai slaves and so they were carrying her on their hands and started calling her Mysa (= mother). In real life, people still live here in very modest conditions, despite world-wide fame. Filming and curious tourists bring money to the city, but local people still prefer a simple Berber way of life… Many of them sell to tourists interesting jewelry and other nomadic souvenirs (such as a very old desert compass). Handmade oriental silver jewelry is really hard to resist. I will take at least one bracelet and earrings in the shape of Fatima’s hand, an ancient mysterious symbol of Khamsa, which is considered a very powerful Berber amulet or lucky talisman…

Berbers

Berbers (or Amazighs) are a nomadic tribe that appears around the Sahara Desert, especially in Algeria and Morocco. Berbers have their own Berber language and letters, customs, traditions and history and are very proud of their origins. Many Moroccans proudly say that there are no Arabs (although they all speak Arabic), but Berbers.

Gossips from Hollywood

Inside the walls of Ait Ben Haddou we are captivated by the roof terrace, where a cup of traditional Moroccan tea is served. The owner of the house lets us take the pictures on the roof of his house without having to pay. I’m surprised how different people from the South to Moroccans from the North are. After a small talk, local guy starts supplying us with gossips from Hollywood as he often assisted the film crew during shooting. He claims that most of the stars walk up Ait Ben Haddou with their nose up, but Khaleese was completely different, friendly and curious. Actress Emily Clarke was apparently so captivated by the old Berber’s town that she refused a luxury hotel in Ourzazate and stayed in a modest guest house among the walls with local Berbers for two weeks during the filming! And our new friend offers us a similar experience as Khaleese had! We could stay in his house and with his family and not only for dinner but also overnight and for traditional breakfast and all this either completely free or for voluntary charge. It’s a pity that we don’t have any spare time and we also have already booked the night in one road in Marrakesh (which was not easy to book, because most of the year it is fully booked), otherwise we would have certainly stayed. But we take contact from him and we promise to ourselves that we have to come back here for a real Berber adventure!

Ahead of us is not an easy crossing through Atlas Mountains again and after dark the winding road over the cliffs looks even more spooky. Fortunately, we will make it safely, but 160 kilometers takes us 5 hours. Then we have to go through the smaller maze of the streets of Medina (Old Town) in Marrakesh and after that finally just a well-deserved bath in a beautiful tiled bathroom and a our first night in Riad Yasmine…

Day 3

Riad Yasmine and Marrakesh

To be honest, just pictures of Riad Yasmine on Instagram was what made me to go to Marrakesh. The idyllic pool in the middle of the patio, all these flowers, design and marble mosaics tiles everywhere and I feel like a princes in a palace not a guest in a guesthouse. To understand, there are many such raids in Marrakesh but Yasmine along with Be Riad are ones of the most popular (also thanks to massive Instagram advertising). And most booked all the year long. In short, you need to book your room pretty in advance. And when you are lucky enough to find a free room, book it immediately and then adjust the rest of your vacation to that date. That was also my case: first I had booked two only available nights, then I was looking for a travel buddy, trading my vacation or days off, praying during nights to make it work and a flight ticket came to the very end. Thanks to our cabin crew staff tickets it’s not such a problem.

Riad and Dahr

This is what traditional homes in the old city of Morocco are called. Once they were the homes of local families for generations, today they mostly serve for tourists as guesthouses. There is never more than six, seven rooms in such a dahr or riad. Both types of houses have a gallery, patio or courtyard in the middle, and the only difference between dahr and riad is that the riad has an open roof so there is often a swimming pool or a beautiful garden inside, while dahr has a roof closed and something like a large common room inside. I must say that I love both types of Moroccan houses! Oh those tiles…

Good morning

So in the morning we wake up in the beautiful Yasmine dream series, and I immediately change my mind that I’m not a morning type. I used to hate the mornings, but in Marrakesh I realized that it just depends where you wake up. If it’s in Marrakesh, even if you are normally a night owl, you will begin to love the mornings. Few minutes later at our patio we are having another amazing Moroccan breakfast, which I like to get used to. At the bottom of the pool I recognize the symbol from the Berber flag. Emilia feels sick today, maybe consequences from the stress of yesterday’s trip so I let her rest in bed and I go to enjoy my book by the pool. In the afternoon I will move to the rooftop like proper Moroccan. The life of the Moroccans usually takes place on the roofs of their homes. Various picnics and barbecues with family are held on the rooftops. And at night, the roof is the refuge place for the husbands, who after having fun with their wife, comes here to cool down and smoke. At least in one movie happening in Casablanca they say so. 🙂

Traditional bazaar

In the evening, Emilia’s face get a normal color again, so we can go wandering around Medina together. We get lost in a maze of traditional bazaar and a spice market (souk). There’s an incredible number of people, and there are plenty of various temptations and smells on every corner. The magic lamps shine, the decorations are clinking, the food is scenting around… Especially the lamps that look like taken from the story about Aladdin and the magic lamp are particularly impressive. I’m thinking in which one is the Genie hiding, who would make my three wishes come true. The Arab world has believed in the Genies since ancient times, and the existence of the Genies is even officially recognized by the Qur’an, which was the biggest surprise to me. The Genies are elves of the Oriental world, they can be good and bad, live among us people but they are invisible to our eyes. We stop at one of the many stalls that sells various colorful goods in plenty of sacks. As the willing salesman explains to us, the distinctive red powder is made out of poppy flowers that Berber women use for their lips like lipstick. Thick black kohl oil is used for seductive and mysterious Arabic eye lines and white crystals that at first look resemble cocaine is eucalyptus powder and treat migraines and airways while the wooden stick is used for chewing instead of toothbrush because its juices clean teeth. There is also a place for pure Argan oil, which cannot be missed in any home of Berber woman. It does some magic not only for hair but also for skin! In addition to the bottle of this yellowish miracle I also take a beautiful bohemian hand-knitted rattan bag from the market…

Jemma el Fna

When we finally end up in Jemma el Fna Square it is getting dark outside. And there is an incredible atmosphere. I haven’t seen so many people at one square in my life. We push through a mass of people grouped together to see what everyone is so curious about and reveal a small Berber concert. In another group cobras are tamed, there is a group of poker players, group for board games and easy sport challenges, dancers are dancing belly dances, men in women’s costumes are playing an entertaining show and old crones paint ladies hands with henna, or read their future from palms… and above all of this amazing bustle are stalls with fresh fruit juices, couscous, and Tajine! First we buy fresh pomegranate juice and then we choose a restaurant with a view of the bustle of the square below and enjoy my favorite lamb Tajine with prunes…

Day 4

Another awakening to a beautiful Yasmine morning, a poolside breakfast, Moroccan tea… and we gotta pack our suitcases. We store our luggage at the reception and set out for another small walk around Medina, this time we are about to check touristic sights. As I mentioned already, Marrakesh is also called the Red City due to red house facades but I call it the Mandarin City. Mandarin and orange trees grow here in every garden and park! Just grab one… First we go to visit the mysterious Secret Garden, where we learn how much detailed work is behind the smallest mosaic and how cleverly irrigated such gardens are. Then we continue to Al Bahia Palace with the most impressive decorated doors and windows. Next stop are ruins remain of the Al Badi Palace and according to projections it must have been a surreal architectural work back in the days. But then another sultan sat on the throne, jealous of the luxury of his predecessor, and since the old sultan could not have more treasure than the new one, he had the palace destroyed. And indeed, such a pity, we could have another wonder of the world! Tombeux Saadians is actually a formidable decorated cemetery for VIPs and we also take a sneak look at the luxury hotel La Mamonia which you may know from Instagram. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to book a night at the hotel, but at least they allowed us to look into the gardens and public areas. However, if I happen to get married once I will probably want my honeymoon to take place right here. Unfortunately, the Ben Youssef Madrasa University which I was looking forward to at most out of all the monuments is closed for reconstruction work. Due to time frame we also miss the gardens and the house (nowadays museum) of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent who apparently fell in love with Moroccan style, as well. Another reason to come back to Marrakesh another time…

10 reasons to visit Marrakesh

(and not in Bali or Sri Lanka):

 

1. Accommodation like from fairy-tale. Click on riad.com or luxury-riads.com for an idea. And if you still have a doubt, go to the hotel websites: Es Saadi Marrakech Resort, Dar Karma, Royal Mansour Marrakech, Amanjena, La Sultana Signature Hotels or Hotel La Mamounia… So the honeymoon only in Morocco from now on?
2. Low prices. This may not seem to be true if you’ve just finish checking my list from point 1, but Morocco is indeed a relatively cheap country. Accommodation is the only higher investment in your vacation…
3. Moroccan cuisine is the best cuisine in the world. I guarantee that once you taste Tajine, you will immediately forget about Italian pasta and pizza. The Moroccans inherited the passion for food after their former French colonizers, and they just spiced it up a little. Or had it always been their feature?
4. No visas. If you do not plan to stay for longer than 90 days (it seems enough, but trust me, you won’t want to leave), visas are not needed for most of the countries.
5. Shopping at souk. It’s fascinating, it’s fun. As one of the few girls I really don’t enjoy shopping at all, but I would wander around Moroccan souks for days. Anyone who loves the style – I am soul of the artist, I like to travel and I prefer originality – will disappear in Moroccan souk as a child among colorful balls in a children’s park.
6. Home Decco. One holiday in Marrakesh and I bet you will completely reorganize your apartment.
7. Ouarzazate and Hollywood Studios. Less than three hours by car from Marrakesh and you can find yourself in the same places as Khaleese in Game of Thrones or Gladiator Russel Crowe.
8. Argane oil. Although it comes mainly from the area of Agadir, you can find good one in Marrakesh, as well. A perfect magic for your hair and skin.
9. Handmade leather products. Handbags, wallets, travel bags, belts… These come to Marrakesh mainly from the Fez’s but they are just perfect.
10. 10. Fruit orchards and oriental gardens. You will understand why Adam and Eve sinned for one apple. Pomegranate apple.