As we approached the exit at Marrakech airport, I had a distinct flashback to this very same moment five years ago. It was July 2011, our first visit to Morocco, and as the airport doors slid open on the world outside, we were treated to a blast of pyroclastic air that practically frazzled my eyebrows.
Despite sweating a trail around the country over the next two weeks, a journey punctuated by (half) jokes about spontaneous combustion and melting faces a la Raiders of the Lost Ark…we fell in love with the place, and we’ve been itching to get back to the country ever since. Just not in the summer.
Now here we were, on the doorstep of the northern spring and with three days to play with in the captivating medina of the Red City. Having been here before, we were keen to revisit some of our favourite spots, spend some time at those outdoor places we’d hot-footed through last time (trying to minimise our risk of immolation), and to seek out some new experiences in this vibrant and sensory destination.
We even decided to have another go at the souq challenge this visit, to see if five years’ more travel wise had in any way enhanced our skills at maze navigation and haggling.
Nope.
Our high at self-steering to the sublime Musee Douiria de Mouassine and the chromatic Sebbaghine (dyers’) souq was short-lived; we spent the next couple of hours completely lost. This was fine for a little while, some of our most memorable experiences have been entirely by accident while adrift and wandering. But after our third arrival at the same souq intersection, and with the tannery touts well and truly onto us, I think I broke into a bit of a run when we finally spotted an exit, even though it took us outside the city walls altogether.
Once we’d made peace with our confused map app, our daily amblings in the high-walled, narrow streets of the medina served up some real Marakshi magic: from the zellij and zouak mastercraft of Dar Si Said and Bahia Palace to tiny rooftop perches for sipping mint tea with sweeping panoramas over the medina to the snow-capped Atlas mountains.
In fact, we made a daily ritual of finding a rooftop in the late afternoon where we could watch the sky turn molten gold while the call to prayer took up around the city, a mesmerising experience.
We also hit a culinary high point on an evening foodie stroll through the souqs with Marakshi local Youssef, co-founder of Marrakech Food Tours with his American wife, Amanda.
Since arriving in the medina, we’d been revelling in the tasty tagines, moreish merguez sausages and cheeky banter of the touts in the nightly food stalls of the city’s buzzing main square, Djemma el Fna.
Youssef, however, introduced us to some of the more singular Marakshi delicacies to be found in the souqs, and to some of the unique characters toiling away in its heart.
While the roasted lamb’s head had all of us a little shy, we made short work of everything else on the ensuing three-hour feast-by-foot, munching our way through roast lamb and khoobz bread, olives, soup, claypot lamb stew, sardine meatball sandwiches, tomato and onion salad, mounds of buttery couscous and vegetables, avocado smoothies and Moroccan cookies. I’ve never resented my skinny jeans more.
Speaking of wardrobe, what of the weather this time around? Ironically, any hang-over concerns about whether I’d packed enough deodorant and baggy tees to survive another visit to Marrakech were incinerated the moment those airport doors swept open on arrival…and I found myself reaching for a jacket.
Good to know
Getting there: Marrakech is a surprisingly easy weekender from Europe; it’s a 3.5 hour flight from London. From the airport, the medina is a 15-minute drive – pick up a taxi at the airport or organise a car in advance through your accommodation. Buses also run every 30 minutes.
When to go: We’ve visited Marrakech in the peak of Summer and in early Spring. Despite the heat, tourist numbers go up over Summer but sightseeing is better done in the evenings – days are for sitting in front of a fan or by the pool if there is one. Spring is lovely – like Autumn, it’s shoulder season, there are views to snow-capped mountains and pleasant, sunny days – perfect for wandering around the city on foot.
Tip: Find a perch on high in the afternoons and watch the sun set over the city – it’s a magic time of day in the medina.
Tip: Getting lost in the souq is unavoidable, even armed with the best GPS or hand-drawn map (we’ve tried both, both were fails). Go with the flow and enjoy the experience – you’ll find your way out eventually.
For more tales and pics from Morocco, check out our other blog posts on this amazing country.