Marrakech Morocco: Soul Searching Through Souks

September 2024

Exactly one year later I stood at my boarding gate in the Chicago O'hare airport waiting to board my flight to head back to Africa. I had so many overwhelming thoughts of being gone for a month, and the feelings of boarding a flight to head back to a place in my heart that feels like home took over me.

This was my third time in the last year travelling to Africa and it's also been one of the hardest places for me to leave each time. Africa is a place known to be the cradle of civilization and a place that once you arrive, lives in your heart forever. I haven't met a single person yet that has travelled to Africa and not been changed by the many cultures, beauty, generous people, and history beneath every step we all take.

Morocco was my first stop during this month-long trip. Stepping away from my everyday environment and diving back into loving myself more on another solo journey was more than needed when I landed in Morocco.

Walking outside the Marrakech airport the chaos of taxis, French/Arabic language being yelled, people filling the spaces searching for their guides or family to pick them up. I took a deep breath of the fresh Moroccan air, I'm home.

One of my favorite places I've been this year has been Egypt, and I was so excited to explore a place with some similarities to my environment I had in Egypt, but also such a large difference between the two countries. Adding the deep-rooted culture of Morocco to some familiar experiences I had in the past was incredible.

Part of this trip I was lucky enough to meet up with one of my bunk mates I met from a hostel in Egypt. She travelled from Ireland and my time in Marrakech was spent with her until we parted ways towards the end.

Upon arriving and meeting up with each other in the airport I stood with all the tour guides in a line holding her name on a sign impatiently waiting for her arrival! We managed to get a taxi at the small service stand in the parking lot outside of the airport that was pretty reasonable. I had researched about how much a taxi was from the airport and their price wasn't much of a difference. In the mix of all the chaos at airports it was nice to be on our way easily after landing. It was a short trip to the Medina where we stayed. Central House Marrakech is located on the edge of the Souks and just a short walk to pretty much anywhere you need to go. Once we learned our way around the Souks the walk to the city center seemed quicker each day. This Hostel was a bit pricey compared to other places that I've stayed in, but it was well worth it! They had a wonderful breakfast, and kitchen with a lot of different options and the bar was great to have since Morocco is a Muslim country. Most bars are about a 20-minute uber ride outside of the Medina to a specific area that has clubs and restaurants that serve alcohol more freely. The majority of the places nearby don't serve alcohol, so it was nice to have a bar on site that was accessible when we wanted a glass of wine in the evening.

I would highly recommend this location when travelling to Marrakech. We stayed in a 6 bed female dorm that was about $26 a night and absolutely stunning! The hostel offered all female dorms, mixed dorms, as well as many private rooms. So, there's an option for any kind of traveler! This is a great location that's walkable to the city center, souks, meeting points for guides, and also away from the hustle and bustle. The area was very quiet at night which was really nice considering how close we were to everything, but didn't have to be bothered by all the sounds of people up and out through the night. The staff at the Central House was so wonderful and helpful whenever I had any questions and needed help with any problems.

The first stop we needed to make was exchanging money. The marrakech airport actually had a really great rate at their bank located near baggage claim. I exchanged a bit of money when I landed for the taxi and to last me at least the first couple days.

There are ATM's spread across the city which makes getting cash easy (if your debit card is accepted at them, I'll explain that disaster later in the post). I've had numerous issues with my Chase Bank debit card in many countries I've travelled to especially with the street ATM's. It's good to just rely on cash that you bring along with you to exchange, make sure you take plenty with you, and budget properly. A great spot to exchange cash in the city is the CIH bank located across the food market in the city square. Which is close to most of the Hostels and Hotels!

When we finally sat to have dinner, I knew right away I was going to be in for a treat with Moroccan Food. I have to give Morocco one of my top spots for countries with great food! Everything was flavored so well with all the fresh local spices

that aren't too spicy but give a flavor profile that is absolutely perfected! A lot of the spices that are used in Morocco are Saffron, Cumin, and Ras El Hanout. Ras El Hanout in Arabic meaning "Head of the shop" It's a spice blend of various different things, and like the name it offers a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer!

As we sat and had dinner, the evening prayer from the Mosques nearby filled the air, the Jemma Al Fina square filled with people as the sun began to set and the hot temperature of the day began cooling off.

I love hearing the prayers echoing across Muslim countries. I see it as a sign of so much peace. The mosques fill the air with sound of prayer five times a day known as "salah" a reminder to people of the Islamic faith that the time of day has reached for prayer and to step aside for a moment of importance in their faith.

The life that fills every corner of Morocco especially in the evening when the air cools off is really incredible. It's amazing how much life quickly fills up the streets surrounding the Medina, ESPECIALLY in the city center! You can't help but take a step back with a smile and appreciate everything going on around you.

The restaurant we ate at had so many different levels with outside patio seating. We sat at the very top patio, and it was a great location to watch the sunset and have a famous avocado smoothie (which I would highly recommend! It tasted similar to a vanilla milkshake!)

The souks (tourist markets) in Morocco can be a bit overwhelming especially once they start to fill up in the afternoon into the evening. While you have Wi-Fi try to download the map of the area because the cell service can be a bit tricky in these areas. Even with a map downloaded pay attention as you walk around. I found the maps to be a bit unreliable. After about two days I learned my way about the area and stopped relying on the maps I had. Google and Apple maps often weren't able to keep up with the area and redirected me all over the place! Before I knew it, I was walking in circles and getting more lost trying to follow my map!

After circling areas a few times and seeing the same people, this also brought a lot more attention and people wanting to "help". The front desk at the Hostel warned me to not take directions from anybody that came up to offer. Going into a shop or asking someone myself isn't likely a problem and is often what I did If I needed something, but if anyone came up and offered directions to help us, we were instructed to just say no. Scamming happens everywhere, but this is a very common thing that costs tourists in Marrakech. Most Moroccans were super helpful and quick to be of service whenever I needed help, but if someone is going out of their way to assist you, they likely will be expecting a tip when you arrive at your location. To avoid any conflict escalating it's better to just seek out a friendly shop owner and they are all super kind when it comes to helping tourists.

Morocco relies a lot on tourism and it's a large destination on the map for travelers right now. Everyone is out here just trying to make a living, but it's good to ask locals and see if there's anything to avoid during your trip to be more aware. Moroccans want people to be happy and feel safe and I felt that the majority of my trip, but I still encountered a few challenges that I had heard about from locals so be aware!

If you've never experienced tourist markets, bazars, or anything similar the Souks are going to be overwhelming! These places fill up quickly and there are SO many little shops crammed into the winding maze of the Souk.

I found Marrakech to be quite expensive when it came to food prices and shopping. Especially if you aren't aware of how to negotiate prices. Even knowing how to deal with people in these places I struggled a bit to get them to lower some of their prices, Moroccans are tough to negotiate with and will definitely hold steady on their prices, but when I felt discouraged at one shop, I went to check out the other hundreds of other shops through the Souks that often had the same or similar items as the one before. Just keep your price firm and eventually someone will take it!

I find that in most markets the farther away from the city centers and crowds you're often more likely to get better deals since there is less tourist traffic. In the morning when the shop owners are opening is also a great time to negotiate for their first sale of the day! I often shopped in the morning time, and it was so much more relaxing not having to push through people and being able to have conversations with the shop owners getting to know them more and not just trying to fight about prices for a bracelet...

Theres a lot of great items to keep an eye out for in Morocco:

• Fresh Spices

• Leather goods including purses, belts and shoes

• Jewelry

• Local sweets

• Traditional Clothing

Theres so much to choose from tucked away in every corner.

At night the Souks quiet down a lot once shops begin to close. The streets become VERY dark. Make sure you keep some charge on your phone for maps, and also a flashlight. I actually really enjoyed walking around at night in Morocco. When things were quiet, and people were cleared away it was really peaceful, and also very eerie at the same time. Being in a foreign place in almost the complete dark was a bit nerving at times.

The early mornings were also another time that I really enjoyed going out of my way to just walk around the souks and grab a coffee. It was amazing to me the difference in my surroundings during these times.

Marrakech is filled with so many different activities from local cultural tours, visiting historical sights, hiking, and plenty of adventurous things to do! I booked a lot of my tours for this country on Get Your Guide usually the night before I planned on doing them. I didn't really find any issues booking last minute and it gave me more opportunity to not have my days planned out too much. I found that the pricing for tours in September was fairly cheap. I had a shorter amount of time in Morocco only spending about 7 days. Most of the tours that we chose to do were either a few short hours or day tours. Theres so many tours that take you to explore the Sahara Desert, but these are often 2-3 days and would have taken up too much of our time, so we decided to pass on these tours this time. Now I just have more reason to go back!

My first tour was just about three to four hours and gave me a great little escape on the outskirts of Marrakech to ride ATVs in the Agafay Desert. This was an awesome experience with other some other female travelers from France joining us along the way! The tour included about an hour and a half worth of riding the ATV's and some Moroccan cultural experiences along the way.

After spending a few days in the city, I was learning my way around and getting to talk to people all over! Shannon and I decided rather than shopping through the week we would take one day to just enjoy walking around, buying things we may have had our eye on in the souks, and overall, just getting to know Morocco more. I always mention how much I love getting to know everyone. Most of the time all of these people are just trying to sell me things, but I love making jokes, actually talking and learning more about them. One thing that I always hear being yelled at me especially in the middle east is "Shakira!" along with many other celebrity's names. When you hear someone yelling "Shakira" this is basically their way of saying "Such a beautiful girl".

Our day started having breakfast at a small cafe. I loved getting such fresh food in every restaurant, even the granola I would get on my yogurt was homemade!

Tucked into the souks near the cafe we ate at there were so many small openings that led into alleys filled with shops packed inside every little pocket with space available. Just when you think you've seen it all there's loads of vendors hidden behind all of the shops you see on the outside!

After shopping most of the day and getting myself a few memories of Morocco we planned a nice dinner to get a little dressed up, and enjoy a traditional Moroccan experience with belly dancers, and wonderful show during dinner. I also managed to find the one place close by in the Medina that would serve us some drinks with dinner! I got the beef couscous for dinner, and it was ABSOLUTELY one of the best things I've eaten while travelling. We enjoyed this several hours long experience at the Riad Dar Essalam Restaurant (not to be confused with the largest city in Tanzania). After a couple bottles of wine, and me getting in front of the crowd at dinner belly dancing the last place I probably needed to go was wandering the streets, but that's exactly what I did!

The Medina in Marrakech is known as the local much busier area of the city. This includes Jemaa El-Fnna (main city center), souks, and the local area is filled with hostels, hotels, and everything you could need during your stay. It's always a lively crowd in the evening and great opportunity to have some fun.

The juice stands line the Jemaa El-Fnna sqaure in Morocco with all the best music playing at all hours of the day! The men at these juice stands definitely love to flirt and also know how to make some pretty incredible fruit mixtures! I got plenty of juices during my stay in Morocco since its one of my favorite things to enjoy while I travel.

Naturally after a few glasses of wine and the club like music blasting from their stands through the main square, I was naturally drawn to the atmosphere they were providing. After a week it was only fair that I had to get into one of the stands and make myself one of my favorite blends! My only thought that crossed my mind for the guys at these juice stands was "If your man won't do it, the men at the Moroccan juice stand will!"

I got a great opportunity to see some of the different landscapes that Morocco has to offer going on a day tour that we took to the Ourika valley. Morocco is filled with so many incredible landscapes, its nowhere close to just the dessert out there!

The Atlas Mountains were so green this time of year and such a stunning sight to see. Theres a lot of opportunity for trekking in these mountains as well as seeing some of the deep culture that started in Morocco living amongst the Atlas Mountains.

Within the mountains is home to the Berber people, Berbers are the steppingstone to a lot of the country's beliefs, and traditions. The Berber people are still pretty traditional and operate with a lot of tribal principals that they include into their communities to this day. Trading animals, and food in exchange for items rather than money to pay for things is a common occurrence in the Ourika Valley where their villages lie.

The Ourika valley is home to fresh air, so much untouched land, and beautiful mountain scenery, but the true gift are these people that accommodate the area. The calmness of the valley can be felt throughout even while we were driving around in the car. The people I came into contact with were incredibly kind, humorous, and their friendly nature was seen on every corner in the valley.

I'm sure most of us have heard about "Argan Oil" found in many hair and beauty products. The Berber women in a local village have a cooperative producing many different Argan Oil products. It was really intriguing to see what goes into the process of accessing the nut inside the Argan fruit to make these many products possible. The ladies are very hands on getting each seed out, and then it's taken to be pressed for the precious oil we all love! 20kg of nut kernels makes 5 liters (about 1 gallon) of oil. Thinking about how many Argan Oil products are sold across the world... they are putting in A LOT of work for their small business. I didn't realize how many specific types of oil there are until meeting these women. They offer specific types of oil for your hair, body, face, and some that are a specific scent to be used as a perfume! The prices of their products are so reasonable compared to the market prices in other countries. I jumped to get a bottle to use on my face and I have to say, I wish I bought more than just one to bring home.

The only tour that I booked ahead of time to be sure I wouldn't miss out was paragliding over the Kik Plateau. If you haven't been paragliding before Morocco is a great place to do it! For only $45 we got to see Morocco and all of its beauty from above! Gliding over the Kik Plateau with the Atlas Mountains in the distance is definitely a highlight of my trip. The Kik Plateau is a part of the high Atlas region and gives you such a great view of this massive mountain range.

Along with paragliding I got to relive one of my favorite moments again! Getting to go on a short camel ride and dressed up in traditional Berber attire (I'll never miss a moment to get dressed up when I get the opportunity. Especially if its culturally related attire!) The tour guides even included a GoPro video to capture the moment for no extra cost which I thought was really awesome considering the price of the tour was pretty reasonably priced!

The final tour that I did was another full day that took me about 2 hours outside the city to Azzilal Morocco, home to one of Morocco's largest waterfalls and also the second tallest waterfall in Africa, Victoria Falls being the first. I guess I can officially say I've seen the two largest waterfalls on the African continent!

Ouzoud Falls is located in the middle Atlas Mountain range. The gorge of the falls known as the El-Abid River (in Arabic the "slaves river"). The name "Ouzoud" meaning "The act of grinding grain" in the Berber language.

The legend that surrounds this cascading water escape is said that there was a Berber Princess who jumped to her death with her lover after not being able to be together, the falls are said to be her tears flowing through mountains.

This is a great place to see some of the monkeys that are native to the area. It was really nice getting to see the monkeys roam freely after experiencing them in the Marrakech city center.

I found around the city animal cruelty for tourism was really bad in Morocco. Monkeys taken from their habitat, pulled around on chains for tourists to take photos with, and the snake charming being done was with snakes that looked to be so out of it from sedatives or something they had given them that they could barely move. I am by no means a lover of legless reptiles, but they don't deserve to live that kind of life either.

It was really sad and hard to avoid this walking about, so it was nice to be surrounded by a community that shared the space freely with these little guys.

Walking down to the valley you can see so many monkeys, little shops along the way, and all the gorgeous angles of the Atlas Mountains.

Into the valley there stands this gorgeous waterfall, rocks to jump off into the water, boat rides on the river, and restaurants that have been built into the mountain range. Walking down the carved-out steps to the bottom of the falls its incredible to see the views of the whole valley, and rainbows shining in the distance from the spray of cascading water.

The pictures do this location no justice. The falls are so tall once they are in front of you and the valley is filled with so much life! People swimming, and jumping off the cliffs, great restaurants and activities surrounding the whole area.

Morocco was coming to an end WAY too quick. My friend Shannon left for home, and I was officially riding solo the rest of my time in Africa. After spending time with someone its always strange to end up by yourself again. All the nerves and thoughts of being solo rushed back into my mind, and then I went on autopilot taking on the world again before I knew it!

I took the train from Marrakech to Casablanca to stay for a night before flying out of their local airport to my next location. The night before heading to Casablanca my debit card stopped working in the ATMs in Morocco (Its never a solo trip without learning curves).

Needless to say, I was on the verge of having a meltdown. I had about enough money to buy a can of pringles and a water (which I did...). I had no money to pay for my Airbnb, no money for my taxi, and no money of anything else I had planned to do.

The lady who I rented an apartment from on Airbnb was more than my savior and blessing. She assured me that I would have a roof over my head and would cover the costs of things until I had it all figured out.

After reaching out to my bank they were absolutely no help at all. Once I met the taxi driver my Airbnb host arranged for me, he took me to a Western Union to send myself some money. After my first attempt that my bank also blocked, I was able to send it through a credit card and get the transfer immediately.

Of course, in the chaos of everything going on and this poor taxi driver waiting on the street for me for almost an hour I felt absolutely terrible and also extremely grateful for the kindness from each of these people. I added up how much I owed everyone not thinking about anything besides that. I was left with no money again. Thankfully I bought those pringles and water because that was my lunch, and dinner that day.

I had so many plans for Casablanca. The great Hassan II Mosque stands tall on the western coast overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, markets, restaurants, and no money to see any of it with barely any time left in the day after my adventure earlier in the day. I stayed in my apartment all night not getting to explore the city.

It was a good time to get rest before a long days' worth of travel ahead of me and gave me reason to sit still and relax. To many people I'm sure this sounds like chaos and a terrible situation. Not going to lie, I wanted to cry at one point, but the kindness I was given helped hold me together and there's never a problem without a learning experience! For anybody whose debit card won't work, there's usually plenty of western Union locations all over the world and from this experience I learned that they charge less transaction fees than using my bank card at the ATM! Make sure you download the Western Union app and save yourself a little money next time you need cash because I know I am! Without this little inconvenience I would have never known this.

At the end of it all Casablanca was not explored, but what was a catastrophic event in the moment turned into a great learning curve and lesson for me. No more ATM's and all their ridiculous fees, and a reminder to trust that there's more good people out there than bad. Be kind to each other, it's the least we can do. Without the strangers in Casablanca supporting me and being more than generous who knows where I would have ended up that night!