I've been to... with Matthew - Morocco

When I have something difficult to say, I often turn to Matt for guidance.

He's great at helping me turn my thoughts into words.

So, when it was time to write about Marrakesh I asked Matthew.

"How do I say this?"  "How do I say that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would?"

Everyone raves about Marrakesh.  It was the last stop of our tour and the one I was most excited about.

I'm not sure if it's because it was last, or maybe how and where we spent our time,
but it was my least favorite.  I'm going to let Matt help me out a bit.

I've been to... Morocco.

I went in 2013 as part of an Explore Worldwide trip with Selena.  I'm sure you've been reading about our travels here on Oh, the places we will go!  We started in Malaga in Spain, travelling through Moorish hill towns to Algeciras where we boarded a ferry to Morocco.

I’ve always loved borders.  I’ve often been perplexed by how much significance is placed on a line on a map.  A line that was drawn many years ago in a place many miles away by someone who may never have even visited the region they were bifurcating.  When I lived in San Diego I used to enjoy visiting Border Field State park, which sat right at the South-Westernmost corner of the USA.  Through a slender chain link fence was Tijuana in Mexico, physically only feet away, but economically another planet.

In Europe these days, it’s often difficult to even see its borders.  We recently travelled from Austria into Slovakia, and as it was a new country for Selena we wanted to celebrate the achievement, especially as we were crossing the “Iron curtain”.  I think we noticed a crease in the landscape that might have been the border, and there were some abandoned buildings that might have formerly been a customs point, but Europe’s economic integration is now so advanced that we couldn’t be sure.

So as we boarded the ferry in Algeciras, I was really excited to be crossing a border, especially as I was crossing a new one (I’d not been to Morocco before), was crossing by an unusual means (a ferry) and we were also crossing a continental border, which is quite tricky to do.  Unless you live in Istanbul of course, where some people do it every day.

Whilst I love borders, I don’t usually care much for border towns.  Tijuana was a bit of a dump, not to mention being a very dangerous place to visit these days.  When I lived in Singapore, the excitement of crossing the border to Malaysia marginally outweighed the disappointment of then having to spend time in Johor Bahru.  Tangier in Morocco has some charming corners, but can’t be described as Morocco at its best.

Fez however, was a revelation.  Founded in 789, if you dive into the Medina and tune out the TVs and Coca Cola refrigerators, you could easily be in the middle ages.  Traditional crafts are still pursued using medieval technologies.  Mules remain the primary form of transport through the narrow, winding alleys.  Butchers ply their trade (and offer their wares) in an authentic, but disconcertingly public way. 

The sights, sounds and smells are truly alien, but are fascinating to experience.  I can think of very few places where such an authentic and ancient experience can be found.  Damascus is close, but it’s not as ancient and it’s not a particularly attractive tourist destination right now.

Explore tours are usually structured to give you a big finish.  Our tour ended in Marrakech, so we were excited to reach the desert city to see what Explore had saved for the finale.  Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller and the Beckhams love it there.  Yves-Saint Laurent and Jean-Paul Gaultier own property there.  EasyJet and Ryanair fly there.  It must be great, right?  Oh, dear.

It’s rare for me to actively dislike a place.  I disliked Caracas, but visited in 1995 during widespread rioting during Venezuela’s economic crisis, so was too scared to leave the hotel.  Central Ghana was picturesque, but my time there turned into a tour of every available toilet as I got very, very ill.  But I’d rush back to either of these places before going back to Marrakech.

Marrakech was founded in 1062, and has a medieval souk and the same blend of mosque and mystery as Fez.  But Marrakech feels fake in comparison.  First of all, everyone speaks English.  In Fez, you need Arabic, French or a range of enthusiastic hand signals to communicate (in that order).  When you find a dense concentration of English speakers in a non-English speaking country, it tells me that their primary purpose in life is not to pursue ancient crafts and traditions, but to extract money from American tourists.

The central medina is a large, open space at the centre of the city, which fills up with tourist tat during the day.  Stalls will sell you low-quality, high-priced souvenirs.  Berber women will overcharge you for “traditional” henna tattoos.  Snake charmers and monkey wranglers will pose with you, then extort cash from you for the “pleasure”.

Let me linger on this for a moment.  Don't give money to a snake charmer or a monkey wrangler, in Marrakech or elsewhere.  The snakes and monkeys are taken from the wild, kept in appalling conditions and are tortured for your entertainment.  There is nothing authentic  about the experience and as long as people continue to pay for photos, the practise will continue.  I saw a monkey attack his handler with teeth and claws bared.  I was cheering for the monkey.

At night, the Medina turns into what must be the world’s largest street-food market. Whilst this is quite an experience, and some of the food is excellent, it’s a rather intimidating experience with every pickpocket in North Africa putting in a long and lucrative shift.

There are good, ethical operators in Marrakech, such as an independent hotel and hammam that we visited a few alleys down from the central Medina (post to come).  Some of the city’s accommodation is excellent and we enjoyed some great food while we were there.  But overall, Marrakech was a disappointment.

If Marrakech was your only experience of Morocco, I can see how the exoticism and mystery of the place (not to mention the climate) would make it an attractive destination.  If your only opportunity to visit Morocco was to go to Marrakech, then go, as the country has so much to offer . 

But let me say that Fez is so much more authentic and would make for a much more enjoyable experience.  As would Rabat.  Even Casablanca felt like it would be more interesting to explore.  Easyjet and Ryanair do fly to Fez, too.  

To be honest, when I first read Matt's draft I told him I wouldn't post it.  Way too blunt.
Even though I agree with most of it, I want to talk about the positives of the places that we visit.
I want to fall in love with every place we visit.  It's easy to write the good stuff.

But, what do you say when a place disappoints.  It's not an amusement park designed for our pleasure.

It's someone's Home, Sweet Home.  How do I say that I didn't enjoy it without being offensive?  

I guess honestly.   And with the disclaimer that this is simply our experience.

We were there for a very short amount of time and saw a limited part of the city.

We had a tourist experience that left us feeling disappointed rather than the
authentic experience that we were craving.

We did have some really great moments there that I'll definitely share with you.

But, I'll steer future travelers to Fes or Rabat over Marrakesh every time.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you a bit more about my experience and why I came away with a negative perception. 

Where were you excited to visit that left you feeling a bit deflated?

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