Morocco
Intro
For months, I could not wait for my trip to Morocco. With the cold, rainy days of a Parisian fall in full force, some hot days in Morocco were a welcome thought.
I traveled from Paris to Morocco via Royal Air Maroc. The flight was easy and relatively short and I arrived in Marrakesh without a hitch. When I stepped off the flight and had to wait in an hour and a half long customs line, I should have known that this would be the beginning of what I would call a trip with a lot of ups and downs. In an effort to not give you every single detail of my trip, I will write about the things that stick out the most to me - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Our Riad in Marrakesh (Nights 1-3)
For the first couple nights of our trip, Claire and I stayed in the Riad Palais Sebban. A Moroccan riad is a large traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard. Today, many riads in Morocco have been sold by the original family owners and converted into beautiful, unique hotels. Our riad was stunning – the ornate architecture and intricate design was spectacular. Each day we enjoyed mint tea in the courtyard and had lazy afternoons reading/sleeping on the rooftop lounges. The hotel staff was kind and attentive.
The Tour Guide & the Rug Co-op
When Claire and I checked into our hotel, it was suggested to us that we hire a guide to take us around Marrakesh’s Souks. We both thought this was a fantastic idea as the guide could show us the best shops and tell us the prices that we should actually pay (nothing ever has a price tag and the first price the shop owners give is always inflated).
Our guide showed up at the hotel to pick us up first thing in the morning. At first, he took us to several palaces in Marrakesh that belonged to ex-kings and prime ministers. The guide explained to us the history and architecture behind these homes and some basics about the Muslim faith. After we got through the palaces and a small museum that displayed the history of rug making in Morocco, the guide quickly whisked us away to the Souk for a little bit of shopping.
Our first stop was a rug co-op. Within 30 seconds of introducing us to an employee at the shop, our guide disappeared and left us to fend for our own. After a brief explanation of the building the rug co-op was in, the employee tried to lead us upstairs to show us some of the rugs. Realizing quickly that we did not want to have to refuse to buy a rug, we nicely made our way out of the shop while the employee took a phone call and found our guide standing outside talking with some locals. The next shop he led us to was a Moroccan drugstore that contained various locally made items including Argon oil and Moroccan spices. I purchased a small amount of spices and we left quickly as the shop employees were a little too pushy and once again our guide had disappeared. We found our guide waiting outside and he seemed disappointed to see us. Asking us if we bought anything, I showed him my small purchase and instead of leading us to the busy part of the Souk, he told us that he wanted to take us back to the rug shop. Claire and I looked at each other – why would we want to go back to the rug shop? We quickly explained to him that we had no intention of buying a rug and he assured us that he just wanted to take us there so we could see a local hand-making rugs – which they do on the second floor of the shop. Hesitantly, we agreed to go back.
Once again, the guide led us to the rug shop only to leave us the moment we entered inside. This time the owner – a large, friendly man named Mohamed, greeted us. Mohamed assured us that he was not trying to sell us anything (as any good salesman would say) and just wanted to show us how Moroccan rugs are made and how important they are to the Moroccan people. So we made our way upstairs. Imagine a room with a beautiful cushioned sitting area and the rest of the room covered in rugs. There were rugs hanging on the walls, rugs hanging from the ceiling, rugs on the floor, rugs rolled up against the walls. There were a lot of rugs.
With the snap of his fingers, Mohamed summoned two of his assistants who started rolling out rugs to show us the different kinds that were made in Morocco. He offered us mint tea, which we politely refused, and continued to show us rugs. As he showed us different rugs, we would compliment them and nod to what he was saying. After enough rugs were rolled out, I saw one I liked – a runner with beautiful colors. I asked Mohamed how much a rug like that would go for and he quoted me a price that actually made me laugh it was so far off anything I could afford. Mohamed looked at me and then Claire, and said, “well I can give you an even better deal if you buy two rugs”. I looked at Claire – two rugs? We didn’t even need one rug! Especially considering neither of us had our own apartment let alone home. We both laughed and said I don’t think so and let him keep rolling out rugs and snapping his fingers.
After not one but two more times of being offered mint tea, we finally accepted. And that was when everything went downhill. Mohamed, the rug sheikh, was starting to be a little more forceful – asking us what was the most we would spend and reiterating that if we bought two rugs, we could have a better deal. He told us that he could ship the rugs home for us and that he would give us a good deal on shipping. He even showed us a book of every customer he had ever shipped too. In hindsight, it was basically a book of all of the people he had ripped off. And we were about to be part of that list.
To be honest, I have no idea what made us crack but we ended up buying two rugs that were NOT cheap. But when we were paying for our new rugs, Claire and I were so excited. We were running off of some natural high and the price didn’t seem to phase us. It wasn’t until 3 hours later and a little bit googling that I realized the mistake we had made. Even though we had negotiated down the price of the rugs by a significant amount, I was not qualified to know how much they truly were worth. And if I am honest with myself, I don’t think I want to know. To make matters worse, our guide was in on the whole thing as most guides get a percentage of what is spent by the people they bring to the shops. And now I have a very expensive rug and every time I look at it, I think of Mohamed.
Night in the Agafay Desert
After a couple of days in Marrakesh, we stayed in a luxury desert camp in the Agafay desert. Only an hour drive outside of the city, the Agafay desert is absolutely beautiful. We enjoyed a quad excursion, a camel ride, wonderful food, and excellent company. All of the other guests were so kind and we befriended couples from India, Lyon, and England. Even though the staff was a bit disorganized and Claire and I easily had one of the worst night sleeps of our lives, the experience was amazing and I would love to do it again.
Essaouira
Before we went to Morocco, a friend had recommended that Claire and I spend a night or two in the seaside town of Essaouira. The town of Essaouira is a port city located on the Atlantic Ocean. The beach is beautiful and the city is known to have strong winds making it a popular destination for surfing, windsurfing, and kite surfing. We arranged for a private car to take us from Marrakesh to Essaouira and were picked up straight from our hotel. The drive from Marrakesh to Essaouira was for the most part smooth. It was a two-hour drive and we stopped once for a break.
I think that my most memorable moment in Essaouira would have to be our experience at the spa. Morocco is known for their hammams. So in an effort to embrace the Moroccan culture, we decided to experience a Moroccan hammam.
After we checked into the spa, we were led to a locker room and given a small plastic thong and robes to put on. We quickly changed, put our stuff in locked lockers, and headed to the area where the steam room was located. Immediately upon entering the area, a spa employee told us to take off our robes and enter into the steam room. While Claire and I are family and have been living together for several months, I do not usually walk around naked so it was a bit awkward to say the least. We sat down in the steam room and waited while the spa employee busied herself with a bucket of water. Then, without any warning, the employee tossed the contents of the bucket onto Claire and I. At this point, I couldn’t help but laugh - it wasn’t exactly what I imagined when I thought of having a nice spa day. Once she was done soaking us, she took a large gob of black soap, rubbed it all over our bodies and told us to lie down. After a good thirty minutes in the steam room and a lot of soap and water in my eyes, the spa employee came to fetch us. Leading us into two separate rooms, it was time for the body scrub part. And by body scrub I really mean being sandpapered all across my body and in places that are not meant to be scrubbed like that. I think I lost 20 layers of skin but I will say my skin has never been so smooth!
Things we learned about visiting Morocco:
1. Money - Bring a lot of cash. You cannot order dirhams ahead of time from your bank as Morocco has a closed currency. So when you get to the airport in Morocco go to either the ATM or the exchange desks. This is very important because most places other than hotels and some restaurants do not take credit cards. Also, get more cash out than you think. Claire and I found that many things in Morocco were surprisingly expensive and everyone (and I mean everyone) wants a tip. So get lots of small bills.
2. Language – brush up on your French. Because Morocco was once a French colony, French is the most known language behind Arabic and Berber. Looking back I think I spoke more French in Morocco than I ever have in Paris.
3. Do your research – read everything you can about traveling to Morocco. Learn about what is safe to eat and what is not, the alcohol rules (it is a predominately Muslim country), and please please read about how to avoid getting scammed. Basically, everyone you encounter tries to rip you off so be prepared to barter and not give in to ridiculous demands. If you do not like having to barter and being constantly hassled by shop owners, I would suggest going somewhere else.
