Morocco

Intro

In the past, Leah has done a lot of planning for our trips. During Leah’s first semester at King’s College London, I had planned a trip on my first visit to London and Norway. The majority of the trip to Norway was a surprise and it was a huge success!

Before my next trip out to London, I started planning another “surprise trip” for Leah and I to go on, and this time we were heading to Morocco! 🇲🇦

However, the trip did not remain a full surprise for long as I’m terrible at keeping secrets and Leah is a sneaky detective. While we were in Paris (just a week before the trip) waiting for the Metro, there was a massive “Visit Morocco” poster on the wall. Leah just looked at the poster and went “hmmmm”. I’m pretty sure my laugh gave it all away.

Landing in Marrakech

Friday 2/17

We woke up early to pack for our “surprise trip”, although at this point Leah was about 98.5% sure we were going to Morocco. This kind of helped though because she was looked at the weather there and that was helping her along with packing.

We took the train from London to Gatwick Airport and then took off to Marrakech.

✈️

When we arrived in Marrakech it was pretty late so we took a taxi to our Airbnb, got some food at a nearby restaurant, and then went to bed.

Casablanca

Saturday 2/18

Saturday was another early morning that started with travel. Our Airbnb was intentionally right across the street from the main train station in Marrakech since I had booked us train tickets to Casablanca. Last night at dinner, Leah keep guessing where we were going and Casablanca was not a single one of her guesses so she was completely surprised when we got on the train.

I managed to get at least one surprise right at last! 😂

Grant reading on the train

We managed to get off at the wrong train station coming into Casablanca and this was honestly foreshadowing for our time in Casablanca. We managed to get back on the train just before it left after we looked at our phones and realized we were in the wrong place. After getting back on the train, I had realized that I had rolled my suitcase through an enormous pile of wet poop (all over my shoes as well… delightful).

Soon we had arrived in Casablanca (at the correct stop) and made our way out of a train station. As Leah laughed, I rolled my luggage through a sprinkler outside.

We took a taxi to our Airbnb and then went into a nearby cafe while we waited for the cleaner to finish so we could drop off our bags.

Leah in the taxi on our way to our Airbnb

Casablanca was chaotic… 😬

There were so many people, the cars all drove like they were on a death wish, and the streets were an absolute disaster.

This was my very first time in any part of Africa and it was honestly so overwhelming and rather stressful.

After finishing our Moroccan mint tea, dropped off our luggage, and set off on a stroll to the nearest “medina” (old city / market).

While planning this trip I had done some research around medinas and had a wildly different vision in my head. Online you see photos of these vibrant medinas with fine tile work, beautiful arches, and shops full of color spices. The reality was a bit different…

The medina we visited was full of shops containing knock-off Nike shoes, fake luxury bags, and shampoo. We went into one shop that looked like it had spices but the most interesting thing we found was what we believed to be “prostate stimulating powder”.

We promptly left the medina and began to walk back to our Airbnb to asses the current situation that was Morocco.

Walking around Casablanca there were many stray cats taking a snooze on scooters and the roofs of cars

A typical side street with vendors in Casablanca

A home in Casablanca doing laundry day

Trip Adjustment

A brief note about our trip adjustments back at our Airbnb

We had been in Morocco for about 16 hours at this point and realized we were in a bit over our heads. Leah was anxious, I was borderline having a break down, and everything around us felt like chaos. So we had a quick chat and I decided to tell Leah all the details about the trip we had planned. It wasn’t exactly as she had imagined and all of Morocco so far was not at all how I imagined it. So we planned together to find a place our of the chaos this afternoon and also look at the schedule for the rest of our trip later that night.

After our “trip adjustment pow-wow”, we headed over to the “fancy” area of Casablanca to get some food and escape from the chaos of the inner city. Our first stop was the beach to check out the Atlantic ocean. Getting close up to the water it was rather nice to look out and just hear the waves wash out the sound of the city. On our way back to the main road, we encountered a pretty angry dog chained to a broken railing. The dog saw us, started barking, and leap towards Leah and I. We both saw that it pulled right away from the fence and both the dog and the broken piece of chained fence started coming towards us. We both turned around and went full sprint down the steps. A bunch of locals laughed at us but we didn’t find the dogs teeth too comical in the moment.

We tried another set of steps that didn’t have any angry dogs and found ourselves in front of a “Four Seasons” hotel. We figured why not and basically snuck into the Four Seasons and sat down in the restaurant. We took one look at the menu and promptly left when we saw the prices 😂.

The view from the cafe at the Four Seasons (that we snuck into)

We walked down the street a bit and ended up in a fairly nice restaurant and got some pasta, a smoothie, and a nice pizza. After our dinner, we found one of the few places in the city that served alcohol nearby and went for a few drinks to ease our nerves from the chaotic day.

Overall, our sentiment on Casablanca was that it was a bit of a mess and not a place one should go if you’re looking to relax or see sights.

I am writing this section as we are sitting in the Airbnb after the day in Casablanca and we are both very excited to be leaving tomorrow evening 🙃.

Sunday 2/19

On Sunday we slept in until 10am. We were both really not looking forward to getting up and having to leave the comfort of our Airbnb. Casablanca was just so chaotic and it didn’t feel like there was much to do. We would also be checking out and would have to carry around all our bags for the day.

The night before, we had done some research and discovered that the best thing to do in Casablanca was to visit the Hassan II mosque of Casablanca. So we set out with all of our packs to the mosque via taxi.

We booked a tour for noon and then popped into a cafe to fuel up on coffee and pancakes before heading back for our tour.

The cafe which bestowed pancakes upon of rumbling bellies

To our knowledge, this is one of the few mosques you can actually tour in Morocco as a non-muslim since they are usually quite strict on who can enter and you must have a tour.

The mosque tour actually helped put us back on track with traveling as we really enjoyed it. While it wasn’t “historic” in terms of age (constructed in 1993) it was extremely impressive by its design. The entire building was garnished in very intricate Islamic carvings. You could stare into many of the designs and be mesmerized.

One of the countless designs on the ceiling of the mosque

Some photos we took of the mosque:

The ceiling behind the main entrance

The main room of prayer in the mosque

The mosque from the outside

Leah doing a mini photo shoot

Behind the scenes of Leah’s photo shoot

Grant doing a photo shoot

The mosque was really quite beautiful and we both thought it helped turn our rough stay in Casablanca back around!

After the mosque we pretty much just hung out, got some food, read books, and then caught our train back to Marrakech 🚋. We booked a traditional riad for the night and were very excited to see what it’s all about!

Catching the train back to Marrakech

We got into Marrakech fairly late and had a light snack at our riad. It was wonderful! We were now feeling like we were in the Morocco that we had read so much about. The riad had travelers from all over, was garnished in fine rugs, tiles, and friendly hosts. Leah booked this riad for us only hours before and it was a great choice!

High Atlas Mountains

Monday 2/20

The day before we had also made another slight adjustment to our trip. We originally had a “group tour” into the Sahara desert for three days. Upon consideration with Leah, we changed it to a “private tour” with our own dedicated driver. The driver arrived at our riad at 9:00am so we only had time for a quick coffee and a crepe before hitting the road.

Walking to our car with Mohammad (seen on the very right)

Our trip with Mohammad would be a three day journey through the high Atlas mountains, through many Berber small villages, and into the Sahara desert.

As we left Marrakech and entered the Atlas mountains, the view quickly changed from old city streets to beautiful mountains with deep red soil.

The roads were starting to get cold, windy, and very narrow so we made a quick stop for some mint tea to warm up.

Soon after, we were on a steep mountain pass and got out to take a few photos. Leah and I nearly blew over from the wind gusts which must have been 70mph+.

The view from the incredibly windy summit

As we continued on, we passed through countless Berber villages. We would often see bundled up old women walking in the hills with herds of goats and sheep.

Our driver turned onto a back road and we went off the beaten path before arriving at a small village where we would be visiting a hidden gem of Morocco - Kasbah Telouet. The Kasbah used to be a palace for the Glaoui family, a powerful Berber tribe along a caravan trade route. During its peak, the Glaoui family was more wealthy than the actual king of Morocco. We learned that during this time salt was incredibly valuable. In fact, the traders living at the Kasbah would trade one kilogram of their salt for a kilogram of gold. The Kasbah is in a very remote area and is now only accessible by local guides (such as the one we had). There were guards at the edge of the village as well.

A “Kasbah” is a type of palace or fortress that was built in the desert. They were often built by the Berber tribes and were used as a place to store their wealth and as a place to stay during their travels.

From the outside, the Kasbah looks fairly run down from erosion and the elements; but the inside is absolutely stunning.

The outer walls of the Kasbah and a corner guard tower

The inside of the Kasbah with our Kasbah guide - He could speak English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. He was born in the smaller Kasbah next door and still lives there with his wife today

Inside of a main gathering room of the Kasbah

Intricate cedar and plaster carvings on the ceiling

Looking into the main gathering room from the dinning room

Me and Leah on the roof of the Kasbah

Looking down into one of the many courtyards from the roof

The Kasbah was one of our favorite stops on the first day of our trip and the fact that we went with the more expensive “private guide” already felt like it was worth every single penny.

After the Kasbah, we walked into a small dining room nearby to have some lunch. We had lamb tajine and more mint tea. The tajine was delicious and we wished that we hadn’t split just one.

Incredibly flavorful lamb tajine

After lunch we continued our descent down the Atlas mountains. Our driver made a quick off-road detour to a nice panoramic view of the mountains and a village below.

Leah at the panoramic view

G+L

Our car, the driver/guide Mohammad, Leah, and the mountains

Leah in the back seat

As we drove even further down the mountains there started to be even more villages, almost no wind, and a lot less snow.

A small Berber village placed on the edge of a river with small farm plots - Yes, nearly all these homes are inhabited

An oasis of green crops with villages surrounding it

After our long and very narrow descent out of the mountains, we arrived at a small caravan village. It had another Kasbah positioned on the top of a butte and our driver stopped to let us explore. He hung out in the car while we spent about an hour checking the area out.

This small village was equally vibrant and full of colors.

The inner streets of the Kasbah on the hill

Leah on the very top of the hill, looking out over the village

Leah on a stroll down the steps

White dromedaries by the river - The dromedary is a camel with “one hump”, also known as the Arabian camel

This was our last stop until our driver dropped us off at our riad for the night. When we arrived at the riad we both felt very sleepy from the car ride so Leah did the classic “time to read a book” and proceeded to fall asleep next to me as I edited photos (for this blog). We had a lovely dinner of chicken tajine and went to bed early as our driver would be there at sun rise to begin our journey into the Sahara desert! 🐪

The view from the first floor of our riad

The Sahara Desert

Tuesday 2/21

We had our alarms set for 7:00am but they were not needed as the riad we right next to a mosque. We awoke promptly at 6:45am to the sound of Muslim prayers being broadcast over load speakers and people praying from the tops of nearby buildings. It was still quite dark outside and rather cold but we managed to force ourselves downstairs for some coffee and bread with jam. Our driver, Mohammad, met us outside after breakfast and we were off on our way to the Sahara desert!

The landscape quickly started turning from sharp and rocky to quick and sandy as we began our journey.

View from the road of the landscape

We made a quick stop at a town centered in an oasis at a local police station that had a good panoramic view.

G + L in the oasis

As we kept driving, we passed through two large Moroccan style gates. Our driver let us know that this signified we had “entered the desert”. Just after the gates we stopped at a small town for a coffee before we kept driving.

After a few more hours of driving, we stopped at a small town that was known for creating vibrant green pottery. Mohammad asked if we wanted to stop and check out the process of pottery making. We said “sure!” and one of the locals showed up around. Before our mini pottery tour, Leah and I vowed not to buy anything because we had almost no room in our bags. Well… that didn’t stand because the pottery was amazing so we bought some small cups and coffee mugs.

The main area where the pottery takes place

The ovens where the pottery goes to set in

Another shot of the ovens

After obtaining our pottery, we set off to our last stop before the roads ended and our real adventure began. We stopped at M’Hamid which is the last real civilization before entering the Sahara. Mohammad is actually from this town and you would know right away as we started to enter it. He was rolling down his window and greeting just about every single person we saw. If we were not on a short time schedule, it could have taken us days to pass through the town as just about everyone recognized him and wanted to say hello. We stopped at a small building and picked up a “picnic” style lunch from one of his friends (or possibly family members) before we left the town behind.

The roads turned to dirt and were rough. As Mohammad said “this is the massage” and it certainly was some form of massage on the back (not sure if a good one ha). We stopped under one of the few trees we could find to eat our picnic lunch after checking out some wandering Arabian camels. Even though the desert seemed completely empty we were not alone though. There were plenty of desert beetles that came to visit us and enjoy some of our rice (they were very kind).

Leah and Mohammad having lunch

The view of our road out into the desert

After our lunch, we continued our drive even further into the desert. It started to feel like we were on another planet - perhaps Mars? There was just sand, rocks, and desert for as far as the eye could see. The thing that impressed me the most here was Mohammad’s navigation skills. There were no marking what-so-ever and no other human being to be found. There were a few tire tracks here and there but they went in all different directions and we only followed them when they had conveniently paved the way in the sand. Mohammad didn’t have a map or a GPS, he simply knew the desert like the back of his hand. He said he grew up just walking around this very desert with his friends and sometimes they had bikes to explore. After an hour or so of driving (time didn’t feel real) we stumbled across some nomads and of course Mohammad knew them all by name.

A nomad “camp” where they would stay to avoid the blazing sun

The nomads and their camels which they ride around with as they let them graze on what they can find

The nomad’s Arabian camels 🐪

Shortly after stopping by and saying hello to the nomads, we approached the dunes. Even from afar they were stunning.

Our 4x4 Toyota drifted up the dunes as we blasted a mix of Arabian pop music and Katy Perry. Before we knew it, we had arrived at our fancy desert camp 🏕️.

To put it simply, this camp was remote… From the highest point in the camp, you could look out in all directions and see nothing but sand and desert. There was no service, electricity, food, or water. The only supplies at the camp was the tea and dinner that was brought in for our stay that night. It was so peaceful and beautiful this way. No distractions, just the desert… My GPS dot, somewhere near the border of Morocco and Algeria before it lost connection. The “green flag” is Marrakech

Leah and I were the first travelers to arrive at our small camp that afternoon so we drank tea with the hosts while we waited for the hot afternoon sun to set a little. The hosts were incredibly friendly and most likely grew up nearby in the desert. There were four of them and they all spoke several languages that they learned from speaking with other travelers. Even though the main tent that we were relaxing in was hot, it felt good to get out of the sun as I got a sun burn within only minutes of being outside.

After about an hour, about a dozen other travelers showed up at the camp to spend the night. Some of the travelers were from Spain and France.

We all gathered together around 5:30pm to embark on our camel ride towards the largest sand dune of Erg Chigaga.

Erg Chigaga is the largest, most remote, and untouched erg (sand dune area) of Morocco.

There were two packs of camels each lead by one of our hosts. Leah and I were in the very back of the second pack each on our own camel. The camels did not have names but instead went by their colors. We promptly named Leah’s camel “Carl” because it looked like it should be named Carl.

We set off on our camels towards the massive dune ahead of us and it was a majestic experience. It was one of those moments where you really don’t feel like you are on Earth at all and instead are on some foreign planet. It was truly National Geographic material 📸.

Starting our camel ride towards the largest dune

The camel train

G + L on their camels (Leah is on Carl)

Leah looking out over the dunes

National Geographic material… With the largest dune in the background

A desert beetle in the dunes

We soon arrived at the base of the largest sand dune in Erg Chigaga. The group dismounted their camels and we all set off in different directions to summit the dune. Leah and I set off on our own path on the side of the dune while most people went straight up it. It was quite the workout to get to the top but the views were absolutely worth it.

Sand dunes for as far as the eye can see

Leah and I sat upon the top of the dune and watched the sun slowly set over the desert and as it did the dunes turned a deeper shade of orange. It was pretty windy at the very top of the dune and we had sand in our teeth, eyebrows, hair, and just about half the Sahara in our shoes. We were covered in sand but didn’t even mind as the views were too stunning to be bothered.

As the sun set behind most of the clouds, a few members of our group started to slowly head back down. I told Leah I wanted to get a few “couple photos” on the back side of the dune together but I had other plans in mind… there as a ring in my pocket 💍.

I found a really scenic stop on top of the dune with a great back drop and we were away from the group. It was just us, the wind, and a whole lot of sand.

I setup our camera on my backpack and framed Leah in the shot. I told her it was in video mode and we would just take still photos out of the video. We tried a few poses for the camera and the wind just kept blowing us over as we laughed. I told her I had one more shot we should take. I got down on one knee, took the ring out of my pocket, and asked Leah to marry me… she said yes!

Staging some couple photos

Asking the question!

She was so excited!

Popped the big question! She said yes! 🎉💍

Leah with the 💍

G + L - Now engaged! 🥳

Tada! The big surprise of my “surprise” trip has been revealed!

Leah and I were so thrilled and my heart was beating like mad after I asked her. We had a mini race down the dune to catch up with our group and laughed with excitement the whole way down. We hopped back on our camels and literally rode into the sun set on our way back to camp.

Wednesday 2/22

We were awoken at about 4:00am to the sound of rain on the top of our tent. That’s right, rain in the Sahara… We weren’t sure if we would get hit by a flash flood or something of the sorts as we knew rain wasn’t exactly a common occurrence out here. We investigated outside for a bit and it was a really gentle light rain so we went back to bed. We woke up a few hours later to get some coffee and bread for breakfast before setting off back on our way to Marrakech with Mohamad. He slept in the camp with us last night so we was there after breakfast ready to drive us back.

We had to drive a different way out of the desert because the road we came in on was too dangerous to drive even from a little bit of rain. Areas in the desert that have a lot of clay become just as slippery as ice when they get wet so we had to drive south instead. Along our drive, we were going quite fast and actually hit a patch of clay. Our completely spun out and did a 360 spin on the wet clay. It was honestly pretty startling since we would have flipped if the clay suddenly turned back to sand while we were sideways. We continued driving out of the desert and had to stick to really rocky terrain as the wet sand proved to be troublesome. It was extremely rocky and I kept thinking “I hope this doesn’t give us a flat tire”…

After about 3 hours of driving we were finally on paved roads again and heading back towards Marrakech.

We drove for several hours back up into the High Atlas mountains.

Mohammad had to take a quick stop on the side of the road to pee so we all got out to stretch our legs. When we did, a man hanging out on the side of the road started shouting and pointing at the car to Mohammad. We did indeed have a flat tire…

Thankfully, the people of Morocco are some of the most friendly and supportive that we have come across in all our travels. Another man stopped and we all helped change the tire together like a stranded desert pit crew.

Our flat tire dilemma

After changing our tire, we were back on the road again. We only made one stop of snacks and Mohammad had some tea while we stopped. The entire rest of the day was spent driving as Erg Chigaga is quite a ways from Marrakech.

We arrived in Marrakech in the late evening and our riad wasn’t quite yet ready so we had Mohammad drop us off at a cafe where we tried camel burgers which were interesting.

After we finished our dinner, we got all checked into our private riad. I kind of went all out on this place when I booked it intentionally. It was incredibly fancy and way overkill compared to the places Leah and I usually stay. This place could easily sleep 10+ people and was by far the most lavish Airbnb we had ever booked. I had this riad booked for the entire rest of our stay in Morocco and there were more bedrooms than we had nights in it 😆.

The riad had a terrace on the ground floor in the center that looked up at all the rooms above. The terrace also had a small pool and was surrounded by flowers and different plants. The main staircase in the riad went all the way up to the different floors and the roof which had a day bed with curtains, and seating area for about 20 people looking out over Marrakech. It was way overkill but quite wonderful.

The view from the rooftop terrace of our riad

Marrakech

Thursday 2/23

The private riad we were staying in is owned by a French couple and they have a dedicated person who lives nearby to prepare breakfast for the guest everyday. We woke up to the smell of coffee downstairs so we went down to the terrace floor to enjoy some wonderful pancakes, jams, bread, honey, tea, orange juice, eggs, fresh fruit, and coffee. It was a delightful breakfast to start our day!

The amazing breakfast spread

Right after breakfast we set off to a Moroccan cooking class that I had booked long in advance. We met outside a pharmacy next to the old palace in Marrakech and walked to a local produce stand to pick out fresh vegetables. The group all had baskets and we collected food for 18 people. It only cost 65 MAD or $6.5 USD for all the vegetables which was incredibly cheap. The vendor used several stones with numbers on them to price the produce by weight. For the smaller vegetables he used a spark plug to weigh them.

Leah picking out some veggies

After we obtained our vegetables, we went to the butcher to get a live chicken which wasn’t “alive” for very long after we picked it out. It was kind of sad but perhaps it was a more sustainable way to get chicken compared to industrial farming back in the US.

We walked to the home/kitchen where we would be cooking with our host and it was a lovely riad style home with lots of Moroccan tiles. We started out learning how to make proper Moroccan mint tea and then we started preparing our food!

Preparing our food

We cooked several dishes:

• Chicken tajine
• Lamb tajine
• Kefta balls
• Tomato salad
• Eggplant salad

The chicken tajine was more on the savory side and had so much flavor. The lamb tajine was sweeter and had figs but was equally delicious. Oddly, one of our favorites was the Kefta meatballs even though it was just an appetizer.

We will absolutely be cooking tajine when we are back home because it was really easy to make and was incredibly flavorful.

The food we made at the cooking class was the best food we had in Morocco so far and was totally worth it!

After our cooking class, we checked out the Badi Palace as it was just around the corner. We didn’t spend too long here as all the signs were in either Arabic or French but it still had some beautiful tiles and Islamic architecture.

I decided on this day that my new favorite style of architecture was the Islamic style in Morocco. This style is so very intricate, detailed, and colorful. For a long time my favorite style was renaissance but the designs in Morocco certainly have that beat now. A lot of Islamic architecture follows a common (and beautiful) design pattern for doorways. First, you have colorful tile patterns on the floor which extend onto the doorway. From there, you have finely detailed plaster carvings which extend upwards. Finally, the top of the doorway is designed with intricately carved cedar. It is truly art 🎨.

After checking out the Badi Palace, we began our journey into the medina of Marrakech.

A medina is a historical district in a number of North African cities, often corresponding to an old walled city. The medina in Marrakech is full of vibrant shops where you can buy rugs, leather goods, spices, and almost anything else you can imagine.

The medina was actually quite chaotic and I only managed to get a few photos when there was enough space to raise my camera up without being plowed over by a scooter.

The streets of the medina (with a break in the crowd)

One of the many shops containing tons of lamps

After wandering the streets of the medina for a while, we wanted a break from the crowds. We popped into Le Jardin Secret which is a “not so secret” garden in the middle of the medina. It had two sections; one full of exotic plants, and another full of local plants.

A fountain in the center of the “secret garden”

Leah next to some pretty green doors in the “secret garden”

After hanging out in the garden for a bit, we decided to walk back as we were getting quite hungry. On our walk, we passed a KFC and thought “why not” and picked up some chicken to snack on in our riad.

Friday 2/24

Long before we left for this trip, I had planned to propose to Leah and really wanted some couple photos of the two of us after I asked the big question. I found a local photographer online and booked him way in advance to get our photos taken. Leah and I take pictures of each other all the time but really struggle with taking our own “couples photos” so I figured it would be a good idea to have someone with more experience take charge.

We got up before the sun was up and met our photographer Lyes (a local to Marrakech originally from Fez) at the Koutoubia Mosque for our sunrise couples photos. It was raining which we learned is rather rare for Marrakech. This didn’t stop us though from getting some stunning photos.

G+L in front of a red Moroccan door

G+L on a quiet street in the medina

G+L in a very narrow street

Grant by the large red door

G+L in front of the Koutoubia Mosque doing a spin

Lyes was incredibly nice and a very talented photographer. After our session, we went back to our Airbnb to get changed into dry clothes, put jackets on, and head back into the medina for further exploring.

A street vendor selling various sweets in the Marrakech medina

One of the few fully outdoor (and open) sections of the medina

An outdoor rug shop

One of the many streets of the medina

So many bags of colorful things and spices

In contrast to color, an honest photo of what a closed down medina street looks like

Another shops selling lamps

After checking out even more of the many winding streets of the medina, we hopped in a taxi to head over to our scheduled pottery class that day.

Leah and I each made a few pieces of pottery and decorated them. We tried out using a potters wheel and failed miserably 😂. It was quite fun and always interesting to try a new activity, especially when in a new place.

We learned that all the clay and materials from the class came from the souks (shops) in the medina. If you live in Marrakech, you could buy nearly everything you need in the medina. Whether you need toilet paper, clay, food, light bulbs, or fine art, its all in the medina. In fact, Leah and I have yet to come across a grocery store, or any chain store for that matter. Its all locally owned shops filled floor to ceiling with various products.

Leah on the potter’s wheel

After our pottery class, we grabbed a taxi to head back into the medina to try a really nice restaurant that our photographer from the morning suggested called Dar Cherifa. It is one of the oldest well preserved homes in Marrakech from the 16th century that has now been turned into a cafe and art gallery. We split some delicious lemon chicken tajine and enjoyed the space we were in while we ate. It was honestly one of the best indoor spaces for a restaurant I have ever seen and there was only about 8 people in the whole restaurant.

The view from our table at Dar Cherifa

Dar Cherifa was really close to one of the few rooftop bars in Marrakech that actually serves alcohol so we decided to check it out for a drink.

It should be noted that 91% of Moroccan men and 97% of Moroccan women report that they do not drink alcohol at all. This is due to religious reasons in Islam stating that one should not cause harm to the body. Given this, the bartenders likely have no idea what the drink tastes like that they are mixing.

The drinks that Leah and I got from the rooftop bar were brutal. I have had drinks made by my friends who were intentionally trying to get me hammered be more tame. My drink actually made me cough it was so strong. Without exaggerating, our drinks must of had at least 5 shots in each (Gin & Tonic + Daiquiri).

After slowly drinking (and coughing) our strong beverages, we walked back to our riad. There was a few young boys playing soccer (football) in front of our door so I joined them for a bit and then we gave them some cookies. It was another wonderful day in Marrakech and we were already starting to dread our flight back to London in a few days as we really didn’t want to leave Morocco.

Saturday 2/25

Saturday was our last full day in Morocco before our flight back to London. When planning this trip, I wanted our last day to be a relaxing one and spoil ourselves a bit. I booked a traditional Hammam and Massage day for Leah and I. Before we left for the trip, I did a bunch of research to try and find the best hammam spa in Marrakech and boy did the place I book meet that criteria!

The spa was located just on the edge of the medina in Marrakech tucked into a side street.

The entrance to Les Bains d’Orient spa

For about $150 USD per person, we got a full 3 hour spa treatment that was one of the most spoiled things we have ever done. The spa day started with a hammam black soap scrub in a 55C steam room. At the end of the hammam they lathered us in argan oil which was delightful. After the hammam, they gave us cups of tea with cookies before we began on massage. The massage was different from a sport massage and was more on the Swedish or relaxing side I would say. It was equally incredible and must have been at least 1.5 hours (I might have fallen asleep so hard to tell the time). After our massages, they setup copper bathtubs on the roof that were full of rose milk and rose pedals. I made myself a crown/helmet out of soap bubbles and Leah was laughing so hard at me she was crying. The staff saw me and laughed equally as hard.

After seriously spoiling ourselves, we strolled around the medina and got coffee to wake ourselves back up.

Our next stop was the Ibn Youssef School to marvel at some more Islamic architecture.

Windows looking into the courtyard of the Ibn Youssef school

The courtyard captured from one of the windows

Floor tiling inside of the school

The view through a skylight in the school

The colorful streets of the medina just after exiting the Ibn Youssef school

After checking out the Ibn Youssef school, we went for a bite to eat at a nearby rooftop cafe called Nomad. This spot was suggested to us because of the really tasty food, and it was quite good.

Leah admiring the rooftop view

I got some delicious tajine with braised beef and Leah got a very flavorful lamb burger.

The view from the rooftop looking down into the medina

After lunch, we set off on a mission. Leah really wanted a Moroccan rug. However, there was no way that we were going to have room to bring back and entire rug so instead we settled on a pillow case.

Back to the streets of the medina to find some Moroccan pillow cases

After getting lost a few times, we managed to find a large shop selling rugs that would also convert rugs into pillow cases! We managed to buy two for $15 USD which was a pretty good deal.

A stack of pillowcases we looked through for the perfect one

After our pillow case success, we headed back to enjoy the afternoon from the roof of our riad as the sun was out and it was quite lovely.

Leah once again did the classic “read a book” move which promptly lead to her falling asleep on the roof. I hung out next to her and edited photos while she cat napped in the sun.

The view from our riad’s roof

We had a pretty late lunch that was quite heavy and really weren’t feeling another meal for dinner. I set off to a nearby corner store and we had paprika Pringles for dinner and watched Netflix. It was a cozy and relaxing night in which was our first in Morocco but it felt well deserved after a busy and exciting week of travels.

Sunday 2/26

Sunday was the day of our flight back to London. We awoke to the smell of coffee downstairs and really didn’t want to get out of bed because that meant it was time to leave. We enjoyed one last nice Moroccan breakfast of fresh juice, jam, coffee, mint tea, and pancakes before waving goodbye to Morocco from our taxi.

Conclusion

The start of our trip in Morocco was a rough one. Casablanca was really not grooving with us and at the start of the trip we were really second guessing if this trip was a giant mistake. However, that turned around for us so quickly when we went to the High Atlas mountains, the Sahara, and Marrakech. The days that followed Casablanca totally changed our perspective on the country of Morocco.

The natural landscapes of the Atlas mountains and the Sahara are something that photos will just never do justice. It was beautiful and was constantly taking our breath away. We were so grateful we had enough time in Morocco to take the time to explore the desert. It was one of the few places where you really do feel like you are on another planet.

We also fell in love with the streets and Islamic architecture of Morocco. The streets of Marrakech are like a vibrant maze of people, scooters, street vendors, and beautiful archways. Everywhere you looked there was some detailed design to admire that was so intricate you could get lost in it just like the streets you were walking on.

The culture and people of Morocco were also something we had never experienced before. Everyone was so kind, friendly, and caring for each other. We never once felt unsafe and really it was quite the opposite from feeling unsafe. We felt as if everyone we met would gladly extend a helping hand to us should we have needed it. People all around us would wave, laugh, and greet each other with smiles. The country of Morocco has a very tightly woven norm of friendship and family. People knew each other from all over and once they became friends, they stayed friends and always said hello when then bumped into each other later on.

The people, landscapes, and memories of Morocco have forever earned a place in our hearts. ❤️ 🇲🇦