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My Diary
by Gail Emms
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Got up ridiculously early to get to Luton and hopefully
catch our flight to Marrakech! There
hadn’t been any more snow so all was back to normal and we left for Morocco and
the sun! It was a bit strange leaving a country that was 1 degree and landing
after just 3 hours in 25 degree heat!
We had booked a hotel in the old medina part of Marrakech
and it was owned by a 2 Michelin star chef. It was a beautiful building – typical Moroccan courthouse and the décor
was exquisite! You really thought you
were in another world! The old part of
Morocco is very Muslim so I had to cover up – pretty hard to do in the heat and
not used to wearing that much in the sun! Ed and I went exploring and it really is an amazing place. There were not that many tourists around and
at times, I was the only female which was quite intimidating!
But that is the custom of the place and I had to except
it and get used to it. There was also a
lot of poverty – lots of beggars and many Moroccans would only help you if you
gave them some money. One little boy hit
me with his stick because I wouldn’t give him any money! It was a shame as the city is beautiful and
exotic, but it seems the Western influence and money will have a bad affect on
the place.
After doing all the tourist sights and a bit of shopping,
Ed and I had dinner at the hotel. The
menu was described as an infusion of French, Moroccan and pure
imagination! Wow! We were definitely looking forward to
that! There were 6 other tables and not
one left any bit of food. It was one of
the best meals I have ever had. We had 4
courses and we couldn’t decide on which one was the best, it was that good!
Saturday 10th February
The morning was spent on the rooftop of our hotel reading
and sunbathing.
It was glorious and as all the buildings of Marrakech are not allowed to be above the height of the mosque, they were all pretty much the same in stature and when you are on the rooftop, you can see all the other rooftops for miles! Then in the background glistening in the sun, past the palm trees were the snow capped Atlas Mountains. Such stunning scenery.
In the afternoon, we booked into a Moroccan
spa for a bit of pampering! We had a
massage, Jacuzzi and I had a facial. It
felt really relaxing and refreshing and set us up for the evening. The place where everyone hangs out is the
main square or Jemaa el Fna. It is
packed in the day with shoppers and acrobats and a few stalls, but it is the
evening that it really comes alive.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, hundreds of stalls appear selling food; drink, clothes etc and the market sellers are all out trying to entice you to sample their goods. Then there are the snake charmers with their cobras, the men with monkeys for you to have a photo with, the magicians and yet more people trying to sell you souvenirs.
I was fascinated by it all, but again I was fully aware that I was one of a few females again and I did feel the stares a bit. While looking at one snake charmer, I was aware that everyone in the group was talking Arabic and looking at me. Then of course they asked me for money, so I just ran away! My schoolgirl French was not inept to be able to communicate properly so I thought it best to leave!