Marrakech travel tips

Marrakech is an interesting but nonetheless quiet a difficult city to travel.   Why Marrakech and Morocco? I wanted to go somewhere fairly left-of-centre and to also travel somewhere in Africa and felt that Marrakech would be a good introduction in terms of getting to know this continent. Morocco is not the first country that I have been to when Islam is the predominant religion but my last country was ages ago.

A friend recently travelled throughout Morocco for a month and she kindly let me borrow a guidebook.   This is actually the first time that I have read a guidebook prior to travelling and I definitely recommend going through one.

 Accommodation

I decided to stay in a riad inside the medina but you can choose to stay in the new city which lies outside the medina.  I really enjoyed staying inside the riad and the owners were not only accommodating, but they also  provided some really helpful and useful tips.  One of the owners is an expat from the British Isles so it was great having my early conversations with her.

Haggling

Haggling, bargaining, trying to bring down the price to as close as I can get to non tourist hack ended up being a fun game for me.  Actually, it can be fun but it can also be exhausting.

First ever time haggling was in front of my riad door at 7-8pm

I got terribly lost on my first night.  The thing with being lost is that it can be quiet…an effort trying to perfect the art of not being obviously lost.  On my first night, I was completely and utterly lost (I did arrive at 4pm and was trying to make my way back at 6pm so really only had two hours in the medina?!) and ended up using the ‘services’ of one particular young man who then asked for, after he managed to lead me through a series of random streets and into the riad door…wait for it…several hundred thousand dirhams.  I was expecting to shell out some cash but definitely didn’t expect having my first ever haggling session at 7-8pm on my first night in front of my riad.  That was empty.  Yikes.

I pushed forward various counter-offers and such.  It actually ended up being quiet amusing, from my end anyway, then he tried to lead me to his ‘aunt’s for the best couscous/tajine’ which, by the way is not a good idea to agree to.  So I ended up heading to the local shops to buy some water and juice which he helped me bring back to my riad.

For some reason, the riad door that I was staying in was a bit tricky to open so I (I mean, we, this random guy that’s trying to scam off 6o-20 quid off and I) spent a good 10-15 minutes trying to get in.  He actually helped out, so I shelled out some pounds in my wallet and sent him off.

Tip: Try to find out what the local price is

The good thing about staying in the riad is that the owners were local so gave me the low down of what the local price is.

I ended up getting quiet caught up with the souks in the medina – not just with what is available – but the game involved in haggling.  I also really enjoyed talking to the shopkeepers and shared a spiced mint berber tea (berber whisky) with a few.  Some quick tips:

  • Don’t buy anything in the first 1 or 2 days so that you have an idea of what is available
  • Try to also find the “Morrocan price” so that you are aware of what the potential going rate is for an item.  Some guidebooks, including the one that I had, advice that you calculate the asking price and ask for 1/3 of it, but some shopkeepers will provide an absolutely greedy, rip off price that is probably several times its actual amount.
  • See it as a conversation, rather than merely as a transaction.  One of the main reasons why I enjoyed haggling so much in Marrakech is that it was a good conversation starter and I usually end up purchasing off shopkeepers that I like.  Many of them are actually around my age, so I’m a bit bias and also aware that this money would go towards their education and future plans.  Some shopkeepers are also of a very dodgy, dicey character and if you do come across them, just leave.  Straight away.
  • Haggling is also a game.  I find it quiet interesting as to how, just mere minutes after meeting a stall keeper, you share a connection just in partaking in this game (in a game theory sense).

As much as I go on about haggling, souks and shopping, there is also a not so good side to this and it happened out of Marrakech and at the seaside town of Essaouira.  My bus ticket, and taking the bus is an experience in itself, was 45 dirhams and the bus ticket seller in Essaouira for the way back demanded 60 dirhams.  I stood my ground, give him a 50 dirham note and said that I was paying 45 as to which he gave me change… but one of the fellas working in the station who ‘escorted’ me to the bus was asking for some cash of which I declined.  He even had the nerve to enter the bus after me to ask for money, of which I again, declined.  I found this a bit of an annoyance.

It’s tricky getting lost

Marrakech is a good place to get in lost in… but during the night.  Until I was very familiar with how to get to and from my riad I used the final call to prayer as a signal to start making my way back to the riad.

Some quick tips for when you get lost:

  • Don’t rely on street names as even locals and taxi drivers won’t know.  Look out for landmarks and any particular and ‘unique’ items in landmark shops (ie “the shop that has a lot of huge carpets in front of it means that I need to turn right”).
  • Not all landmarks are particularly helpful or useful at all times of the day.  For example, I used to ask for the Ben Youssef Mosque when trying to get out of the mosques/back to the riad but I found the area particularly tricky to navigate in from the late afternoon when the souks start emptying out.  Going by the exits are also not a good idea (excl the main ones such as Bab Doukkala) as well because of the traffic direction which can certainly leave you not only stuck but also in a very unsafe situation.  After getting lost and by 8pm, I decided to head out of the rampart exits which was not only in a very isolated part of Marrakech but the traffic direction (when I was trying to hail a taxi) was heading out to the regions and out of the medina.  Luckily, had someone who worked as a travel agent in the new city helped me out, but it was definitely a frightening situation — can still remember this man in a djellaba staring out at me from behind…
  • When you head out somewhere, you need to know exactly the steps to take to go back to your accommodation/main tourist place (Place Jemaa el-Fnaa)
  • Use the tactic of heading inside a shop for directions or at least to minimise the risk of going in the wrong direction..

Staying safe in Marrakech

It’s important to know what your limits are in terms of staying safe in Marrakech and to also know when you need to be on your guard and know when you can relax.  That’s the difficulty of solo travel as there were times that I did feel on the edge and it usually involved trying to navigate the medina (see previous heading).  Some quick, extra notes that I took on board during my time in the medina:

  • Be conservative in your clothing, cover your arms/legs, wear for comfort and not style.  One word: sand.
  • I have very long hair and not only that, I stood out.  Or felt that I stood out anyway – I’d lost track of the number of times I’d get approached in one street let alone over the course of one day.  3 or 4 out of 8 nights that I was there, I ended up arranging my scarf so that it would cover my hair and head (usually when I was still getting lost and it was early evening).  From then, I felt more comfortable navigating the medina knowing that I won’t be approached or addressed by anyone.
  • Have some level of awareness in regards to the laws such as speaking about the King, also be aware that women-men relations are completely different to, say, UK or Australia
  • It helps to learn certain phrases of Morrocan Arabic (or Darija) not just as a customary thing but very useful in terms of directions etc.

I am sure that there are other websites detailing safety measures in Marrakech but, take note of these and you will definitely not only have a safe trip, but will also find yourself enriched with the experience…and come home with 80% more luggage from the souks like me!

Post-Marrakech Haul

And speaking of shopping…

  • Four scarves (silk, pashmina, mixed-silk…)
  • Paper cutter made of camel bone
  • Box made of wood and coral, lined with velvet
  • Box made of camel bone, coral, wood, lined with velvet
  • Candle holder of mixed metals, tusk (bone)
  • Pouffe made of camel leather, thick Breber threading
  • Kohl/perfume holder made of mixed metal, glass
  • Purple and brown leather bags (sheep skin, I think)
  • Block of musk (from Pakistan though)
  • Early 20th century print of a photograph taken in the souk
  • Vintage postcards from early 20th century photographs
  • Wooden sculpture
  • Argan oil products
  • Traditional leather drum