After two very relaxing days in Essaouira, we hopped on a Supratours bus headed back to Marrakech. I was excited to finally see the city I’d read about and seen on TV, and heard about from friends who had toured Morocco - the evening food vendors and entertainment of the Djemaa el Fna square, shopping in the many souks, our upcoming cooking class, and best of all, the chance to reunite with our Marakchi sisters, Yasmine and Nesrine.
Much like Fez, Marrakech’s medina is a maze of narrow alleys, only here, pedestrians share the road with scooters and motorcycles, cars, horse-drawn carriages, donkey-drawn carts, and bicycles. We found a lot of alleys (”derbs”) without signage, and therefore all maps are quite vague. The alleys with countless souks selling the same goods made it difficult to identify landmarks that could possibly help us find our way through the labyrinth.
Spice market
Spices and bath products
We managed to navigate our way to the Djemaa el Fna square just as the food vendors were setting up. Just as with the souks, there are multiple vendors selling the same product out in the square. This is one of about six guys selling snails in a spicy broth (I didn’t try it, I saw a lot of this on TV!).
Stewed sheeps heads
Walking up and down the stalls was fascinating, but watching the scene and the throngs of people from a rooftop cafe was equally entertaining.
After multiple failed attempts to find restaurants listed in my guidebook (some were closed, and some we just couldn’t find), we made our way back to our riad, hoping we’d be able to have dinner there. Unfortunately you must make early reservations so the chef can buy and prepare enough food. Fortunately the lovely folks at the desk and in the kitchen felt sorry for us and threw together these basic but delicious kefta (meatball) sandwiches for us.
After a rough day of travel (me and buses don’t always mix), a sketchy search for restaurants (confusing and dark alleys with questionable characters offering assistance) and a challenging walk from the square back to the riad (and being harassed and cursed at by a very persistent boy offering to help us find our way), we finally felt some reprieve, and that we might actually enjoy our time in this crazy city.