Marrakech-First experience

Tara Larkai
Aug 5, 2015
5 min read

Luckily for us, the interior of the Ryad was completely different from the outside. It almost looked like we were in another part of Morocco. I immediately felt at ease and was definitely not complaining anymore. As soon as we entered, we saw a small desk to the left and some steps leading to the rooms in front of us however we were led to their "lobby" / dining area which was to the right of us. There was a small water fountain thingy in the middle that separated the "lobby" from the dinning area. The dining area had a couple large tables with some banquettes and chairs. The area was also decorated with some plants and simple decor. It was very understated yet nice. It had a beautiful skylight that made you feel like you were outside.

So since check-in wasn't until the afternoon and we were hungry, we decided to order some breakfast from their kitchen. The kitchen was to the left of the dinning area. You could see halfway through it and it looked like a regular kitchen you find in peoples homes. Funny story, before ordering breakfast, we asked our madam (we gave her that nickname because she dressed like a madam...intricate makeup, tight pants, shirt and does not cover up even though she is Muslim) what they had and her response was "whatever you like!". We looked at each other like, "seriously? ". So we asked again to give us an example of the kinds of food they serve. And again she said "Whatever you like we can make for you". It reminded us of the first wedding scene in "coming to America". It was hilarious but we sure did order whatever we liked. The food was delicious. We ordered omelets which were accompanied by some delicious pastries.

We soon came to learn that pastries were accompanied with all breakfasts and were the highlight of each meal. The food was amazeballs! All of it was! We met a British/middle eastern family in the lobby while eating who offered to walk us into the medina after we were finished eating. We graciously accepted because there was no way we were going to be able to navigate ourselves thru those alleyways.

After taking our bags in the rooms and freshening up, we headed downstairs to follow these people into town. The lady who offered their help was very talkative and talked the entire way. It was about a 10 to 15 minute walk into town from the Ryad. I took the pictures below to help us find our way back to the Ryad. Chloe and Kofo thought I was crazy for doing that but it ended up helping us get back.

The Medina is packed with vendors selling all kinds of goods such as leather products, argan oil, jewelry, clothing, silver etc. And they are so aggressive for buyers that they engage in cat calling and yelling out phrases like "Rasta!" , "my African sister!"Senegal! " etc. It got annoying very quickly. Although certain parts of the alleys smelled, they didn't look unkempt. You can tell they put in an actual effort to ensure it is clean at all times.

We parted ways with our new friends at one of the vendors and ended up making an impromptu purchases of clutches that seemed like a great price at that time but we later found out we had paid 3x more the normal price. I was highly upset!!

During our stroll in the Medina, we stumbled upon a tour company and booked a tour to the Atlas mountains for the next day after my very famous negotiation skills. Bargaining is very important in Morocco because as soon as these people hear your accent, they immediately think you are loaded so they quote you double or sometimes triple the price. He couldn't do that to us because we were still upset about spending too much for the clutches. lol

Chloe and Kofo wanted tattoos so we went to a local henna cafe recommended by someone on the street. The henna place is actually a restaurant so you get tattooed by this elderly woman while eating. It is a nice little place and very crowded. I am not sure if it is always this crowded but at the time we were there, it was very crowded so we were asked to sit downstairs for the place to free up before going up. We were also told that the restaurant is family owned and part of the proceeds go to a local school. A very neat idea.

The henna lady is a great multi-tasker. She was on the phone while tattooing. lol

After this, we were exhausted. We had not slept due to the early morning flight and headed right out into town after checking into the Ryad, it was time for a power nap. We headed back to the ryad to rest up for the night. Upon return, we really checked out our room. Our room was a standard size room. It had a king size bed and a twin for the 3 of us. The decor was very majestic with deep purples, reds and golds. It was nice but the lighting wasn't too great. There was a bathroom attached to the room which was good size with a stand in shower, toilet and sink. It was all red brick. There was no shower curtain and the inside of the shower looked discolored as if it was an outside shower. It actually reminded me of an outside shower in Ghana although it looked better. The bathroom had the essential stuff, towel, QP, cotton swabs, tissue etc. It was basic and that is all we needed at that time although we expected more with the price we were paying.

We headed out to the infamous Jemma El-Fna for the night market after resting up. The picture below shows me wearing a jacket and you are probably wondering why in hot Africa, right? Well we were deceived! We had been looking forward to Morocco on this tour because it was soo cold in Europe but the weather disappointed. When we arrived in the daytime, the weather was nice and we thought it would stay that way but it quickly changed on us as the sun went down. Anywho, this was byfar the liveliest night market I have ever been to. There were so many vendors selling all kinds of things like clothing, argan oil, lanterns, shows, leather, food, spices, you name it and they had it!

We made some friends. The men were very aggressive and would try getting our attention through yelling out funny phrases and names. If you end up here, you should be prepared to be harassed the whole time by people. They dont stop until you buy.

There was a large crowd gathered in the center of Jemaa El-Fna singing, dancing, performing tricks, games etc. Some of these performers have their little children out there hustling tourists for money. I mean it is insane. We got cussed out by a 5 year old because we refused to give him money. There was so much to do that I was overwhelmed. We definitely enjoyed it.

We made us new friends at one of the food vendors and were talked into getting some food. The food was okay. I usually like street food but this was not a hit.

These guys were soo funny. I mean their jokes were endless and they could switch in and out of the British and American accent like they have lived there. It was very entertaining. They asked us to come back to their kiosk the next day. lol

It was a great first day in Marrakech. Tomorrow is our adventure to the Atlas mountain. Stay tuned.

#NorthAfrica #Morocco