Jemaa el Fna Marrakech

After a short break in the riad, we decided to tackle going for dinner in the market. By night many stalls were set up. The host at the riad mentioned No 14 is the best to go to- with fish, popular with the locals.

The day before we were led in circles to arrive at our riad, a shopkeeper guided us quickly the correct way and said we must …

Marrakesh is Magical. The souks and the Djemaa el-Fna with its story tellers , snake charmers, magicians, fruit sellers etc, the atmosphere was hypnotic. And it wan't just in the day time but at night it was also busy with the food stalls and musicians and magicians entertaining the crowds of tourists and locals alike …

After settling into our beautiful riad, we hit the busy streets of Marrakech! So many shops, the colours, the smell of spices... all very exciting. Worked our way down the first of many streets lined with shops of every description.

Had dinner on the edge of Jemaa el Fna square @ Chez Chequior... sat out the front looking over the square …

Wow, where to begin!

Our adventure started in Marrakesh on the 16th April. I arrived with Tasha Smith into the centre of Marrakesh at around 10pm at night. I don't think either of us were that prepared for what we encountered that night, and we especially didn't know how to react. Immediately, as two young British girls (Tasha with blonde …

October 30 to November 2, 2011: Marrakech, Morocco

We departed from Argentina knowing that we were definitely entering a new phase of our trip: leaving the Americas; going to a country where we didn't speak the language; going to a non-Christian country, etcetera. Our flight to Morocco was a marathon slog: from the extreme southern part of …

2 days at marrakech …

This day saw the end of our five day journey with Haj, and the beginning of my stay in Marrakech.

We got up, had breakfast, and departed from our luxurious Kasbah Ouzoud. Our first and only stop would be a mere five minutes down the road - Cascades d'Ouzoud. After a night of raining, the cascades were flowing with a brown, muddy hue. But …

So today I was feeling much better - basically completely over my cold. That did not make it any easier getting out of bed though. With the lack of heating in my room, it makes it extra difficult to get out from under the covers. Although I had set my alarm for 8AM, I did not find my self getting out of bed until 9:30, but hey its vacation - why …

So today I decided that it would be my last day in Marrakech. I took a taxi to the bus station and got reservations for a bus to depart at 10:30 tomorrow morning for Essaouira.

Driving up to the bus station in the taxi, I looked over to the side of the street, to see a familiar face. Gary was walking on the sidewalk away from the bus …

... or “help” you with directions. For some reason they all want to lead you to the main Plaza: Place Jemaa-el-Fna. We actually spent some time chatting with Said, discussing potential day trips to the High Atlas or the Ouzarte Waterfalls. Here ...

... the chaos is enjoyable, when it’s dodging scooters and donkey carts in the narrow streets of the medina, or the way Place Jemaa El Fna assaults every single one of your senses.  But so far the highlights of Marrakech have been chilling in the ...

... it was about 42 degrees and 2 hours in the heat was enough.    For dinner we ventured back to the Jemaa El Fna square, we had Chicken and Couscous, Mixed meat skewers and Moroccan soup followed by shopping.  I got two pairs of leather ...

... in the sun. We spent four nights in Marrakech and could have a used a one or two more. We spent a lot time exploring Jemaa el Fna (the main square), the souks (a maze of small shops near the square), Palais el Badii, some ancient tombs, and local cafes ...

... see the interior because it's closed on Fridays, the day we arrive.    Time for dinner - back to Place Jemaa El Fna, but this time we wandered down one of the busy pedestrian streets that radiate outwards from it.  Nothing seemed to jump ...

... in the morning and try to sort out what I could. For dinner, we went back to the Medina to find Place Jemaa el-Fna transformed. Against a backdrop of a spectacular sunset, the food vendors set up their stalls, the fortune-tellers, snake-charmers, ...

... visited Palais Bahia which had some really lavishly decorated rooms and lovely courtyards. In need of a cold beer we headed to Jemaa El Fna square at sunset where it seem the whole of Marrakech was hanging out on a Saturday evening. Tim got distracted by ...

... end up having a late dinner, and most restaurants were already closed, except for the vendor stalls in the middle of Place Jemaa El Fna, the medina’s main square.  It was a little chaotic, but a lot less bustling than I expected it to be ...

Arriving after sunset in the imperial city of Marrakech offered an interesting spectacle walking through the main square, D'jemaa el-fna, where all life in the medina seems to focus around is ram packed full of the smell of every possible spice and food ...

... Palace.  Following our tour, we had the afternoon free to enjoy the square and souks of the medina.   Jemaa el Fna, the main square of Marrakesh, is a highly animated square situated in the medina.  Here you will find street ...