Place to Visit: Marrakech

Sights and Sands from Marrakech

The Maghreb region announces itself with the expression of vast overspread of high dunes. I had fancied the premonition of an ocular sandy treat even before our plane touched down in Casablanca. Marrakech, my destination is 246km from Casablanca, about three-quarters of an hour from a changed plane. The knowledge of my destination is not furnished unlike that of Rabat the capital and Casablanca. Marrakech is the third largest in that order. Deductively, in the classical fashion of Sherlock Holmes, I could tell that majority of foreigners like myself in the busy Menara International Airport chose Morocco as a holiday spot concluding from their casual outfits and luggage. A handful seemed to be in town for the same reason I am present. By taxi the airport is about 5km from the city, which is about 15-20 minutes ride by the “petit taxi”. A chauffeur’s squall at me in French is met by a head shake. Anglais anglais I wailed, hoping he understands a good deal of English. ‘Ok’ he retorts. ‘Come in’. ‘Your first time here?’ I paused for a while, tempted to be affirmative but I fear the first-timer’s curse as I held my trust from the kangol-capped diminutive chauffeur. I was sharp with a negative response. He should not overcharge me now. I retained a firm gaze on the traveller’s guide I picked up at the airport.  Marrakech, by observatory description, is an exciting ancient city, a fascinating repository of Berber and northern African antiquities.  This historical district of the city, characterized with numerous intertwining narrow passages and local shops is called Medina. With a recent history of political instability and violence, the street walls stand tall, in fading graffitis, to remind amnesia-ridden craniums of the extinguished lives in the 2011 Arab Spring revolutionary wind that swept the sub region.

I handed him Dh80 (around $8) from the currency I changed a while ago at the airport. *La Palmeraie *appears to be one of the nicest hotel in Gueliz, the other part of Marrakech. Lagos and a very few number of cities beat this part of Marrakech as the busiest on the continent. It plays host to modern restaurants, fast food chains, big brand stores and hotels. Gueliz prides also in the fact that it hosts many properties owned by French celebrities. Cost of living in Marrakech tends to rise for tourists especially for those less interested in haggling but generally it is relatively low compared with other commercial cities in the Maghreb like Rabat, Tunis and Casablanca.

From my room in the *La Palmeraie *I could see the handsome minaret of the Koutoubia mosque well lit in astonishing glory. It is certainly a view I should adorn tomorrow. I am bided to travel back tomorrow. The thought coincides with the twitching of my nerves. Than a shark wants blood I want sleep.

The muezzin’s cogent call woke me on my last day at Marrakech. Stretching, I hope my destined short-lived sojourn worth it when I set off later today after the rendezvous. At the time of the morning the hotel’s food service cannot be engaged. Eating out should be thrilling. Café DuLivre is close to the La Palmeraie at Rue Tariq Bin Ziad, just off Rue Zaraya. Thank the stars it is not French but an English speakers’ oasis. Just before my ingress, three young Arab men, in different uniforms, forcefully approached, greeting me. They must be from the outlets around here. This is the food hub of the city. I could tell these aggressive boys were employed to sway hungry strangers to their restaurant. I did not allow any of them start persuasion before I hurried into *Café DuLivre. *Exactly what I wanted, an hip café with free Wi-Fi, full bar and designer flavors of tea and coffee. It has an English library where you can read or make purchases. The sublime Norah Jones croons *Don’t Know Why *in the background while I take great mirth in my tujine and rotisserie chicken bites with my lips blessing every sip of the morning’s exotic coffee.

Marrakesh is a vital component of the weak Moroccan economy. No wonder King Mohammed VI vows to attract over two million tourists annually by 2020 doubling the number of tourists from 2012.  The Koutoubia Mosque, the only magnificent site I get to see before I go, is to Marrakech as the Eiffel tower is to Paris. It is not just a spiritual center but a point reference for international architecture.  I could not enter because I am not a Muslim.

As I saw my rendezvous through and approached the airport I thought over Marrakech. It is a city bustling with culture and energy with politically conscious dwellers. I sure owe the Land of God a proper visit.