"Marrakesh - History, Exotic & Friendly " a Marrakesh Travel Page by Mikebb

Our second day in Morocco and up early for the 330 km (206 miles) road trip Rabat to Marrakesh via Casablanca. To our surprise we woke up to heavy rain, something we did not expect mid September and it continued for a few hours.

We travelled down the Atlantic Coast to Casablanca where we stopped for a few hours and visited the Hassan II Mosque.

Resuming our road trip we moved away from the coast and travelled through rural Morocco. This section of the trip surprised me as I had not expected to see vast tracts of rich farmlands, many of the farms using modern farming techniques and the produce on display in small villages looked excellent quality. The Atlantic Plains district must be a Moroccan Foodbowl.

The roadtrip gave us the opportunity to view and photo many interesting aspects of the Moroccan countryside including village life and food during the several breaks we had during the trip. Arrival at our Marrakech hotel was 6pm, a little tired but pleased with our day.

Our 2 night stay in Marrakeck was something special and gave as us good overall insight to the city. The use of local guides was essential to get the most out of our limited time and enabled us to see many of the major attractions. In some instances it was only a 2 hour glimpse of the Medina and its attractions. Enought to give us more than an impression, however you could spend a week in the Medina and still need another month.

There is so much history in Marrakech, so many old and beautiful buildings, crafts etc to see I recommend you do your research before arrival. A local guide is a good investment, use the local taxis as they are cheap by western standards and time saved from walking and waiting for buses will give you more time to explore.

Our time in Marrakech was during Ramadan, a religious period of fasting, which had an effect on the availability of some services within the city as many Moroccans observe the religious traditions of fasting and prayer from sunrise to sunset. An example being our visit to Jemaa el Fna square around lunchtime to find it nearly vacant. Normally it would be busy with a carnival of local life.

Entertainment abounds in Marrakeck, a visit to Jemaa El Fna in the evening will certainly amaze you. Bring some Dhiram with you as you will be expected to tip for each photo you take. For more upmarket entertainment we went to the Chez Ali Moraccan Fantasia dinner and show, 100% entertainment.