A love letter to Marrakech

We’re back with the second and final post about my weekend trip to Morocco! Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Madrasa Ben Youssef

I started off the day by visiting the oldest university in the world: Madrasa Ben Youssef. I went right at 9 am to avoid the crowds, and I’m glad I did because there were tons of people pouring in by 9:30. The university is beautiful, with a huge courtyard and a bunch of small rooms where students used to live. The details in the tile floors, the engravings on the walls, and the woodwork are so elegant — I would have loved to go to college there!

Ali told me that Ben Youssef’s father (Youssef) was the one who built the walls around Marrakech. He explained that “Ben” means “son”, so Ben Youssef is just Youssef’s son. Anyway, I thought that both the university and the city walls were some of the most stunning architectural features of Marrakech.

Breakfast at Moroccan Teahouse 1112

There were many restaurants that I had saved on Google Maps as places I wanted to visit, and Moroccan Teahouse 1112 was one of them. It was right next to Madrasa Ben Youssef, so I decided to go for breakfast. It was absolutely beautiful, and the food was amazing. I sat on the main floor in the luscious courtyard, where there were lemon trees with rays of sunshine peaking through the leaves. I ordered a combo of mint tea and a chickpea-based dish.

When I went to leave, the hostess said, “if you have time, you should go to the rooftop for some photos!”

I walked up to the rooftop, and I’m so glad that I did. Nobody was sitting up there yet, but the view was amazing. If I had more time, I could have spent hours sitting up there! Instead, I took a few minutes to soak in the view and then raced off to my next adventure.

Shopping in the souks

Next, I did some shopping in the souks. I went to a place called Maison des Babouches, which I saw was popular on social media. They had a variety of leather bags and shoes available. There were a couple of pursues that I especially loved, so I started haggling with the owner. I’m still not very good at this and find it to be quite uncomfortable, but I managed to pay < 70% of the asking price. He also convinced me to get a pair of yellow slippers in the deal. Success!

Rather than letting me continue on with my day, he brought me to his friend’s shop next door which sells Berber kilin rugs. They are hand-woven by the Berber women who live in the mountainous villages of Morocco. One single rug takes about four months to make! He showed me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if my mom would want a rug since she loves them so much. I told him that I would perhaps come back later.

I did 😊 It was a lot of fun. My mom and I were texting back and forth about which rugs we like the best.

I left with a hefty package of rugs, and the owner insisted on a young boy (teenager maybe?) carrying it all the way back to my hostel for me. Like I mentioned in my last post, Google Maps doesn’t work very well in the Medina, so the 5 minute walk ended up taking more like 10 minutes. The poor kid! When we were two minutes away, I said “almost there”. He replied with a sigh of relief.

I looked at the clock. It was 1:20 pm, and I was supposed to be to Jardin Majorelle by 1:30 at the latest. The walk was 30 minutes away. I was so worried! I had booked the ticket last-minute the day before because Ali said that it’s one of the best places in Marrakech. The only ticket I could find was for 1 pm and included tickets to the Berber Museum and the Yves Saint Laurent museum. I was going to be quite disappointed if I didn’t get into the museums!

I practically ran out the door of the hostel, but of course I had no idea which way I was going. Some random guy stopped me and asked where I was going. I said “jardin majorelle! I am supposed to be there in 10 minutes”

He pointed down the street and said, “go that way. If I can find a motorcycle, I will find you”.

He never did find me, but the fact that he offered was so kind and definitely made my day.

Jardin Majorelle

Despite being very late, I am glad that I didn’t miss out on the 30 minute walk to Jardin Majorelle. On the way, I passed through different souks that I had not yet been to. At one point, I looked up and saw… a donkey?! I had to do a double take. What was a donkey doing in the souks?! Turns out, it’s common to see donkeys carrying loaded carts (I saw several more that day). I don’t know what’s more surprising, seeing a donkey in the souks or seeing a man holding a bunch of dead chickens? You decide.

I arrived at Jardin Majorelle about an hour late. I was so nervous that they wouldn’t let me in! When I reached the front, I said “salam alaikum, I’m sorry I am so late”. And the guy let me in! Woohooooo!

I am so glad that I didn’t miss seeing the gardens because they were so beautiful. It was like stepping into another world! There were palm trees, flowers, cacti, aloe plants, koi ponds, and more. I took my time roaming around and enjoying the calming atmosphere (quite opposite to the souks).

At one point, I stopped by a small pond and spotted several frogs and turtles sun bathing along the edges! There was one tiny turtle —maybe the size of a nickel— that walked from the pond to a nearby tree. So cute!

After Jardin Majorelle, I briefly went through the Berber Museum and the YSL museum. I enjoyed seeing the tools and clothes that the Berbers used, but it was difficult to read anything because it was all in French. I could have used my phone to translate, but there were no photos allowed and I didn’t want to risk getting scolded 😆

The YSL museum included a bunch of designs and clothing by Yves Saint Laurent. I learned that he designed outfits for many singers, dancers, actors, etc. I think they were also a lot of famous people, too, but I don’t recognize their names (I rarely know who famous people are lol).

At about 4:30 pm, I started the walk back to the Medina.

Tea Time

After roaming around aimlessly for a while, I finally stumbled upon Ali’s lamp store. He was sitting inside, and when he saw me, he jumped out of his chair. He asked me about my day and immediately invited me inside for mint tea. When he left to go find another chair, he said “big boss, this is your shop”. It was so funny! People would walk by, see me sitting inside alone, and do a double take. Imagine what they would have done if I started trying to sell them some lamps 😆

Ali and I hung out in the shop for a while and made loose dinner plans. I was so tired, so I went back to my hostel and took advantage of the pool. It’s very common in Morocco for hotels/hostels to have courtyards with pools. These places are referred to as “riads”. I LOVE the concept of a riad because it’s an easy way to meet people! Even if I had been staying in a single room, I could walk out of my door to the main courtyard and hang out with other people.

After a quick swim and a shower, I went to the rooftop bar for a milkshake. The guy working had asked, “what would you like, Clara?” I must have made a face because he said, “how do I know your name?”

I said, “how do you know my name?!”

He explained that he had been at the desk when I had first checked into the hostel. Oops! I felt bad that I didn’t remember, but I was so exhausted at that time. It’s so sweet that he remembered my name! Ahhh! I can’t get over how kind and welcoming people were to me in Morocco ❤️

Dinner at the local spot

At about 10 pm, Ali picked me up on his motorcycle for dinner. I had been explaining my packing problems to him (I bought too much stuff and didn’t have room for it all), and he insisted that we go to the store to buy a duffle bag. We drove about 30 minutes outside of the city to a market that looked much like the souks. In my mind, I had pictured us going to a mall where I could use my credit card to buy the bag since I had no more cash. He knew that I didn’t have any cash left, but he said “no problem” and bought the bag for me.

From there, we drove a few minutes until he spotted one of his favorite places for kebab. He asked if I wanted to stop, and we agreed that it would be so much better than going to a restaurant again! When he turned the motorcycle off, he asked if I had ever tried intestines before.

Uhhhhhhh

Here I go, exploring new foods!

He could tell that I wasn’t quite enthused about eating only intestines for dinner, so he asked the guy if they had chicken. We ordered half chicken and half intestines, along with some mint tea, of course!

While we were sitting at the table, I could feel people looking at me. Not in a bad way, but just out of curiosity. Ali explained that this is a local place — probably no tourist had ever been here before! It was so special to be able to share a meal at one of his favorite places, away from all of the touristy areas.

After dinner, we hopped back on the motorcycle and did a quick tour of the city. As we drove around, other motorcyclists frequently did double takes and waved at me. I think maybe they don’t usually see blondies on motorcycles hahaha.

Ali made sure to take me to the remaining neighborhoods that I had not yet seen. When we hit the last one, he said, “There! Now, you have seen every part of Marrakech!”

How cool is that?! In just two short days, I managed to see the entire city. Thanks, Ali!!!!

We zipped around the city, shouting, “yallah!” (come on/ let’s go). He taught me how to say “slow down” in Arabic, but I forgot already. The one phrase I do know is “la la la la la” which means “no no no no no”. He heard me say that a few times 😂 I hate to admit this, but I had no helmet on this entire time. Nobody wears helmets, except for when there are police nearby. Then, they take their helmet and place it on their heads without closing the chin strap. Super safe!

We stopped at the mosque one more time, and I took a mental snapshot. It is so beautiful, especially at night! Oh, how I will miss Marrakech.

Warm welcomes & warmer goodbyes

When we arrived back at my hostel, I insisted on saying goodbye to the family of cats that I had befriended. They were looking hungry, so Ali gave them his leftover food.

It was time to go. We gave each other hugs and said, “inshallah, I will see you soon”. (Inshallah means ‘hopefully’). I’m so grateful to have made such a good friend during my short stay in Morocco!

The next morning, I checked out of my room and said goodbye to the staff. There was a man waiting for me to take me out of the Medina where I would meet my taxi. The man loaded all of my luggage into his cart and then pushed it 10 minutes through the narrow streets. Eventually, we arrived at my taxi. He said with a smile, “bon voyage!”. I replied, “shokran” (thank you) and shook his hand.

On our way to the airport, the driver (Abdul) gave me his WhatsApp number and said, “when you come back, bring your family and text me. I will drive you!”. After he dropped me off, he sent a message saying “consider this your second home”. HOW SWEET IS THAT?!

I also received some sweet messages from Ali, one of which said “Morocco is your country”. I really cannot wait to go back. There is so much to experience in Morocco, and I have never felt more welcomed in my life. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but even walking around the streets, people say “you are welcome”, as in “you are welcome here in Morocco”. My heart is so full, and it will forever long for these beautiful people living in this beautiful country 🇲🇦

Until next time,

Clara