Marrakesh - far from home, beyond imagination
Posted Monday, April 02, 2007, 9:44 PM by Lonely Planet
Lisa Burns' first impression...
From the clouds Marrakesh looks like a monotone Legoland, typically barren and deserted, but on the ground it proved otherwise...
Okay, so I was expecting the pink ochred walls and exotic food, but I wasn't counting on seeing camels a mere ten minutes after arriving. Nor was I ready for alleyways bustling with donkey carts despite only seeming wide enough for a thin Marrakeshi on a bicycle or the faces of locals so chiselled with history you could read words in their wrinkles. My eyes were opened from the moment the plane touched down. Here, ancient meets slightly less ancient, but with sky TV thrown into the mix (satellite dishes dot the Marrakechi skyline).
Our Riad, hidden to the average tourist, is a little haven of unexpected luxury - so much so my jaw dropped. After walking past (vegetarians be warned) skinned cows and hearing the final clucks of chickens on 'meat street' our Riad proves to be paradise in a box.
Our night at the Djemaa el-fna, a marketplace in the centre of Marrakesh bustling with street acts, food stalls and people warrants one word - wow! So alive, so filled with character and activity and so far from home. My camera came out a few times, the first snap halting a boxing match and turning the crowd silent so the referee could hunt me down to collect my payment. Lesson learnt: carry change when taking photos, they will want money.
I'm quite a fussy eater, so when it was suggested we dine at a food stall in the centre of the Djemaa el-fna my stomach got a little queasy. We were beckoned into a stall with the promise of 'bloody great' food and... that's exactly what we got, and more... smoke filled the air under the overcrowded tents where locals were grabbing a feed. The result was more atmosphere than... well more atmosphere than I've ever experienced.
Marrakesh is so far beyond my imagination I feel like I'm in a film - somewhere between the likes of Star Wars and Aladdin. Lets see how much farther it can get from my imagination tomorrow...
Labels: Africa, Bluelist Winners 2007
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4 Comments:
Hi,sounds like you are all having a great time. Great photos and also I`ve heard snail soup is good there, give it a try it might fix your Queezy stomach ha ha I am definitely putting Marrakesh on my holiday list!!
Please travel forever and write your experiences, you take me with you, it brings back so many memories and I'm heartened to know that the world as I discovered hasn't changed that much. I'm loving it.
Wait, you're a fussy eater...after all that dirty vindella and street food in Hong Kong? Who'd a thought?
-Tall Mike
After eating all that street food in HK and vindala(sp?) in Chengking mansion, you're still queasy about sketchy food? Who'da thought?
-Tall Mike
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