I Refuse to Call This Chapter Marrakesh Express

Mechoui Alley--Street Food Doesn't Get Much Better

I must be getting really old.  No one offered to sell me me drugs or women on the Jemaa El Fna (The Square) in Marrakesh.  However, everything else imaginable was offered again and again.  No thank you, I don't need a guide, glass of orange juice, kebob, a look into your shop, taxi, horse carriage ride or flexible wooden snake from China.  The bombardment was relentless around The Square, which might be the most overrated tourist spot in the world.  Yes, you can see snake charmers, tumblers, monkeys on meter long chains (Ugh! That's just damned cruel), boxing matches between frightened looking teens and oddities such as a fat David Crosby lookalike who chugs tea from a steaming kettle and blows the steam out of his nostrils.  Problem is you fight huge crowds and then have to listen to 20 minutes of build up (aka solicitations for $$) before you get a minute of action.  Imagine going to the circus for three hours and seeing 10 minutes of acts.  I gave it all a second and third chance before concluding this was one huge waste of time.  Save your money and just go to the Oregon Country Fair, a Jim Rose show or just watch Jackass on TV.

On top of constantly fighting massive crowds in the small lanes through the souks, one had to be aware of bicyclists and motorcyclists racing through the fray (sometimes at breakneck speed). Imagine going to Macy's in Manhattan the day after Thanksgiving and having motorcyclists zoom through the store.  Suzee got clipped twice by cycles and we saw another lady take a hard hit.  Despite the signs here and there restricting bicycles and motorcycles, neither riders nor police seemed to care.

You might be asking, "Was there anything redeeming about Marrakesh?".  The level of excitement in the souks was interesting for a short while (though we'd already experienced a mini-version in Fez).  Unlike India, the vendors/touts don't follow you around and are happy to move onto the next tourist.  Our riad (guesthouse/B&B) was exceptional.  Mechoui Alley presented the best street food I've eaten on the six week trip; the alley consists of half a dozen lamb vendors who spit roast whole lambs for roughly 12 hours in pits under the stalls.  The pits are covered with unvented manhole covers, so you're literally eating on top of the "kitchen".  The lamb is sold in 1/4 kilo increments and costs around $18 per kilo.  It's served Texas BBQ style on wax paper and you eat with your hands (make that hand....no, make that RIGHT hand).  The price includes bread, mint tea and a fabulous cumin salt to sprinkle on the lamb.  Quite fatty (ever try lamb cracklin'?) and I'll probably lose a week off my life, but I'll forever dream about that lamb.  Bourdain visited Lamb Alley some years back.

High Atlas Mountains West of Marrakesh

In general, I thought the food was tastier in Marrakesh and the Photography Museum was a highlight.  It consisted of many photos of Morocco and it's inhabitants from the 1870s to the 1920s.  What was quite remarkable was how much things have stayed the same here on many levels ranging from dress to cultivation techniques to architecture within the old souks.

Overall impressions of Morocco:  I enjoyed my visit, but have no desire to go back.  Were I to go back, I'd surely choose areas East of the High Atlas and South of Marrakesh.  I'd avoid the cities simply because I do not like being hassled nearly every step.  I understand the poverty and desperation that drives individuals to make money in any way they can, but I choose not to be a part of the system while hoping the government has some ideas regarding how to put a largely unemployed job force to work.  While I never felt unsafe in Morocco, I did sense some resentment from those not in the tourist industry.  Even an Easyjet flight and a $20/day rental car must seem like a small fortune to an underemployed Moroccan.

If I have one suggestion for the powers in Morocco, it's to get the motorcycles out of the medina in Marrakesh. or at least force riders to walk their cycles through the souks.  Dealing with those cycles made for a very unpleasant experience for this tourist.  If I have one suggestion for tourists, it's to visit Mechoui alley for the best lamb ever, then head for the canyons and the desert.

As a final note, we wrapped up our trip with a full day in Seville while positioning ourselves for the flight home.  Our day in Seville represented one of my best tourism days EVER.  We spent hours in the 3rd largest cathedral in the world (and home of the tomb of Christopher Freakin' Columbus), then headed over to the Royal Alcazar, an old palace complex that has some of the best Moorish architecture in the world.  We then wandered the charming streets of downtown and finished off the evening with a dazzling flamenco show.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog.  While it's mostly a personal diary and a means to save repetitious emails and Facebook posts for friends, I hope other travelers have gotten a bit of useful information and I'm happy to answer any questions submitted in the "Comments" section below.

Classic, Lovely Old Bullring in Center of Seville