10:31am Friday 16th November 2007
Is the popular holiday destination of Marrakech really what it is made out to be? Local writer Rizwana Patel shares her family's experience.
A four hour flight from Manchester Airport transported us to Morocco. Even as we were packing my husband and I were anxious about taking our one-year-old son to a country so different from home, but he loved it.
He thrived in the bright colours, the romantic beauty, the exotic smells and the generous charm of the people of Marrakech, Morocco's most mesmerising city.
Must see The Jemma Al Fna is a giant square in the middle of Marrakech city which every evening, for centuries, has been host to entertainers, budding entrepreneurs and food stalls. It is absolutely chaotic and frenzied with activity.
Throngs of people form inquisitive circles around animated jugglers, wrestlers, fortune tellers and dancers.
We watched nervously as a human pyramid of six men tall swayed as if with the warm smoky breeze. Nearby a storyteller narrates folklore.
We stand there, understanding little, but wholly absorbed in his mellifluous Arabic, extravagant gestures and the dramatic bang of a drum. We were left amazed, I felt as if I had entered a giant open air theatre in some distant medieval land full of mystifying smells and sounds and sights.
Must Eat Sitting on rickety bench amidst swirling barbeque smoke and the unparalleled activities of the Jemma Al Fna square before us, we had a delicious chicken tagine(stew) with juicy olives and pickled lemon, soup and cous cous salad.
There is line upon line of open-air food stalls where charming young boys, no older than fourteen, guide us through heaps of colourful salads, plump kebabs, spicy chicken skewers and other mouthwatering pleasures.
When we seek reassurance on the meat being halal, the waiter looks genuinely hurt ant dismayed telling us "Me Muslim, you Muslim, trust 100% halal, no haram , Morocco all halal, all Muslim."
Must visit The souk (market) is a totally enchanting experience. As we wandered around the souks we dodged animals and carts laden with fruits, vegetable and men snatching afternoon siestas.
We tackled the market like a maze, discovering hidden alleyways leading to stalls stacked high with Moroccan sandals and dens made by bellowing jabbas.
My son's eyes wandered from stall to stall, laughing happily when greeted by the locals.
From deep within the souk, the beautiful echoing sound of the Muezzin calling for prayer brings a respectable hush to the clank of the water-sellers rusty brass cups and the street vendor's loud call.
Must buy You cannot visit Marrakech and leave without buying a pair (or two) of beautiful bright sequined sandals.
When we stop at a shoe stall the stall keeper tells me excitedly: "In Morocco, no like England, you bargain, price up, down, up down," gesturing enthusiastically with his hand. "My price 200 dirham, you give your price." After an hour of animated chitchat and a refreshing drink I buy a few pairs for only 80 Dirham each, about £4.50.
Must pray The imposing minarets of the Koutibia mosque dominate the skyline of Marrakech.
It is a beautiful mosque built by the Andalusians in the 12th century. We prayed there regularly beneath its glittering chandeliers, and sat in the mosque courtyard watching young and old hurry off inside
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