Marrakesh is a fascinating city. Like the other larger Moroccan cities, Marrakesh is a mix of old and new. We visited twice, yet barely wrote about it. In some ways, I loved it. Marrakesh is exciting, vibrant, colourful, and active. Yet, my reaction at the time was less positive. We were hassled, pinched, and given too much unwanted attention.
Now that I have moved all my photos to Lightroom, and the details of my memories have faded, I see it only as a beautiful destination. See if you agree:
Personally, I love the intricate mosaics seen in many of the buildings. (This design is available on Amazon).
Inside El Bahia Palace.
A window in Dar Si Said. It is now a museum but was once an 11th-century palace.
Stairs in Dar Si Said
Worse than just having a monkey on a chain, Marrakesh is one of North Africa’s largest centres of wildlife trade, despite much of it being illegal. According to Wikipedia, the sale of tortoises for pets is popular and some also deal in Barbary macaques and snakes.
Colourful spices are a common item for sale both in and out of the medina.
The entranceway to a mosque in the old medina.
An intricately carved column and wall in El Bahia Palace.
Inside El Bahia Palace.
Jemaa el Fna is near the centre of the old city. At night we came here for food and storytellers. In the day, it is much different, offering a very eclectic mix.
Look closely above this truck. It has hit and bent a sign stating “no driving in this area of the medina.”
More Information:
- As one of Africa’s busiest cities, Marrakesh attracted over 8.1 million tourists last year.
- There is also a modern side to Marrakesh outside of the Medina. However, we spent the vast majority of our time in the old portion of the town, the fortified medina filled with the activity that makes the city so popular among tourists.
- This is another article in our throwback series inspired by rediscovering photos after moving 40k images to Lightroom.
- Rabat is the current capital of Morocco. Historically, the capital city has changed many times between Fes, Marrakesh and Rabat.
- Marrakesh or Marrakech (French spelling)? Like Fes, the city name is written in Arabic characters. They don’t translate directly to English. Both spellings are used and considered correct.
- We found Lonely Planet’s Morocco Travel Guide to be quite helpful.
Have you been to Marrakesh? What was your impression?
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Morocco is definitely at the top of my list of places to visit! I love the steps with the tiles… so pretty!
Overall, it is one of my favourite countries to visit.
Great photos! We visited Marrakesh for a day as part of a cruise. We went to the medina and a museum, which I think was a different one – very peaceful.
Thanks Nick. I didn’t know you could visit Marrakesh from a cruise ship. That’s a long drive from Casablanca. I am glad you found it a good use of your time.
I have been in Marrakesh and I found it fascinating! I have been in Morocco twice too and I wouldn’t mind to come back again, it is a place where I enjoy my hobby photography as it is colourful, vibrant, chaotic… and lots of the rest of senses that you cant appreciate in photos like noisy, smelly….lol
Fabulous photography Rhonda!
Have a great week 🙂
You have already seen my posts of Marrakesh but I leave mine here anyway
http://www.travelera.es/2015/03/bonjour-marrakesh.html
I also love Morocco. Chaotic is the perfect word, and the one I was looking for in my mind but couldn’t find. We spent 31 days in the country and would have stayed longer if it had been easier to change our long haul flight back to New Zealand.
Hi Rhonda – ‘oh yes clever truck-man’ … sounds like our sat-nav drivers who apparently can’t see they’re in completely the wrong part of the country – tiny lanes, tiny villages … mega trucks … and thick drivers – who drive down railway lines?!
Beautiful photos … I’d love to visit one day … I particularly like the stairs – cheers Hilary
Oh no, railway lines would not be a good place to be driving.
Wow wow wow – love all the colours and patterns!
As a photographer, I love the colours and patterns too.
Yes I’ve been and absolutely loved it!!! I didn’t find the hassle that bad to be honest. I speak French, maybe that helps? Loved the history, architecture and the intrinsic details of its palaces these pics bring it all back!
I would imagine speaking French is a huge help. Also, I had cute, well proportioned teenage girls with me, who had never been pinched by strangers before (or since).
What fun colors in lots of different places! Love the tiles!
That is one of the really great things about Morocco.
Wow, what wonderful photos of a wonderful place. You go to the best places and take the great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Patrick. That’s our goal.
Everything is so ornate! Shame about the monkeys and other wild animals.
That monkey almost made us cry.
Oh those mosaics – the details in the beautiful window – and the stairs with all shades of blue!
It must have been an unforgettable experience to visit Marrakech – Wonderful photos to remember the city!
I loved that staircase. It’s so old and intricate.
Never been there but hope to one day. My family’s ancestry goes back to the moors so here’s hoping I get to visit at some point.
It will be even more special for you, if you get there.
How beautiful. The colors there are just amazing. I was on another blog just last night looking at their trip to Morocco.
Thanks for sharing!
– Lisa
Morocco is one of my favourite places to walk around. Most of the people we met were so friendly, and the architecture is my favourite.
Thanks for sharing those beautiful photos. We were “The Marrakesh Patisserie”, inspired from the patterns to decorate our cookies plate.
I can see where these patterns would look great on cookies.
I think they have the best patterns I’ve seen in a long time. What a beautiful place.
It’s so impressive what people do. Still today, there are impressive craftsman creating intricate items.
Great pics! That one of a column outside Bahia Palace took my breath away. I rarely see that kind of workmanship in Egypt.
I still haven’t made it to Egypt, but I would have imagined it to have similar detail. I guess it has its own specialness.
Weren’t you worried at all during the time you were there? Just the thought scares me. You are a strong woman Rhonda even though the place is beautiful. Enjoy your day my friend. See ya.
Cruisin Paul
I looked it up after reading your comment. Ranking all countries by the number of murders per million, the USA is ranked number 43 with 42 murders per million people, Morocco is ranked number 66 with only 14 murders per million people, suggesting that we are 3 times as likely to get murdered in the USA than in Morocco. So, no we were not afraid. Sadly, one of the few places my girls feel afraid to visit is the USA, as we see mass shootings and gun violence on our news coming out of the states all the time. (The source on the page was the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2010 statistics).
Wow! Such great photos. I love all the details & colors!
The details and colors are what attracted me to these spots to take the photos.
Rhonda, the colors are magnificent! The intricate carving in the window shudders and column are amazing, as well as the carefully laid tile pieces. Can you imagine how much this sort of craftsmanship takes? I bet the laborer wasn’t paid nearly enough, either. Wonderful WW photos! Thanks for sharing and for visiting today. I noticed you weren’t on my linky party, please you’re welcome to join if you care to and if not maybe next time. 😉
We met and watched some craftspeople carving the intricate stones that make up the mosaics. It was so impressive. A skill that has been passed down and thankfully hasn’t been lost overtime.
What a wonderful place to see architecture with beautiful carvings and street scenes not seen
here in the U.S.A. You and your camera opens up the world to me. Thank you.
So colourful and so oriental. Another great and very interesting article in your blog
Thanks. I do love the detail in Morocco.
These are awesome images! Lovely pictorial journey through Morocco
Thanks Mitzi
Morocco has been on my radar for a long time, but I still didn’t make it there. I didn’t know its capital was changed so many times. I wonder why. Your beautiful pictures capture so well the atmosphere of the old part of Marrakesh.
It was over more than 1000 years, so I am sure it was political.
Such beautiful mosaics and bright colors–Morocco is a photographer’s dream, and you capture dit well, Rhonda.
Morocco sure is a photographer’s paradise.
I can almost smell those spices through the computer! I love visiting spice markets…so much colour & smells. I will definitely get to Morocco one day.
Such an interesting variety of spices available.
It’s so interesting what you say about your experiences there – and it has certainly put me off visiting. But your pictures are truly stunning and the colours and architecture have always drawn me in (and the food!). I’d love to experience it all, and it is great that you can look back on your pictures and see the beauty.
Overall, Morocco is one of my favourite countries, it was just a few incidences in Marrakesh that made it not our favourite spot in the country.
Morocco is a fascinating place. I would love to visit someday. Love the architecture, the mosiac and the carvings.
Aditi
I hope you get there. Morocco has my favourite style of architecture.
Please take a look at my facebook. https://m.facebook.com/The-Marrakesh
We make amazing Moroccan pasteries. Link is above. Thanks!
I’ve been to Marrakesh a couple of times, once as a teenager back in the 1980s and again with family about 8 or 9 years ago. It’s such a fascinating place to visit! For me, the market alleyways are the most interesting, I love seeing all the wares and interacting with the vendors about them. Some of my friends find the whole haggling thing a bit intimidating but I love it. I noticed that the pushy sales tactics were much less prevalent on my second visit than my first, which helped make it more enjoyable.
The haggling isn’t an issue for us. In fact we enjoy it as part of the culture. It was one of my teenage girls that received the most hassles. It was the touching that bothered her the most.
Beautiful!!! I would love to go to Morocco. Your pictures are definitely inspiring. Great start to my research.
We spent 31 days in Morocco. We had only intended to stay 7-10 when we arrived. We loved it
I love the vibrant colors of Morocco and the architecture. Your photos are amazing.
Lisa @ LTTL
I am also a huge fan of the architecture in Morocco.
Morocco is way up there on my bucket list. I just love the exoticness of the architecture and exploring the back lanes would be fascinating. A nice set of photos Rhonda. Well done.
Yes, Fascinating is such a good word to describe what’s around every corner in Morocco.
I haven’t been to Morocco yet, but I would really love to go. Your photos are very inspiring! I love how intricate and detailed all of the architecture is. When I go, I will probably spend all of my time in the older section of the city as well.
We were in Morocco for 31 days, and we did spend the better part of it in the older parts of town.
Your photos are making me fall in love with Marrakesh. What kind of food do you suggest there? Are there any Michelin starred restaurants in Morroco?
From an artistic and architectural point of view, Morrocco is my favourite place I have visited to date. I have never eaten at a Michelin star restaurant. We generally eat more local. For lunch, we frequently picked up bread from a bakery and cheese. For dinners, we ate a lot of tagine and couscous.
Great capture of the streets and interesting buildings and design. Morroco is definitely on my list. Your tips will come in handy for me. Thanks for sharing it.
Glad to be helpful
Would love to visit…..every time I see a photo of Morocco I just get super excited. It’s a shame about the animal welfare issue though. Hadn’t really seen anything on this before so was interesting to note this. Great photos!
I am also surprised that more people don’t talk about the animal trade.
I enjoyed these photos very much. Beautifully seen and composed, their foreign-ness makes them quite exciting. On the spice photo, I wonder what those tall cones are?
I love the architecture in Morocco. I am not sure why spices are displayed like this, but the spice cones seem to be everywhere they sell the spices.
I haven’t been, but it’s on my bucket list. Nice pictures btw 🙂
Thanks Bilyana. I hope you do get there.
A friend of mine recently visited Marrakesh and was mesmerized by it. She recommends it – and seeing your photos and story it’s no surprise!
If you get to Morocco, be sure to visit more than just Marrakesh. It is quite different than other places in the country.