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:
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.
- 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.
- Marrakesh was the starting and ending point for our road trip out to the Moroccan desert.
Have you been to Marrakesh? What was your impression?
If you enjoyed these Marrakesh photos, please share them on social media including Pinterest:
Fun Statues Around the World: Oversized and Undressed
Loredana
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!
Rhonda Albom
If you get to Morocco, be sure to visit more than just Marrakesh. It is quite different than other places in the country.
Bilyana | OwlOverTheWorld
I haven’t been, but it’s on my bucket list. Nice pictures btw 🙂
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Bilyana. I hope you do get there.
Sara Chapman in Seattle USA
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?
Rhonda Albom
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.
Kerri
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!
Rhonda Albom
I am also surprised that more people don’t talk about the animal trade.
Ryazan
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.
Rhonda Albom
Glad to be helpful
Sudipto
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?
Rhonda Albom
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.
Vicky and Buddy
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.
Rhonda Albom
We were in Morocco for 31 days, and we did spend the better part of it in the older parts of town.
Christina Pfeiffer
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.
Rhonda Albom
Yes, Fascinating is such a good word to describe what’s around every corner in Morocco.
Lisa
I love the vibrant colors of Morocco and the architecture. Your photos are amazing.
Lisa @ LTTL
Rhonda Albom
I am also a huge fan of the architecture in Morocco.
Shannalyn West
Beautiful!!! I would love to go to Morocco. Your pictures are definitely inspiring. Great start to my research.
Rhonda Albom
We spent 31 days in Morocco. We had only intended to stay 7-10 when we arrived. We loved it
Kavey at Kavey Eats
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.
Rhonda Albom
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.
Aditi Kaushiva
Morocco is a fascinating place. I would love to visit someday. Love the architecture, the mosaic and the carvings.
Rhonda Albom
I hope you get there. Morocco has my favourite style of architecture.
The Marrakesh Patisserie
Please take a look at my facebook. https://m.facebook.com/The-Marrakesh
We make amazing Moroccan pasteries. Link is above. Thanks!
Samantha Sparrow
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.
Rhonda Albom
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.
Lauren Craving Sunshine
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.
Rhonda Albom
Such an interesting variety of spices available.
Pat
Such beautiful mosaics and bright colors–Morocco is a photographer’s dream, and you capture dit well, Rhonda.
Rhonda Albom
Morocco sure is a photographer’s paradise.
Anda
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.
Rhonda Albom
It was over more than 1000 years, so I am sure it was political.
Mitzi
These are awesome images! Lovely pictorial journey through Morocco
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Mitzi
Photo(Geo)grapher
So colourful and so oriental. Another great and very interesting article in your blog
Rhonda Albom
Thanks. I do love the detail in Morocco.
JM Illinois U.S.A.
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.
Cathy Kennedy
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.
Rhonda Albom
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.
Quirky Homemaker
Wow! Such great photos. I love all the details & colors!
Rhonda Albom
The details and colors are what attracted me to these spots to take the photos.
Paul Pietrangelo
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
Rhonda Albom
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).
Lexa Cain
Great pics! That one of a column outside Bahia Palace took my breath away. I rarely see that kind of workmanship in Egypt.
Rhonda Albom
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.
Alissa Apel
I think they have the best patterns I’ve seen in a long time. What a beautiful place.
Rhonda Albom
It’s so impressive what people do. Still today, there are impressive craftsman creating intricate items.
Handmade Jewelry Haven
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
Rhonda Albom
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.
The Marrakesh Patisserie
Thanks for sharing those beautiful photos. We were “The Marrakesh Patisserie”, inspired from the patterns to decorate our cookies plate.
Rhonda Albom
I can see where these patterns would look great on cookies.
Anonymous
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.
Rhonda Albom
It will be even more special for you, if you get there.
Nina
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!
Rhonda Albom
I loved that staircase. It’s so old and intricate.
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Everything is so ornate! Shame about the monkeys and other wild animals.
Rhonda Albom
That monkey almost made us cry.
Patrick Weseman
Wow, what wonderful photos of a wonderful place. You go to the best places and take the great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Rhonda Albom
Thanks Patrick. That’s our goal.
Teresa Kindred
What fun colors in lots of different places! Love the tiles!
Rhonda Albom
That is one of the really great things about Morocco.
Els
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!
Rhonda Albom
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).
ladyfi
Wow wow wow – love all the colours and patterns!
Rhonda Albom
As a photographer, I love the colours and patterns too.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
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
Rhonda Albom
Oh no, railway lines would not be a good place to be driving.
Travelera
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 🙂
Rhonda Albom
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.
Nick Wilford
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.
Rhonda Albom
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.
Buckeroomama
Morocco is definitely at the top of my list of places to visit! I love the steps with the tiles… so pretty!
Rhonda Albom
Overall, it is one of my favourite countries to visit.