Marrakesh, Morocco

Marrakech, like many of the major cities, we once the capital of Morocco. It was the capital at its founding in 1070. Fes became the capital in the 13th century, but Marrakech regained capital status again in the 16th century. The current capital in Rabat.

The main attraction in Marrakesh is the Jemaa el-Fnaa or the Main Square of the Medina. It is still as you might have seen in movies or videos. There are cobra charmers, monkeys on leashes which may steal your hat for fun, and today there are juice vendors galore. It is lively, but a bit touristy.

As a bit of an "whoopsie" on our part our arrival in Marrakesh was also the day before Ramadan started. Luckily, we found a really good restaurant open for breakfast in our neighborhood of Sidi Mimmoun. Lunch proved a bit harder some days, and dinner after sundown got crowded.

Fun fact, the Berbers, who inhabited Morocco before the "Arabs" called Marrakech "ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ". While we don't know how to pronounce it, we can tell you the Berber people's language is MUCH easier to pronounce than Arabic. We just can't read their alphabet.Read more