Marrakech, 4th December 2023

The hot water took a darned long while to come through the pipes to my room, but my morning shower was very welcome. Breakfast was a wide selection of things on plates and dishes: egg with (I think) cheesy bits, two small breads with fennel seeds, a pancake with shaved nuts, side salad, yoghurt, fruit cocktail and black coffee. It sounds like a lot, but they were all small portions.
At 10am 'a guide' arrived to take me on an escorted walking tour around a few of the city's must-see sights. After a short while it was obvious the chap was a bit of a wide-boy, needlessly aggressive and not worth sticking with, so I made an excuse and left him to go it alone. (Aaah, much better. Free to wander on my own.)
It's clear the recent earthquake had a significant impact on the more shaky buildings in the centre of Marrakech. There's rubble and gaping holes in a great many buildings, with a lot around the royal palace area being shored up with wooden scaffolding.
Some of the people have evidently had a bad time. The souks and alleyways in the centre are obviously very touristy, much of these areas of Marrakech are 'souvenir central'. There's some small commercial activity going on but the centre of Marrakech clearly relies on tourist Euros. Often, the people are friendly and hospitable. Then why were so many of the locals so very aggressive? Even when I wasn't 'taking their photograph' I got shouted at and sworn at using fluent American slang. Aaah, the camera is an instrument of the devil.
Tomorrow's an early breakfast and a drive to a new location.Read more