Morocco
Medina

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    • Day 115

      Marrakech- Time to Say Goodbye

      April 23, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

      Brian and I have always wanted to come to Morocco - and Brian in particular has always wanted to go to the Sahara - so we’re bummed about him heading home a bit early and missing the desert portion of Morocco - that said it’s been an AMAZING trip together and it’s time to start preparing to come home.

      We all spent 3 days all together in Casablanca and Marrakech before Brian headed home (via Istanbul) and us girls headed to the Sahara. Brian got to see the outside of Ricks Cafe, homage to one of his favorite movies Casablanca. We got to watch sunrise from the rooftop of our riad together, having Moroccan mint tea tour and watching things come to life in the old Medina. We also got explore some Berber villages with the girls before taking Brian to the airport and say goodbye for the next month. It’s a strange thing to have literally been staying in the same room or being side by side 24/7 for 4 months and then to part ways - will take some adjusting for sure.

      If you were to ask the girls their favorite part of Marrakech - they would say the cats. Oh the cats! On the small walkway to our riad/hotel, 3 separate cats gave birth in a 24 hour period. While the cats are feral, many people make an effort to care for them so the cats are quite friendly! We saw lots of little kittens and cats kept trying to get the kids’ attention.

      If you were to ask me my favorite part- it’s the winding pathways along ochre colored walls, colorful clothing the Muslim and Berber women wear, along with the all of the beautifully decorated mosques and frequent prayers over the loudspeakers. It’s the sunrise from the rooftop of our riad. It’s been watching the kids connect with the animals.. Another lovely jolt to the senses…

      ————-
      As I write this, Brian has just made it home safely — and is girls are currently in Fes, just having finished our time in the Sahara.

      We’ll be touring the city tomorrow and then have one more night before we head to Western Europe. Venice—Munich—Paris—Barcelona. Some flights - lots of train time and then will be time to come home.

      Ill do another post at the end of Morocco - pics here will reflect time in Marrakech and maybe a teaser from the Sahara 🙂

      Hope you are all well - lots of love to all of you. ❤️
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    • Day 125

      Hoher Atlas, Gauglermarkt, Marrakesch

      January 16, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

      Durch das Hoher Atlas Gebierge, durch viele Berberdörfe und entlang von zahlreichen Serpentinen, teils mit etwas Schnee bedeckten Bergkuppen, geht es weiter nach Marrakesch.
      Die Fahrt, für die ca. 180km von Tabourahte nach Marrakesch, hat 6,5 Stunden gedauert. Auf den ersten 30 Kilometern nötigten uns gefühlt 30 Baustellen dazu, dass Tempo zu drosseln. Danach ging es verhältnismäßig gut weiter. Ab 2260 Höhenmeter, Passhöhe Tizi-n-Tichka, ging es dann die Serpentinen langsam runter.
      In Marrakesch angekommen, fuhren wir dann zu einem Wohnmobilstellplatz ins Centrum, in unmittelbarer Nähe zum Gauglermarkt, dem Djemaa el-Fna Platz. Auf dem Platz findet man zahlreiche Musiker, Künstler und Artisten, es gibt viele Stände mit Lebensmitteln, umgeben von zahlreichen Restaurants. Soll heißen, es sind auch viele Menschen vor Ort und es passiert überall irgendetwas.
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    • Day 19

      Zweiter Tag in Marrakesh🇲🇦

      January 1, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      1.01.2023 🤘🏻 unser erster Tag im Jahr beginnt nochmal in Marrakesh🇲🇦
      Es heißt auf ein zweites in den Trubel durch den Markt,
      Etwas Sightseeingtour gabs auch 🧐 alte Gräber in einem prunkvollen Gebäude🤩 ähnlich wie eine Kathedrale ⛪
      zum Friseur ging’s für Michi auch noch und am Abend gab es gegrilltes Essen😄 von den Ständen der Einheimischen🧔🏽🥘
      War sehr sehr lecker 😋
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    • Day 26

      Badia Palace and Medina walking tour

      March 18, 2023 in Morocco ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      We met our city guide again this morning for a walking tour of the Medina, and a visit to Badia Palace.

      We did the palace first to beat the crowds - a good move, as the queue to buy tickets when we came out was lengthy!

      Completed in 1900, Bahia Palace isn't a royal palace, but was built by Ahmed bin Musa, the Grand Vizier of Morocco - effectively the head public servant, but with direct access and influence over the Sultan, so he was the defacto ruler of the kingdom. Upon the sultan's death Ahmed enthroned the Sultan's third son as the new Sultan, a boy of 14, effectively giving Ahmed complete rule of the country. He built the palace to house his four wives and numerous concubines, and named it after his favourite concubine!

      We then did a walking tour of the Medina for 3 hours, exploring many, many streets we missed the first 3 days we were here, including the metal workers street, leather worker's street and spice market.

      We had lunch at a cafe just off the main square, did a bit more shopping, and returned to our hotel for a few hours by the pool (bit too cold to swim though)
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    • Day 5

      Day 80: Badi Palace & Hookah

      March 30 in Morocco ⋅ 🌬 72 °F

      Mary woke up with a headache today so Kieran hit the road for the Badi Palace. Construction started in 1578 and ended in 1593. Posted throughout the palace was historical pictures of the Medina and Kieran liked seeing the old markets and street performers.

      We planned on switching hostels to move into a more bar friendly district and chose Villa Yousra in Gueliz. The host Soofstayh taught us how to pour Moroccan tea and invited us to share Iftar with his childhood friend; we ate Moroccan style only using our hands and talked about Hollywood movies and interesting facts Soofstayh had on hand. For instance, we learned Morocco was the first country to recognize US independence and that cats with three colors can only be female.

      Finally we visited a hookah (shisha bar) and basked in the ambiance of smoke, fútbol, and Moroccan pop music videos. It was an awesome evening and we talked until 12am as our host was working really hard to obtain a US visa because he wanted to attend the World Cup in New Jersey.

      Guest House: Villa Yousra

      Spots:
      Badi Palace
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    • Day 9

      Shoppingwahn in Marrakesch

      October 23, 2022 in Morocco ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

      Keramik, Handtasche aus Kamelleder, Kosmetikprodukte, große Lampe, Schuhe für Neyla, Glasbehälter und jede Menge mehr... Unsere Ausbeute vom heutigen Tag. Natürlich waren wir auf dem Jamaa al F'na und haben die Schlangenbeschwörer beobachtet :-)Read more

    • Day 3

      Marrakech suite

      October 27, 2019 in Morocco ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      Deuxième journée à Marrakech avec les autres spots incontournables, les jardins Majorelle et le Musée Yves Saint Laurent, puis l’après-midi les tombeaux Saadiens un peu décevants et un passage devant la tour de la mosquée Kouroubia et un dernier passage à la placé Jemal El Fna toujours aussi grouillante de badauds. Fin du séjour ici avec le même sentiment que lors des visites précédentes, on est heureux de revoir cette ville mais au bout de deux jours on a une envie folle de calme et d’espace sans mobylettes tout autour de soiRead more

    • Day 9

      Marrakech day tour

      May 8, 2022 in Morocco ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

      Well a trip round Marrakech souks, there's one for everything and so much choice.

      Not sure if I enjoyed the haggling but you think you have a bargain when you argue down from an exorbitant price but when 60 dirham is a fiver you can sometimes get a bargain lol. Anyhow I think I paid what things were worth.

      Street food looked ok in some places but goats heads were a step too far for me lol.

      Anyhow back to the pool at 1600 and mohijtos for a change 😜
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    • Day 2

      Marrakech

      June 13, 2022 in Morocco ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Alugámos um carro numa locadora local. Vieram nos trazer o carro ao hotel. Provavelmente não têm escritório. Mas até agora correu tudo bem, preenchemos os papéis, tirámos fotos do carro, temos que pagar os 156€ em dinheiro mas não apresentámos cartão de crédito... Só teremos que pagar 1500€ se acontecer alguma coisa ao carro.

      Começámos a nossa viagem e as duas únicas coisas que precisávamos do carro não funcionam: o Bluetooth e o ar condicionado. A primeira paragem é Marrakech.

      À saída da autoestrada mesmo antes da portagem somos mandados parar pela polícia. O Valentim nem estava a ver, tive que lhe dizer para encostar e encostou já depois da polícia... Seguimos o conselho do Ricky, nunca falar em francês com a polícia. Ele pediu os documentos e disse "three hundred dihram, radar". O Valentim bem calmo só respondia "no fast".
      Depois de algumas iterações, o polícia diz "ok, half, 150 dihram". Ao que o Valentim pergunta se é para pagar na portagem... 🤣🤣🤣

      Depois de algumas insistências ele viu que não chegava a lado nenhum e mandou-nos seguir.

      Estacionámos num parque muito perto da praça Djem Al Fna. Tivemos que deixar o carro e as chaves com o arrumador. Não posso dizer que fiquei confortável.

      Passeámos pelos ruas estreitas da medina, cheias de artesanato, e com o cheiro intenso a couro e especiarias. As motas passam pelo meio das pessoas. Parámos para almoçar no Cafe Árabe uma salada de legumes e uma Tagine deliciosas.

      Na colta, comprámos uma coluna ao Tassin. Pediu ao Valentim para da próxima vez trazer uma portuguesa para casar com ele. Fez um "desconto" de 35 dihram.

      Já a sair da garagem dei-me conta que não tinha o telemóvel, só podia ter sido roubada na garagem porque tinha certeza que estava comigo.... Voltamos de marcha atrás para dentro da garagem. Estava eu feita louca à procura do telefone, com três tipos a minha volta que de repente achavam que eu não tinha pago o parque... Finalmente encontrei o telefone caído no carro. Disse-lhes que tinha pago a um senhor mais velho e seguimos viagem.

      A estrada que serpenteia a montanha para subir o Atlas era considerada a estrada mais perigosa de Marrocos. Uma estrada bem estreita com derrocadas a toda a hora, muitos camiões e o precipício ao lado. Mas a estrada está a ser toda refeita, "cortam" a montanha a meio para deixar passar uma estrada mais larga, não tão bonita mas muito mais segura.

      Não deixa de ser um caminho giro, com a terra vermelha e alguma vegetação. As suas aldeias remotas nos tons de vermelho e sempre com a torre da mesquita muito bem conservada no meio.
      Parámos a beira da estrada para comprar meio kg de cerejas por 1€, com um senhor que era uma simpatia, até me ajudou a lavar as cerejas.

      Depois daquelas horas todas de viagem não posso negar que quando cheguei ao Ecolodge L'ile as 20h já não queria sair daqui. Felizmente serviam jantar no jardim, uma sopa de abóbora picante e uma Tagine de frango com limão.
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    • Day 22

      Cooking class

      November 3, 2022 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      This was a very well equipped culinary school. We all made Moroccan salad, Zaalook salad and Chicken Tagine with preserved lemon and olives. I did enjoy my cooking as I got to eat it for lunch. I tried Dianne’s and it was pretty good too. Her Zaalook salad was better than mine and lucky for me Dianne is not fond of eggplant, which is the main ingredient to Zaalook salad so I ate some of hers.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Medina

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