Spanish Breakfast and Moroccan Dinner

So a few weeks ago I took my very first trip to Africa! The destination? Marrakesh, Morocco. So not only was it my first trip to an African country but it was also my first trip to an Islamic State. Before going I truly did not know what to expect. To be honest before my two travel partners mentioned Marrakesh to me, I had never heard of it. However I could gather that it was going to be a totally new experience and because of that I was very excited. My goals for the trip? I wanted to ride a camel.

We arrived to Marrakesh on a Thursday night and after arriving to our Riad (Airbnb/hotel) in the Medina (the busiest neighborhood in Marrakesh where all the action happens), our host said offered us Moroccan mint tea. Although the concept is incredibly simple, this is by far the best tea I have never tried in my life. All it contains is sugar, green tea, and fresh Moroccan mint, but the Moroccan mint transforms beverage from a regular green tea to an addiction inducing experience. After that life changing cup of tea, I had Moroccan mint tea with almost every single meal while in Morocco. This tea is actually incredibly important to Moroccan culture. Its a sign of hospitality and Moroccans take great pride in the quality of their tea. There are entire books written about the history of the mint tea and its cultural significance. It actually inspired me to haggle for a beautiful tea kettle.

Speaking of haggling, this is another HUGE aspect of Moroccan culture. For those who do not know, it is essentially bargaining. If you have ever seen the television series "Pawn Stars," just imagine that and you have a good idea of what haggling entails. Thus, whenever you want to buy goods (excluding food items) you must haggle for it as there are no prices posted in stores. So if you want a scarf, skyrocket the price and pray you go for it. However no one is expected to pay that price. In fact, most shop owners thoroughly enjoy haggling and do not get offended when you slash and axe their initial offer. In the end, it is just a game. You have to figure out if they need the sale more than you need the item. Although at first I was hesitant to haggle, towards the end I reaaaallly enjoyed it and was looking for things to buy just so I could haggle. I was hesitant at first for a couple of reasons. Firstly, their "skyrocketed prices" were already much cheaper than anything in Europe, so you knew you were saving money already. Secondly, you are really arguing over the difference of a couple of dollars. One dollar/euro is approximately 10 Dirhams and the price of most items that you can haggle for range from 40-150 Dirhams. So if the starting price is 100 Dirhams and you haggle it down to 80 Dirhams, your bank account doesn't really notice the difference. Finally, the shop keepers usually need the money a lot more than you do. The Moroccans heavily rely on income from tourists to survive, so at first you feel very guilty about depriving them of a couple dollars that may make a huge difference in their lives. For these reasons, a lot of people don't like to haggle. If you are able to look past that and just participate in the cultural experience, it can become very enjoyable for you and them. My two haggling experiences? I bought a tea kettle for 80 Dirhams (starting price was 100) and a scarf for 90 (starting price was 160).

Quick note about the Moroccan economy. As their economy heavily relies on tourism, many people will literally do whatever they can to get you to eat at their restaurant or buy their goods. Thus if you go to Marrakesh, expect people to grab you, yell at you, and follow you, trying desperately to get your attention. Since they have tourists from all over Europe and the world, many of them know numerous languages. Thus, you'll hear people yelling at you in Spanish, French, Germany, Italian, English, or whatever language that will get your attention. Definitely not a calm vacation and definitely not meant for families. It is meant for people who don't mind a slightly uncontrolled and chaotic environment.

As I mentioned previously, I reeeaaally wanted to ride a camel while I was in Morocco. I achieved this goal within 24 hours of being in the country. Thankfully the host at our Riad also organized excursions to the Sahara Desert, as does every other human being in Morocco. After being in a van for 8 hours, meeting a wonderful Spanish family from Zaragoza and some Germany Erasmus (study abroad) students, we arrived in a village called Zagora. From Zagora our guides took us on camels through the Northern Sahara Desert where we camped for the night. On this trip we met a 20 year old man named Zachariah. A man who has never left his village 30,000 people knew a great deal about the world and of other languages. His English was impeccable so he could articulate complicated ideas about arranged marriage, religion, and Moroccan culture that many people can't articulate in their native tongue. As a Muslim, he knew the Koran by heart, was accepting of opposing beliefs (even though he believe them to false), and denounced Islamic extremists saying that they are ridiculous. He also joked that the extremists bomb people because they lack quality marijuana, something that is apparently very abundant and widely used in Morocco. It was wonderfully insightful to have a conversation with him and its a night I will never forget.

Zachariah during our night in the Sahara (Photo credit: Justin Chacko)

Just a regular night in the Sahara (Photo Credit: Justin Chacko)

Also, huge misconception: deserts can't get cold. Trust me, they can. In fact they can get absolutely freezing with wind. I learned that the hard way when I didn't bring a sweater and was freezing. Thankfully there were blankets.

Modern day explorers

On our way back from the Saharan adventure we stopped in an ancient village called Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou. This is a huge tourism stop as many movies and television shows have filmed here. For example Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and the Jewel of the Nile have all filmed in this village. It's also a very cool place because the homes still use traditional materials such as clay, mud, rocks, and sticks to build and maintain their homes. However this quick stop was a classic Moroccan excursion move as the driver did not tell us that we would be stopping here. Nor did we have a choice when the tour guide asked for 3 euros a head for the tour. However was fun, super interesting, and well worth the money. Finally on this trip, the tour guide really tried to hit home that the village doesn't use modern materials when we crossed a "traditional" bridge. Until this day I was unaware that "plastic tarp wrapping sandbags" were an ancient material. I guess no one is perfect.

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou

After our excursion in the Sahara, we spent the next two days exploring the historical sites of Marrakesh. We saw the Jardin Majorelle, which is a beautiful garden and museum that explores the history of Morocco, Ben Yousseff Madrasa, which was a Koran school, the Bahia Palace, the Koutoubia Mosque, and we explored the main square in the Medina. Overall the architecture was absolutely incredibly. The amount of detail put into the designs of the most seemingly pointless aspects of a building was incredibly. Doors, ceilings, fireplaces, windows, bathrooms, hallways, doorknobs, pillars, etc. Every design was unique and mind boggling. In one room you could find 4 finds and each door had a different design about and around it.


In conclusion, the Morocco trip was a huge success and it has definitely made me want to travel outside of Europe more. Before I thought I wanted to stay in Europe during my Fulbright travel years, but now I think I may venture out a little more. I don't think my mother will appreciate that.

Only time will tell.