Morocco Mini Series: Marrakech

Much like Essaouira, Marrakech is a city of contrasts. There are five star hotels like La Mamounia and Royal Mansour, luxury riads, palaces, museums and lush gardens, all with the most intricate designs. But these sit alongside dirty streets, surrounded by dusty air. Popular images of the city show the richness with little mention of the poverty. And subconsciously, it’s what I’ve captured too - I’m complicit in perpetuating this idea of luxury. Perhaps you need to keep this in mind when reading the below…

We stayed in one such riad named ‘Riad Jardin Secret’ - a leafy oasis in the Bab Doukkala neighourhood of the city. The riad welcomes artists in residence throughout the year, acting as a space for reflection and creation. And it’s not hard to see why - for starters, the little coves dotted around seem like the perfect spaces for inspiration to strike.

Our bedroom was small and narrow, yet beautiful and bright. The only downside was the lack of air conditioning - with only a fan, the nights were pretty warm!

The riad also has an aptly named ‘Pink rooftop’ - a delightful space that I could have spent hours photographing. Breakfast is served here from 8.30am, with everything being homemade, fresh and ‘visually joyful’.

From one garden to another, we managed to pull ourselves away from the riad of dreams to meet up with friends, exploring the city on a walking tour…

And with that, our Moroccan trip came to an end. There’s certainly other cities that I want to explore, not least Fez and Chefchaouen, but I so enjoyed our first visit.

I always love exploring new places and understanding new cultures - its the geographer in me. But I guess visiting Morocco has pushed me to reflect on the images that are portrayed in popular culture, versus the reality of a place. Although hard, I need to leave any preconceptions behind and see it as it really is…