We arrived in Marrakech late in the afternoon and the owner of the riad we are staying picked us up in the Menara airport. The bald guy was French and gay. He spoke very little English, obviously, and although Blondine speaks very little French, she understands most of it, so we are fine.
Morocco is once a colony of France (and most of the African and Arab continents by the way) so French is predominantly spoken as a 2nd or 3rd language after Arabic and Berber. Since I do not speak Arabic, and although some would like to think I have some Arab blood (must be my dark eyebrows and strong eyes), I freely exercised my non-existent French in this holiday. “Bonjourâ€, “Bonsoirâ€, “Ca va?â€, “Tres bien!â€, “Oui, s’il vous plaitâ€, “Merci!â€, “Au voir†=)
I also picked up a few Arabic words. “Shukran†or “Shukran bessef†was the most popular of all that every time I say this it brings a big smile to the many faces of Moroccan waiters and vendors.
The derbs or alleyways to the riads. The alleys are made of clay and are painted in terracotta colours. Its safe to walk here in the evening as there are lights. Those beautifully crafted doors are hotel riads. When you enter you are brought into an an exotic courtyard that offers an aosis of rest and relaxation.
We reached the Medina, the old city, at dusk. Although there is still light, the horizon is now painted in bright hues of yellow, brown and orange colours blending beautifully with the terracotta clay houses and ancient walls of the medina. Upon entering the old city, we were greeted with a whirlwind traffic of buses and cars honking madly, horse carriages thumping, bikes and scooters flying all over and swiftly maneuvering in between the small gaps of traffic, fearless pedestrians braving through the maze and oh my, did we just saw donkey carts?
Before the trip we were contemplating on whether we should stay in a hotel or a riad. I convinced Blondine that if we are to experience real Moroccan culture and hospitality, we better stay in a Riad that is inside the Medina.
A riad is a traditional Moroccan house with an open-air atrium in the middle of the courtyard or garden. They can also be mansions or palaces with many rooms. Moroccan families usually share a riad, so there could be 6 to 10 families living in it. These courtyard dwellings in the medina have been influenced by the Roman villa architecture. Riads nowadays are still used as residential dwellings but there is a surge of interest that has now become a trend of riads being used as hotels and restaurants.
You can now find many riad hotels and guesthouses owned by foreigners, mostly French. Riad hotels come in budget, middle class, and expensive suites. Ours was not cheap at all.
The riad we stayed – its small courtyard has a little pool! During hot summer days when temperatures soar up to a searing 45C in Marrakech, guests can enjoy a glass of wine while dipped in the cool pool.
I forgot to take pictures of our beautiful room but managed to take a few of the corner nooks and the rooftop where we had breakfast.
The terracotta derbs (alleyways) in the Medina.
Luckily, since the owner of the Riad was French, we had supply of alcohol. Alcohol in Islamic law is forbidden and is not sold in the Medina. One can only get alcohol if you go to a real hotel in the Nouvelle Ville (new city built by the French) or to the clubs. We heard from an English couple we met during an excursion who searched high and low in the medina for a beer that the Hotel Tazi corner Princes Street is the only establishment offering beer and wine but at ridiculous prices.
The manager of the riad, a Moroccan from Agadir was a very sweet intelligent guy who speaks 5 languages fluently: Arabic, Berber-Tashelhit, French, English and Spanish. He drank beer with us one evening and thought that since he is drinking alcohol this might be a license, an opportunity to further probe, so we asked – do you also pray 5x a day to Allah? He laughed with his heart, somewhat dismissing the conventional religious stereotype of Moroccans. We made up our minds that he prays but not 5x a day.
He told us also that a professional with a degree working in a hotel or riad earns about €250 per month. We believed he is earning more but nonetheless, we tipped him generously after. In the Lonely Planet booklet, I read that the minimum wage is 3.2 Dirhams per hour for blue collar jobs, and 5.5 Dirhams per hour in the hospitality sector. €1 is equivalent to 10 Dirhams, so do the math if you wish.
Travel Period: April 2009
Thank You