2015 started with lots of unforgettable memories from my winter trip to Iceland and a new year trip to Copenhagen. It was a splendid start to the year. However, being the travel addict I am, I started planning for my next trip before I was even back in Newcastle- a trip to Morocco for Easter!! Two of my friends and I departed from London Stansted to the land of desert movie-making (Prince of Persia, The Mummy, Inception, Gladiator etc).

At Marrakech airport where riad owners were standing in line waiting for the arrival of tourists.

The riad we were staying in -riad n10  We arrived at Marrakech, the capital of Morrocco and a tourist-packed city with locals trying to fish some dirhams out of us wherever we go. The medina and Jemaa el-Fnaa market however,were great! The variety of things to see from colourful fabrics to lanterns to tajine potteries to unusual snake charmers and monkey vendors and henna painters and the variety of food it offers (tajines, snails, skewers, fried seafood, avocado/almond/ lots n lots of orange juice), this city is just overwhelming and we had a hard time adjusting to the heat post-arriving from the UK.

Me coerced into getting a henna I didnt want-- in the middle of getting scammed, be aware of peddlers in the Jemaa el-Fnaa!

Jemaa el-Fnaa

Jemaa el-Fnaa stall at night -selling snails

On day 3 till day 5, we joined a desert tour. A lot of our time was spent dozing off in the van. However, whenever we stop at places, we were sure to be overwhelmed and amazed! Cactuses lined on the side of the highway, the snow covered atlas mountain top visible in the distance, the ever so winding tizi' tichka pass, the famous Ait ben Haddou kasbahs, the peaceful dades valley we stayed in, the gigantic Todra Gorge with its crystal clear stream, the serene Berber village where time seemed to have stopped for at least the last half of the decade, the layers and layers of carpet exhibited in a local Berber house, the hospitality of the locals and last but not least, the friends we made during the tour. 

Our Berber tour guide and Ait ben Haddou in the background

Tourists and locals crossing the river to the Ait ben Haddou

Climbing up Ait ben Haddou

The winding tizi tichka pass

The Todra Gorge

At a Berber house filled with handweaved carpets

Everything was unforgettable even before we made our journey out to the desert. The camels were intimidating as they were taller and bigger than we imagined them to be, the ride was uncomfortable and all our bottoms suffered. The weather turned out to be milder than we expected (not as warm during the day or as cold during the night). The sand dunes were breathtaking but climbing up the dunes was really tiring. By the time we reached our campsite, we were all covered in sand, sand in our bags, shoes, socks, ears, nostrils, scalp, eyes, mouth and literally wherever u can think of. We spent our night having dinner together with everyone on the campsite (more tajines) and sat by the campfire listening to our local tour guides performing Berber music. The experience was great. As the night was still young, we then decided to climb up the sand dunes again and lay there for the rest of our night watching the night sky and bonding with new friends =D. It, however. got colder by 4 or 5 am and we went back to the Berber tents to sleep. All in all, although we felt really exhausted and dirty at the end of the desert tour due to lack of sleep, showering and being sand-covered, it was still an awesome once-in-a-lifetime experience that we will never forget! 

PS: the fine desert sand got into my camera even though I tried to be as careful as I can with it. It made my camera go a little crazy after the trip, so be very careful with your camera and use a camera cover if ever you go to somewhere like that!

Berber music and campfire in the desert

The next destination after the desert was Fez, a city very much similar to Marrakech but so much less touristy, although equally packed with people, The streets were narrower in the Fes al-Bali/ old town (almost tunnel-like) and there's also more cats in this city. Rooftop view of the city, once again from anywhere in the medina was great! We met up with our new-found friends from the desert trip and stopped by at the Bab Boujloud, one of the main entrance to the medina (a big gate) before visiting the Batha museum (10 dirhams entrance fee). We also went to one of the religious buildings in the area, the Medersa Bou Inania where its magnificent carved woodwork was still well preserved. 

The Bab Boujloud

The Chouara tannery

As the city was also famous for its leather products, we visited the largest and oldest tannery in the area, the Chouara tannery which is almost a thousand year old. The hides of cows, sheeps, goats and camels are all processed into leather goods manually in the medieval way here. As we made our way up to the terrace of one of the surrounding leather shops, the infamous smell of the tanneries dawned upon us-almost like rotten fish (most probably due to the ingredient they use for tending to the hides eg pigeon poon and cow urine), but the view of the tannery from the terrace was great as the numerous dye-filled stone vessels of the tannery was spread out like tray of watercolours. On our way out, we saw travellers holding sprig of mint leaves which I found out later was given by tour guides to travellers to counter the pungent smell of the tannery.

Us and two lovely Israeli ladies we met

We had lunch at the rooftop terrace of Restaurant Sekaya ( where we had our dinner as well ) and we managed to see the green rooftops of Qaraouiyine Mosque in the distance. It was also there, that we managed to meet two lovely woman from Israel. The experience in Fez was great as we spent some quality time with our new-found friends and was regretful when we had to part ways. We left Fez for Chefchaouene by bus the next morning. 

Chefchaouene was our favourite destination by far. There really is nothing to not love about this town. It was almost like we stepped into another world. This blue pearl of Morocco is friendly, pleasant and quaintly unperturbed, giving us a good break from the hustle and bustle of the other Moroccan cities. The houses and buildings were like a palette of blue and white, with its own distintive look and vibe.Windows, doors and alleyways are rinsed in every shade of blue (aqua, azure, cerulean, indigo and many more shades I do not know of). It is a photographer's heaven as every photos come out strikingly colourful and most of our time in the city was spent snapping hundreds of pictures wherever we go. 






















Situated within the Rif mountains and unobstructed by light pollution, the city's night sky was probably the best I've ever seen. It is the most amazing experience sitting on the rooftop terrace, wrapped in serene silence, looking up at the cloudless sky filled with dozens of tiny diamond-shaped sparkling lights with the mountains as a backdrop. This humble town has so much to offer. It is the symbol of tranquility and relaxation. I will definitely come back if ever I get the opportunity to.

Well my camera went crazy so I only managed to take a picture of the night view with my phone camera,

Our last stop of the trip was Tangier, the most northern city of Morocco situated close to Spain. We didn't spend much time here as we only stopped here to catch a flight back to London. However, we were very lucky to be welcomed by a friendly host at the place we stay and that marked a good end to our trip.