Aït Benhaddou

I was back in London hunting for a job and it turned out I had a bit of spare time before one started. I jumped online and less than 24hrs later I was excitedly on a plane to Morocco. I landed in Marrakech around midday and was soon in a little Fiat heading south-east through the Atlas Mountain range towards Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara Desert. I stayed in a little town nearby Aït Benhaddou so that I could watch the sunset and sunrise over this famous collection of earthen buildings that has been fortified since the 11th century. It was one of the main caravan routes between the Sahara and Marrakesh and has been used as a filming location for many famous movies and tv shows including Gladiator and Game of Thrones. I had my first chicken tagine for dinner which was delicious before an early night. It was magical to get up around 7 (sunrise at 7:40) and walk down through the narrow streets of the town and cross the river before wandering up through the old earthen alleys, exploring as I made my way to the top of the hill inside the city. The sunrise lit up the desert sands and made the whole maze below golden and I stood around in the cold watching the beauty unfold. Back to the hotel for a Moroccan breakfast before jumping back in the car to head north to Beni Mellal.

Beni Mellal

Driving back over the Atlas Mountains the fiat started to have some issues. I was about 50km outside of Beni Mellal when the car broke down and i had an interesting two hours trying to communicate with some local farmers who didn’t speak English and the car company on WhatsApp. I finally got into Beni Mellal a few hours later than planned and the car company delivered me a new car the next morning to continue my trip. Beni Mellal turned out to be a fantastic little stopover. I wandered the city centre and the local street markets for the evening, sampling some of the best Moroccan cookies of the whole trip.

Fes

I continued north to Fes where i stayed in a beautiful riad for the night and explored the famous medina and surrounds. The medina was near enough empty on the Friday evening being an Islamic holiday but thriving on the Saturday when I went for another wander. More delicious food, the tannery, Moroccan architecture and narrow winding streets to get lost in. I find the designs of stucco roofs among the arches and domes mixed with the mosques and Islamic schools an absolutely beautiful and spent most of my time taking it all in.

Chefchaouen

From Fes to Chefchaouen in the Rif mountain range. The city is shadowed by the towering mountains above and is famous for its blue painted buildings. Wandering these alleys was a sight to behold and some of the streets were stunningly painted and decorated. They say one of the theories behind why the city is painted blue is because it represents the sky for Jewish people and reminds them of heaven and god. The Jewish population came in large numbers during the second world war to escape their persecution. I’d travelled as far north as I had time for this trip and so the next day, made my way to the coast and south.

Marrakech

I spent a night in Casablanca but didn’t have time for much more besides walking along the coast and dinner. I was gone early the next morning to make it back to Marrakech by lunch to drop the hire car back. I then spent a few nights exploring the city and eating as much as possible before heading back to London. I absolutely loved Morocco and will need to go back both during the summer for some mountain hiking and the winter for some snowboarding. There is so much more to explore in this beautiful country.