Camel ride is a must do! (Marrakesh)

Member Name: TravellerJen

Product:	Marrakesh
Date:	13/10/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very reasonably priced

Disadvantages: It rained while we were there!

Marrakesh is situated in the North East Africa. The city is filled with so much beauty to offer including its famous Souks, The Main Plaza, pretty lights, camel rides and amazing tasting food.

Price
One thing that has to be mentioned is the cost of getting to, from and around Marrakesh. Me and my friend paid approximately £250.00 for a week staying in a 3 star hotel situated in an ideal location just outside of the Medina but also close to the new town of Marrakesh. This included our return flights from Manchester and a beautiful 3* hotel.
The food prices especially in the Souks were so cheap it was unbelievable at times. For example you could get a soup for 10p, a kebab dish for 15p and tea for 5p! Unlucky for us we only found this out on our second to last night! Gutted we were! My brother who went a week after us told me he ate here everynight, as his hotel was actually in the Medina.

The Medina
Inside the Medina is also known as the old town of Marrakesh and this is where the traditional Morocco is. It is pretty weird going from the old to the new, as it seems to be a whole different atmosphere and values. For example when you are in old Marrakesh you will get alot of hassle from the locals, whereas in the new Marrakesh you are simply ignored. Very strange.
The Souks are located in the Medina and also the Main Plaza, where there is entertainment on a daily basis during the day and night. It is quite amazing actually and very very pretty. During the day there are snake tamers, ladies who will braid your hair, henna your body and people who dress in the traditional Moroccan style for people to take pictures with. During the night, it is quite different, the food stalls are in the middle and around there are other stalls selling fruit, chocolates, breads, beads and all sorts! There are people who provide entertainment also by singing and dancing. Its a great way to enjoy your night definately.

Things To Do
There are many things to do in the beautiful city of Marrakesh. During the days we would go site seeing. It was so easy to get in the Medina even though we had a map. I think you have to see the map to see how confusing it actually is! The King's Palace was even on the map. There are loads of Mosque's that you can visit although you can not enter (well we couldnt as we were women). One of the most proud things the Moroccans were proud of has to be their rugs and scarfs. There were alot of quality rugs, carpets, scarves and sheets around. Me and my friend bought about 10 each! If you haggle aswell you can get a really good price.
One day we went on the Tour Bus, which took us all around Marrakesh. This takes you to all the famous tourist spots, which is definately worth doing.
We decided to go to Essouria one day, which is 4 hours east of Marrakesh - a seaside destination. That was rather fun but unfortunately it rained alot and we couldnt do alot.
We went on another trip, well at least we tempted unfortunately the weather was too severe and we couldnt quite make it. It was to go to the Atlas Mountains, but we made it half way before we had to turn back.
We went on a camel ride, which was the most fun out of the all acticities. I have been on a camel before in Egypt, but that was only for about 20 minutes. This ride was for 2 hours! This trip was good as we also got to sit down and mix with some locals and also the camel ride reps played some music with some local instruments for us. Needless to say I had sore legs after the 2 hours camel ride.

Overall Rating
Had it not rained alot of the time we were there, we would have been able to get more done. However, this did not ruin the holiday and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There are not many places that I would go again to but this place I definately would :D
Loved Marrakesh!

Summary: Beautiful Place