Morocco : Undiscovered Arabian Experience

by Maria Angelica - 09.05

Sooo this time is about Morocco! I'll start with a brief introduction of this beautiful country. Morocco is located in the North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with land border with Algeria to the east and Western Sahara. It also neighboring with Spain, but separated in different continent.

I was there in Winter. Firstly I went to the capital city, Rabat. but before that, lemme rewind my long flight experience from Indonesia to Rabat. I was supposed to arrive in 17th January 2020, but instead I got stuck in Malaysia for 3 days. Indonesian citizenship does not require a visa to enter Morocco, but we have to keep an eye of the flight transits. I mean, my original ticket was from Yogyakarta - Kuala Lumpur- Amsterdam - Paris - Rabat. But after I got to KL, the check in officer did not let us in because they said we need a visa for transit, tho we had confirmed to the visa center back in indonesia that they said we don't need any visa coz it's under 8 hours anyway. Ahaha bad luck but that's fine, i'm with my 2 other friends, Nita and Eriya. They're colleagues at IPB university and I'm from different uni, UGM. The three of us spend 2 nights at KL waiting for unclear respond from the airline, feeling pointless then we decided to book another ticket from another airline. I book return flight from KL to Marrakech for 500 euro and then took a train from Marrakech to rabat (15 euros), it took us 4 hours.

In winter, Rabat is around 9-18' Celcius. meanwhile Marrakech is more sunny, it can reach 28'C at noon. I stayed in the student dormitory for 68th IVSA Symposium in Rabat, with Nita as my roommate. I will summarize and give my comments about tourist destination in Rabat and Marrakech below! We can use tramp and bus as public transportation in Rabat, but kind reminder for me is better you speak french or Arabic here, because there's no english sign and the people itself mostly doesn't or barely can speak english. The city center is quite nice, palm trees surrounded us with a couple of fountains in the center. You may search further for the policies regarding taking pictures restrictions, there are some government buildings that is not allowed to be in frame.

Next place is Kasbah Udaya. It is located near Bou Regreg river, across Salé city. They said it was the place that cruellest pirates will gather. but don't worry, now it's lovely! it has beautiful iconic moroccan gate that u can take lots of pictures of. There's also a museum there. and if you have entered the gate, you will step into the traditional market with blue and white walls surrounding the market. There was one cafe you can find downstairs, it has the most beautiful view from upside.

Next up : Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Its divided into 3 sections. You can't take pictures in the first section. all in all, it was 7/10. cool museum but it's not one of my 'must visit' tourist places.

Quick Tips for tourist

1. Hide your bag, wallet and phone inside your coat/jacket

2. Never ask locals for directions, if you get lost, ask fellow travellers

3. Never put ur phone/wallet in ur pocket

4. Bring umbrella everywhere! it comes in handy

5. Don't 100% trust google maps

6. If you seek for riad (hotels), look at the review section

7. DON'T take a taxi from the airport. beware of scams, better take the bus. but taxi outside the airport is fine

8. be careful of taking pictures, don't record public attractions, they will demand money if you do that.

Last and the most beautiful place i've seen in rabat, Andalusian Garden. it was very exotic, a lot of ancient ruins surrounded by arabian garden, it feels like you're in Dorne (game of thrones).

Alright, now we can move to marrakech. as I mentioned before, it took 4 hours from rabat to marrakech by train and it costs 15 euros. As you walk out the train station, you can take taxi and marrakech people are better in english than at Rabat. I stayed in Riad Medina Art Marrakech. I'll tell u guys it was epic! So the riad is currently on their 2nd month after opening the moment i stayed there (January 2020). The place is soooo nice, food is great, service? couldn't ask for more. and it's only 65 euros per night each room. the riad provides breakfast and shuttle car to airport/train station. it has pool, wifi, nice scents, and everything. The riad located in the old town, inside the market or they call it Jemaa el-Fna. At the first time, I was a bit confused to find the riad, because it's like lots of alleys and i didn't think that there will be a hotel there. But when we find the hotel sign, and we knocked, it feels like entering a paradise ahahah. Okay next I will talk about the market. Since I mentioned my riad is located in the middle of the market, right after I got into the riad, I stroll around the market.

Please do keep in mind to watch out of your belongings since a lot of pickpockets waiting for you to get distracted.

The next day, I have one day trip (without a tour guide). I counted on google maps. I planned the track the night before, first stop is Le Jardin Secret, then Koutobia Mosque, lastly, Palais de Bahia. Those three places can be reached by walking.

It is a place that has kept ancient structures intact that are of an extraordinary cultural value, linked to the art of gardens, architecture and Arab hydraulics. The museum provides you with a wealth of historical information about Marrakech's architecture, water, and gardens. You will also find a boutique, a bookshop and two cafes inside Le Jardin Secret. The cafes offer you up fresh, homemade products that you can eat in lush and peaceful settings.

This one is the front enterance of Koutobia Mosque, the largest mosque in Marrakech. It is located about 200 metres west of the city’s the Jemaa El Fna. The mosque is ornamented with curved windows, a band of ceramic inlay, pointed merlons, and decorative arches. if you're a moslem, you can enter and pray inside. I stopped by to buy some pomegranate juice, no sugar, no ice, but it was very sweet and cold enough. only for 15 dirham! my fav fresh juice so far. After a long sunny day, me and Nita decided to enjoy the sun in the garden in front of the mosque, while slurping our pomegranate juice.

Palais de Bahia