Colorado to Copenhagen: Marrakech, Morocco

After two weeks back in classes, my program gave us another week-long break…not a bad deal! This time, I traveled to Morocco and Italy.

With temperatures in Copenhagen dipping down to the forties, the Moroccan sunshine couldn’t have come at a better time. The weather stayed above seventy throughout the trip.

The three girls that I traveled with and I stayed in a hostel in Marrakech. Marrakech, Morocco’s fourth largest city, sits just north of the Atlas Mountains. Having been built almost entirely of red sandstone, Marrakech has been nicknamed the “Red City”.

While located in Northern Africa, the city felt more like it belonged in the Middle East. Sunni Muslims represent 95% of Morocco’s population, and Arabic influence is reflected in the city’s architecture and local dress.

I feel like I say this about every new city I travel to, but Marrakech may very well be my favorite. We stayed in Marrakech’s Old City, which consists of a series of intricately connected alleyways, comprised of kiosks and small shops, selling leather bags, scarves, jewelry, carpets, and lanterns. In the Old City’s main square, we encountered everything from snake charmers, acrobats, henna artists, and magicians to herb sellers, dried fruit stands, musicians, and monkey trainers.

At least from what we could tell, there are only two main dishes served in Marrakech—tajine and couscous. Tajine is a traditional North African stew, named after the cone-shaped ceramic pot that it is cooked in. The pot uses its shape to trap steam and returns the condensed liquid to the pot to provide the water needed to cook the meat and vegetables. The dish typically consists of meat, vegetables, potatoes, and spices. If that doesn’t appeal to you, you probably shouldn’t go to Marrakech. We had it at pretty much every meal, along with Moroccan mint tea (which is absolutely to die for and perhaps a reason to visit in itself!).

After exploring Marrakech, my friends and I hopped on a bus to the Sahara Desert. We wove our way through the valleys and passed through villages and towns, stopping at a few incredible view points to take photos and to soak in the fresh air and sunshine.

A few hours into our trip, we stop at an 11th century town nestled into the city of Ouarzazate, nicknamed the “door of the desert”. The kasbah is built into the hillside, and villagers use no electricity or running water. The site has been used as a backdrop for more than a dozen films, including Indiana Jones, The Gladiator, and Game of Thrones.

{man paints picture with sugar and uses fire to bring out shading}

When we got to the desert, we traded our bus for camels and watched the sun set over the Sahara, while the camels carried us to our campsite. Then, our Moroccan guides fed us dinner (tajine and couscous of course!) and played music around the camp fire. It was such an incredible and memorable experience and one that I will never forget!