Marrakesh

In the past 6 months, I’ve spent a good amount of time in 3 cities that claim to never sleep - Lagos, London, New York. And to some extent, that claim is true. But for all 3 cities, they’re definitely dizzy by midnight. By 12am, London is almost past NREM2, while New York is the most awake.

Marrakesh though, is a different kind of beast. The city, or to put it more accurately, the medina, never truly slept. Fully awake, serious buying and selling, and live performances at almost 2am.

Marrakesh was the first Moroccan city I traveled to, and it’s probably the sole contender for my favourite Moroccan city even though I have about 2 more cities to go at the time of starting this piece.

It’s a city full of character. I came to Marrakesh ill, so my first few days were full of me alternating between working, recovering from my illness and exploring the city. In Marrakesh, I got around to a lot - explored the medina, tried a lot of the local food, went clubbing, got a Hammam bath, got on a hot air balloon, and visited the YSL museum and Jardin Majorelle. Luckily, I had planned my trip such that my time in Marrakesh coincided with the Nigeria vs Algeria AFCON quarterfinal match, which I also saw live - the atmosphere was mental btw.

Interestingly, what had the most impression on me about Marrakesh wasn’t how much there was to do. Instead, it was how much geographical range the city had. The Old City, the Sahara Desert connections, and the Atlas Mountains, all in one city.

Through my Morocco ‘expedition’, Marrakesh was the city where I made the most souvenir spend, with the most notable item being a traditional jacket that I plan to wear the next time I get a chance to play dress up to a gala or an award show back home in London.

The nightlife in Marrakesh was beautiful. Unlike some other cities I’ve been to (Accra, I’m side-eyeing you) where the dance floor had been swapped for the table culture, the dance floor at the club I visited in Marrakesh was very much alive. To put it in context, even people on tables alternated between sitting on their table and coming to the main dance floor for the moves.

As a Nigerian, I was particularly surprised by how well the Moroccan people preserved the history of their old civilisations and how much they valued said history. I found it to be a sharp contrast to how history is handled in Nigeria. This wasn’t peculiar to Marrakesh either, it was a common theme across all the Moroccan cities I ended up visiting.

By the time I was ready to leave Marrakesh almost a week after arriving, I truly felt like the city owed me nothing. I had come to the city ill, but I left healed and ready to take on Rabat.

I plan to return to Marrakesh before the year runs out, but on a much simpler itinerary. Arrive on a Friday and explore the nightlife. Do the Sahara walk on the Saturday morning and get a Hammam bath later in the day, then return to London very early on Sunday morning.