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Marrakech & Casablanca, Morocco

Jake

Strata Poster
So, me and richie are now back from a few days in north Africa, and for once I actually took some pictures!

We arrived first in Marrakech, which was pretty overwhelming, due to the fact that our accomodation was in the Medina (old town) area.

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Our room was on top of the roof of the main hostel, and was almost like a shed!

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Although, we had our own little terrace/smoking area that was really cool.

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The view...

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Inside the room

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This one isn't turned, but CBA

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Now for some night photos, firstly from the market:

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...and the Mosque, the tallest building in the city.

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We then got the train to Casablanca, which is 4 hours through the Sahara to the North coast. A first class ticket cost just £12!

Castle...

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Random buildings in the middle of NOWHERE.

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More nothingness:

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Despite the laws, staff let passengers smoke in the areas between each car:

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When we arrived in Casablanca, I was amazed at how different it is to Marrakech. I knew it was bigger and more modern, but it was a busting cosmopolitan metropolis that felt like it was on a different continent to Marrakech, let alone just a few hours away. The view from our room, we were pretty much at the port:

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A slanted picture of the Mosque Hassan II, one of the largest mosques in the world, and the one with the tallest minaret (tower).

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Any ideas how tall this is?

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Well, for all you coaster geeks, it's taller than any coaster out there at a Whopping 689ft. So... not far off 1 Canada Square!

The forecort reminded me of the Vatican, being open and spacious:

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After this we got a bit lost in the Ghetto, looking for the city centre. I don't have any photos of this place (as I was too scared to get the camera out!) but just imagine lots of trashed cars and dodgy people...

We eventually found downtown Casablanca, and I took some urban photos...

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Pretty much every car in both cities was parked bumper to bumper!

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We then walked to the other side of downtown Casablanca, to see the Twin Center, a set of twin towers that I was interested in when looking at Casablanca online :p

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Standing between them was weird...

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Health and Safety pictures <3

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A complete set of the Dirham currency... £1 is 12DH.

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Daytime Casablanca!

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The city operates a two tiered taxi service, petit taxi's for travel within the city, and grande taxis for intercity travel. You can see a petit taxi in this photo...

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We popped into McMurder, coz I always have to try new things, they had these fit 'steakhouse' chips:

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And 'McArabia', which was like sex in my mouth!

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It was unusual that in Morocco, places like McDonalds and KFC were for middle-upper class people, and even in the day they had security. Weird.

As we were flying back to Gatwick from Marrakech, we got the train back to spend another day and night there.

Train station photos...

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Back through a tiny tiny tiny (4 hour) portion of the Sahara:

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I'm ON CF!

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Is that an Oasis?

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Maybe...

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Our last evening / night in Marrakech!

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I love how that guy on the moped is literally squashed between both cars, haha:

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Cheeeseeee

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Sunset-from-our-terrace-photos:

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A street in the Medina at night:

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FOOOOD!

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I stalked the cute waiter. I want him to be my aladdin <3

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My camera can't really take night photos :(



So, that was the last night, and I got some photos on the last day before heading to the airport!

Our hostel.

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DONKEH!

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Anyone remember habbo hotel?!?!!?

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Monkeys <3 <3

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A snake charmer... you can see the snake on the left. I didn't get too close, cus as soon as you take a picture they try and charge you for it.

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Random scene outside the taxi window. There are some camels in the far left, but you can't really see them!

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I'll finish this trip report with a woman who had a Moroccon 'boyfriend', even though they couldnt' speak a word together. He blates just wants a VISA, and to be honest, she's as rough as nails anyway, so why would you!??!? BTW, that's the 'smoking area' at the airport, and we were evesdropping :p

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Thanks for reading!
 
WOW Jake am I ever jealous of you guys.. I wish I got to experience culture and different places like that. Looks like there were some nice areas and some dumpy areas but not everywhere can be nice I guess!

Good stuff.. I can't wait until I can travel like that. Serious question though, how do you afford it and about how much does it cost?
 
^Put it this way: McMurder isn't going to work out ;)

Nice pics Jake :D Looks like you had fun.
 
This is amazing! I love that you go to all these places that most people wouldn't even think to travel to. What made you decide to go there out of interest?

And, no creds? Shame on you! =]
 
Wow, just wow. I'd so love to visit somewhere like that, so different- I really am jealous. Great trip report too- looks so amazing. <3
 
Those chips look delish!

I'ld love to go to all of these places, but I could never be able to organise my own trips like this. :(
You're sooo lucky Jake!

Richie still looks hot as well. :p
 
Morocco looks better at night. Looks like you both had a great time.

What part of Morocco is that? It seems similar to Tunisa several decades ago, just a bit cleaner and more symmetrical.
 
Eeeeeee!! I love what you wrote between all the pics jake, haha :p

I want him to be my aladdin <3

Scary, but absolutely amazing trip though <3 <3
 
Tay said:
how do you afford it and about how much does it cost?

Well, Morocco is a developing country, so prices there are very cheap. We took out 1500 dirhams (£140) when we arrived, and in the 4 days we were there this covered 3 nights accomodation, food, drink, cigarettes, 2 4 hour train journeys (first class) and everything else. When you add flights (£60), it comes to pretty much £200.


Jordan said:
What made you decide to go there out of interest?

I'll give you the same answer I always give when people ask 'why', which is WHY NOT?! The main point in traveling is to see what somewhere is like, and that alone is usually my reason for going :).


Ian said:
What part of Morocco is that?

Casablanca, the largest city (although not the capital) and Marrakech, the third biggest city. Casablanca is on the coast, and Marrakech is 4 hours inland (Sahara) by train. Although I did say all of this in the report and title, lol!


Thanks for your comments peepz :)
 
Nice Trip Report! :) It brought back memories of when I went to Tunisia in May this year as they look very similar like Ian said. :)
 
Great report Jake, thats another place now on my to do list seeing as it appears very cheap for everything. Everything from the food, transport and hostel all look very interesting.
 
That looks absolutely amazing haha, all the places everyone normally goes suck - always wanted to go somewhere like Morocco and now you've shown me that it's every bit as great as I expected ;-)
 
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