# Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz region- A small trip report



## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Last week I visited the city of Marrakech and the region around the city. I'll show the pictures in the same order I took them. I've just taken these pictures with a small (and quite old) digital camera so they are not good of quality. One of my two traveling friends did had a professional camera and with her permission I'll try to post some of her pics also.

So if you look past the quality of the pics, I just wanted to show my trip in Morocco. I did a lowbudget trip so the hotel was ok for the money I spend but nothing you could call luxurious.

We'll start of in Marrakech as this is where I landed. The flight between Brussels and Marrakech took around 3,5 hours.

1.The arrival hall of Marrakech airport

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

2.The arrival hall of Marrakech airport


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

3.The arrival hall of Marrakech airport


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

4.View from the hotel the next day. Nothing special as you can see. It was situated in one of the better looking districts though.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

5.Random traffic in front of the hotel. Traffic was pretty differend from what I'm used to and cars bumped and scratched eachother all the time.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

4.Donkeys used for transporting goods, even in the city. This man and his donkey would arrive every morning at the hotel. He obviously sold something to the hotel or maybe collected something from the hotel. At night there was another boy with a donkey who came collecting tin cans from the trash in the dumpster across the street. He was there every night.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

5.Modern appartment buildings at place du seize novembre.

Place du seize novembre and the streets around where like the commercial hart of the new city. Chain stores like ZARA and fasfood like Mc. Donalds and KFC had stores here. It also was the richest part of the city. Many luxury boutiques where to be found here.

It was also here that the clash between modern and concervative became pretty obvious. There was a veiled woman who started yelling at some modern morrocan grils wearing mini skirts. The veiled woman followed them to their taxi across the street and then one of the girls trew some money towards the veiled woman wich in turn stopped following the girls.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

6. Modern appartment building

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

7. Modern appartment building place du 16 novembre


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

8. Modern appartment building along Avenue Hassan II


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

9.The mosk in the street of our Hotel

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

10.Trash at the street corner of our hotel. This was a common ssight across the whole new city and I wondered why the city wouldn't clean this up as in the historic district everything was cleaned and trash was hard to find.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

11.Some telecom building


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

12. Traffic across the theatre


 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

13. Theatre of Marrakech

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

14. Theatre of Marrakech

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

15. The square in front of the railway station


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

16. Railwaystation.

This really was a modern and magnificant building. It was , for me, the most beautifull and impressing building of new city. There weren't many travelers and there also weren't many destinations to travel too. The trains only went direction of Casablanca wich was a suprise because cities I would have thought nearby cities like Agadir( pop 700.000 )and Essaouira (pop 70.000) woul have a rail connection.

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

17. Railwaystation


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

18. Interior

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

19. Interior

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

20. interior

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

21. Interior

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

22. Platforms. I could only see them from the trainstation as you had to show your ticket before secuirity would let you on the platforms.

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

23. California or Marrakech?

 Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

24. New city


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

25. The best kept public garden I've seen was pretty nice. I saw 4 men working in it, watering the plants and cutting the weeds.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

26. 

Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

27.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

28.


Marrakech by Joshrad, on Flickr

29. Me and one of the traveling compagnons *shot by Silke Beans*, my other traveling compagnon. I will add more photo's made by her in the future. She has a photography page HERE

She has published a book with pictures about her travels in India. You can find it HERE

Her Flickr page can be found HERE


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Preview for the next set of pictures.

30. Djemaa el Fna جامع الفناء

Man peeping between the crowd asking money for the very same photo he is in. *Shot by Silke Baens*


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Wonderful, very nice photos from Marrakesh


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Just some random pics for now untill I have more time to proceed the trip in the right order 


31. Medina









32. A nice cave. I lost the name and position of it. It was about a 2 hour drive on bad roads from Marrakech.










33. Notice the guy standing at the entrance to give you some scale of it.









34. People by the river running out of the cave.









35. >This looked interesting. It looked like an old wall or something. I was to far away to walk to over the rocky bedrock...










36.


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

37.Djemaa el Fna جامع الفناء










38. One of my two traveling compagnons drinking mint tea in a riad by Silke Baens










39. Me on the other end of the table by Silke Baens










40. Berber village in the Atlas mountains. Every village had its own fresh water spring. I drank from the water several times and never got sick. It was very clean. No cars could ever reach here. the only means of transportation here are by foot or donkey. (there is actually one car in this picture and i still wonder how it got there because there were absolutely no roads at all)









41.









42. by Silke Baens









43. The main source of income for the people in this particular part of the Atlas.










44. Berber child










45. Berber kids, photography by Silke Baens










46. Me taking a break on some rocks by a river.


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## 6y 4 ever (Dec 24, 2008)

Great pictures i only visited Marrakech few times and i love it so much, clean city people are nice and also a very very awsome nightlife !!


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

6y 4 ever said:


> Great pictures i only visited Marrakech few times and i love it so much, clean city people are nice and also a very very awsome nightlife !!


Nightlife was pretty vibrant indeed . The new city was very clean an very well kept but new city around it wasn't tho. Lots of trash and empty buildings with smashed windows around....


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Next pics are all made by Silke Beans. Afther these I will post my own pics back in the same order I took them 

47.Djemaa el Fna جامع الفناء










48. Berber village, Atlas mountains










49. 
Stray dog on the road between Marrakech and Essouaira










50.Seaside Essaouira









51.


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

52. Waterfalls of Ouzoud










53.









54.









55.









56.









57.









58.









59. Pictures of a distance I made myself.









60. Silke Beans taking a picture









61. Closer


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## 6y 4 ever (Dec 24, 2008)

joshsam said:


> Nightlife was pretty vibrant indeed . The new city was very clean an very well kept but new city around it wasn't tho. Lots of trash and empty buildings with smashed windows around....


Other than the trash wish i agree with you about i heard the city has a crisis with the company incharge of cleaning the city or something ,the new city was not that bad decent actually, espisially Gueliz area !!


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

^^I actually wanted to say that the old city was much better kept compaired to the new city


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Still mixing pictures

62. You could by a tajine in the smallest village. Here in a small market in an old living quarter in the eastside of the city.










63. This riad was once a family home but now a restaurant.










64.Seagulls above the rocky coast in Essaouira










65. Streets of Essaouira










66. 









67.Stairway to the bedrooms in the old Quran school in Marrakech. The biggest contrast ever with the living and praying spaces! (I'll show them later)


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## StoneRose (Sep 13, 2004)

Thank you, great tour!!


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

68. Old palace of a minister. Forget wich one. (By Silke Baens)









69. Nice details









70. Small cupola in the old Quaran school


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

*Marrakech-Old city. Inside the eastern living quarters.*

71. Entrance of a mosk










72









73. This guy was powering the oven of this bath house like every small neighborhood had one. Every neigborhood I walked thru had at least these things in them:
-Mosk
-Bath house
-Quran school
-Small market











74.









75. I was with a group and a gide that actually spoke Flemish and had a dual nationality of Morrocan/Belgian but lived in Marrakech. That's why you see tourists in these pics. Other than us, there where non at this point.










76.


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

77.









78.









79. The local bakery. Woman make their own dough at home and then bring it to the bakery where they bake it. He also said that if you are a visitor to this quater and are from somewhere else. Always search for the bakery. He's an information point for the community. For instance if you want to know if someone is living in this quater. You just go to the bakery. If they don't know the person there, chance that he still lives there are slim.










80. Nice mosk









81. Mosk of the next neigborhood.


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

82. The biggest market in this part of the city.










83.Spices










84.Afther this market we slowely got in to more touristic area's. That was about a 40min walk.










85.










86.


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