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Morocco

2011 · Morocco

CountriesMorocco
Stages16

Route

Photographs (125)

Urban street in Marrakech with parked cars, pedestrians, low-rise buildings, and distant hills beneath a clear blue sky.Wide urban roundabout with cars, palm trees, and terracotta-colored buildings beneath a clear blue sky.The Koutoubia Mosque minaret in Marrakech rising above green gardens and palm trees under a clear blue sky.People walking and cycling near tall ochre-colored walls in Marrakech, with palm tree shadows cast across the street under a clear blue sky.A busy street in Marrakech with parked motorbikes, pedestrians, cars, and a horse-drawn carriage moving toward a pink medina gate under a clear blue sky.A narrow street in the Marrakech medina with pink plaster walls, pedestrians walking, and scooters driving past small shops.A narrow market alley in the Marrakech medina with colorful textiles, metal lanterns, jewelry displays, and two people walking ahead.A narrow souk street in the Marrakech medina with pottery stalls, a handcart loaded with goods, and people walking through the alley.A wide aerial-style view of Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech with crowds, market stalls, vehicles, and surrounding buildings under a clear sky.A crowded daytime scene at Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech with market stalls, pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, and surrounding buildings.Panoramic daytime view of Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech with market activity, rooftops, and the medina stretching into the distance.Rooftop terrace overlooking the ochre buildings of the Marrakech medina under a clear blue sky, with chairs and tables in the foreground.Sunlit rooftops and palm trees in the Marrakech medina under a clear blue sky, viewed from an elevated rooftop.Wide panoramic view of Jemaa el-Fnaa in Marrakech with crowds of people, horse-drawn carriages, market stalls, and historic buildings under a clear sky.Crowded open-air food stalls with cooks, seated diners, metal carts, and evening activity on a large square in Marrakech.A busy market street in Marrakech with pedestrians walking past fruit stalls, small shops, parked cars, and vendors under soft afternoon light.A wide street in Marrakech with pedestrians, cars, vans, and donkey carts moving past peach-colored walls under a clear blue sky.A quiet rooftop terrace with lounge chairs, cushions, and white fabric hanging to dry, enclosed by peach-colored walls under a clear blue sky.Wide street in Essaouira with a white pickup truck in the foreground, market stalls on the left, arcaded buildings on the right, and people walking in the distance under a clear blue sky.Street scene in Essaouira with arched arcades, small food stalls, men standing and talking, and a bicycle parked beside a loose tire on the road.Coastal road in Essaouira beside the ocean, with low waves breaking near the shore, a white-and-black roadside barrier, and birds flying over the sea beneath a clear blue sky.Pedestrian street beside the historic medina wall in Essaouira, with arched stone openings on one side, small shops and signs on the other, and a few people walking in the distance.Harbor scene in Essaouira with blue fishing boats on the left, stone walkway in the center, people walking toward the city, seabirds flying overhead, and a Moroccan flag on a building to the right.Stone ramparts in Essaouira with old cannons facing the Atlantic Ocean, waves breaking against rocks on the left, and people walking along a lower passage on the right.

Journal Notes (16)
Day 1 - Marrakesh

Around 07:30 I used public transport to get to Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB): first a tram, then another tram, and finally a bus. It was relatively cumbersome, but without any problems. Winter had now also settled in Baden—there was snow everywhere, and of course it was col …

Day 2 - Marrakech

Around 05:30 I was woken by the muezzin, who broadcast his message at an extremely high volume. Nevertheless, I turned over and went back to sleep, then went up to the roof terrace for breakfast around 07:00. The view from there was not very spectacular, and the temperatures were …

Day 3 - Marrakesh

The muezzin began his daily work again quite early, but around 06:00 I didn’t really care. At about 07:30 I got up, after noticing that the English girls had already left. I went up to the roof terrace with almost the same result as the day before—only the Italians were missing. …

Day 4 - Essaouria

In the end, the morning still dragged on until about 09:00 before I finally got out of bed. That didn’t really matter, as my bus wasn’t scheduled to leave until around 13:00 and I wasn’t quite sure what else I wanted to see by then. So I got ready, grabbed my still not completely …

Day 5 - Agadir / Inezgane

I woke up around 09:00. It was bitterly cold, and the wind was still whistling through the holes in the walls. The sea was loud as well. The laundry I had washed the evening before was not dry at all because of the humidity by the sea. I went to the shared shower, then packed my …

Day 6 - Sidi Ifni / Legzira

This time I woke up before sunrise. During the night it had become quite cold, and I was woken by the persistent coughing of a man who, judging by the sound of it, would not last much longer. I made do with a quick wash and went downstairs with my things to the café, which was al …

Day 7 - Sidi Ifni / Legzira

I woke up around 08:00 to the loud crashing of waves hitting the rocks in front of me. I freshened up and realized that I had slept very well; the supposed salmonella attack from the evening before was no longer noticeable. In the shared shower there was enough warm water, so I c …

Day 8 - Tafraoute

That day I got up early again. By then I had already covered about 500 kilometers in the country, mostly by bus. Today the plan was to travel another 200 kilometers into the Anti-Atlas, to Tafraoute. First, however, I had to return the moped and sort out the onward journey—which, …

Day 9 - Taroudant

After sunrise, I made up my mind about the day. I packed my things and went downstairs to pay. The hotel had a café on the ground floor, and breakfast was included in the room price—something completely new on this trip. So I sat down on the terrace, which was right on the corner …

Day 10 - Ouarzazate

Because of the disturbances during the night, I woke up quite early again. I freshened up as best I could, checked out, and went back to the square. By then I had finally brought strict order to all my belongings, so I wouldn’t forget anything, have it stolen, or have to search f …

Day 11 - Zagora / Mhamid

I got up again around 08:00. The night had become quite cold, especially in a room without any heating. I hadn’t really expected that. In the otherwise orderly hotel there was already a lot going on, and the noise from inside was joined by the sounds from outside. First I checked …

Day 12 - Zagora / Merzouga

As you can see from the first picture, I was on my way quite early. Above Zagora there was still fog, and it wasn’t very warm—actually it was just around 0 °C. The night in the hotel hadn’t been particularly pleasant, as my room once again had gaps through which cold air came in, …

Day 13 - Boumalne / Ouarzazate

Around 07:00 I set off again in the direction of Ouarzazate, aiming to arrive there by 10:00. To the right, far from the road, I could see the Atlas Mountains with their snow-covered peaks. Everything that is green here exists because of glacial streams and meltwater after the sn …

Day 14 - Ouarzazate / Marrakech

I slept well that night. I packed my things, checked out once more with the slow old man at the reception, and headed toward the bus station. By then it was already around noon again. The bus journey to Marrakech was supposed to take about five to six hours. The distance was only …

Day 15 - Marrakech / Girona

Girona is a compact but exceptionally layered city in northeastern Spain whose development has been shaped by geology, strategic location, and more than two thousand years of continuous human occupation. Situated between the Mediterranean coast, the Pyrenees, and the Iberian inte …

2011 Morocco - Intro

Travelogue of a journey through Morocco in January 2011. Prompted by a spontaneous idea, a flight and a hostel in Marrakech were booked cheaply in November. Everything else was left open and decided on the spot. The destination was meant to be inexpensive, warm, and culturally di …