Morocco Family Vacation

Marrakesh is like a movie set. Actually, it's exactly like Aladdin. Complete with monkeys, snake charmers, magic lanterns, traditional storytellers and merchants selling strange and wonderful wares (like human teeth). A cacophony of sounds, intoxicating aromas and spectacular chaos at every manic swivel of the head. We were completely under its spell from day one and glad to be. The food was absolutely divine and catered easily to the vegetarian (me) and children (this sometimes included the husband). 

We were welcomed into our riad with warm smiles, freshly baked French pastries and our first offer of ‘Berber whiskey’, or mint tea which was to become a staple in our day.

Dining in the midst of the medina’s madness became our nightly ritual, as we just couldn’t stay away from the allure of its spectacle. We had been warned about the pop-up restaurants in the main square (namely about the food and the honesty of the restaurant owners) but each night we felt safe and looked after. We loved watching the traditional storytelling that happened nightly and if we didn’t have the little girls with us we may have watched the organised boxing matches that took place most evenings too.

After dark in the heat of the afternoons our retreat was the beautiful rooftop of our riad. From there we could watch the goings on of the locals and tourists below and hear the absolutely deafening but spell-binding call to prayer from the surrounding muezzins. These calls to prayer occur 5 times throughout the day and in Morocco they have a beautiful, meditative lilt to them that we all came to love and look forward to. 

We visited a few of the top touristy sites like the Bahia Palace but found these to be disconnected from the authentic experience we were seeking. The tiny Berber museum within the medina was more to our liking, we could see art, read about the Berber culture and talk to real people about their life and culture. 

There are some experiences in life that cannot be summed up using words alone... Camel trekking into the dunes of the Sahara to watch the sun dip below the orange desert horizon with your husband and children is one of these. So is camping in a traditional Berber campsite and observing a night sky drenched absolutely and bewildering in stars. We had the most memorable, dream-come-true experience and were all floating a little afterwards.

The whole place is awash with a blue hue and backdropped by the stunning Riff Mountains. Our time there was cool and rainy but it felt like blue skies only because of the colour of the buildings. Chefchaouen can be overly touristy but we dodged the telescopic lenses and would-be Instagram influencers with early morning walks and afternoon wanders up to the look out point and Spanish mosque. It's truly breathtaking and worth the journey. 

Fes is huge but beautiful and worth the patience it takes when you inevitably get lost. Its myriad labyrinths that extend from the main square stump the oldest of locals and you can't rely on Google Maps because even this is no match for the 20 foot high medina walls and auxiliary passageways. We got lost a few times and some local children delighted in helping us get even more lost. All worth it though and the food in Fes is a salve for feet weary from long walks to find your way... We did a cooking class at Riad Anata and the food we cooked with their resident chef and teacher Samira was probably the best meal of our lives. The leather tanneries are a sight not to be missed but be warned- the smell is PUNGENT.