On to North Africa

It was about time that I checked off the African continent on my travel list. Morocco would be the first country in my visit to North Africa, although it bears striking similarities to much of the Middle East. After my eight-hour flight from Dubai to Casablanca, I boarded the train to Marrakech. Situated in the middle of the country, it is known for its small winding streets and its sprawling market square. After a short taxi to that very square, I began the small trek on foot to my hostel.

Street merchants were everywhere, offering everything from fruit and bread to the traditional fake sunglasses and straw hats. King Cobras were being taunted by their masters, presumably drugged so they would not attack tourists, or at least I had hoped so. After warding off several overly-pushy salesmen I made it to the Kaktus Hostel. Many hostels in Marrakech, and Morocco for that matter, are in small homes called riads. The rooms surround a small opening in the middle of the building, and they all usually have a nice terrace on the top floor. 

Over the next two days, I went out and explored Marrakech. The mix of African, Islamic, and French/Spanish culture made way for impressive architecture. The palaces, mosques, and madrasas were all incredibly intricate, each offering its own piece of relevance to the city of Marrakech. After seeing all there was to see, I began thinking of the next steps. I managed to meet several people from London that were best friends with a skier I used to train with, and we instantly hit it off. Even when I am traveling solo, it surprises me how small the world can be. 

One of the lads had not yet been to the desert, so we set off together towards the Sahara desert in our small but enjoyable Fiat 500. It was a nine-hour drive to Merzouga, the town bordering the dunes on the eastern edge of the vast African desert. On the way, we made a pit stop at Aït Benhaddou, a castle built along a former caravan route between the desert and the rest of Morocco. If you have seen the Gladiator and Game of Thrones, you may recognize the ancient fortress pictured above. Although it is largely a tourist site, there are still four families living within the walls of Benhaddou. No matter how much modernization has affected present-day Morocco, places like this will always seem locked in time. 

There was still six hours to go on our drive towards the desert, and it would be quite eventful.