I was reminded of the conservative attire that is culturally and traditionally the norm in Marrakech, but that's all I knew before we arrived. I assured myself that it would be okay to wear what I normally wear while traveling and then on the second day observe what other tourists were wearing and shop for the rest of my attire in Morocco. 

The flight from Porto, Portugal to Marrakech, Morocco, was a brief and comfortable one-hour flight. When we left Porto, it was a brisk and chilly, rainy evening and our hotel porter was so kind to wait past his shift to prepare our luggage and pack it into a private shuttle and drive us to the airport at 10 PM. When we landed and arrived past midnight in Marrakech, we didn't know what to expect. In the airport, we took a picture in front of the “Welcome to Morocco” sign. Once we stepped foot out of the airport, we were met with the warm desert air and dark night sky. We shed our cozy coats that kept us warm throughout our travels in Europe while we looked for our driver who we hired ahead of time to pick us up. It took us a few minutes to find the sign with our name and pick our driver out from the thick crowd of others waiting for their guests outside the arrivals gate. I was excited to see where my family booked us to stay, knowing their preference for five-star resorts. 

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The transport to our accommodations was one of the most thrilling and memorable experiences we had on our entire trip. As soon as our driver turned out from the airport and onto the village streets of Marrakech, we felt like characters on the set of an action adventure movie. We began to worry as the bright lights of the airport were replaced with the darkness of night that enveloped us as we drove farther and farther away from the light. Arabic music blasted from the radio of our shuttle van. The paved street of the airport quickly turned into a rocky, sandy gravel non-descript road that made us and our luggage bob up and down in our seats. We saw no sign of modern civilization or tourists along our way, except for sinister, narrow alley ways, motorbikes, old wagons and pushcarts with donkeys, stray cats, unfamiliar four-legged animals, and people covered in all black from head to toe. All street signs and billboards were in Arabic — a language we wished we had at least a basic handle of (at the time) before touching down in this foreign country. When Google Maps couldn’t even find us on their GPS, that’s when we became even more worried.

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We then suddenly came upon tall, thick walls that looked like an ancient fortress and an imposing gate that eerily opened upon our arrival. We later learned that the Medina is surrounded by tall, thick solid walls known as the "old city" and our riad was in the center of it. I asked my family, “where in the world are we going? This doesn’t look like the Ritz!” They told me they booked us a traditional Moroccan riad so we could fully immerse ourselves in the authentic, local culture of Marrakech. 

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After a short ride, the driver stopped in the middle of a dark and desolate narrow alley and placed our luggage on the sandy path. He said the night watchman of our riad would meet us to lead us the rest of the way to our riad. We then saw a skinny figure approach us through the darkness and got even more worried. Was this the man that our driver was talking about or someone else? It was obvious that we were tourists and with no businesses in sight or other foreigners around, we thought anything could happen. We looked around us to see what path we should take in case we needed to make a run for it. But, little did we know then, the Medina is notorious for being a complex maze that not even Google Maps can contend with. We put all faith in God and began to pray. 

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The figure approaching us turned out to be the night guard who led us down the foreboding, narrow path and to an old, hand-carved wooden door inlayed with gold and silver details. When he opened the door, we were shocked and surprised to see a beautiful, serene, and tranquil courtyard romantically lit by hanging lanterns, sconces, and the midnight stars above (pictured below). The calming ambiance was a complete sensory shift from the ancient Arabic village scene and secluded desert landscape we experienced along the way. For the next few days, our riad served as a peaceful respite and safe haven from the chaos and sensory overload of the Medina and souks. (read more)

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