I was first attracted to Marrakesh when my sister listed in her own blog all the nifty reasons to go there. It certainly does not have the same Hollywood-esque popularity of Casablanca, but it does make up for it through the Moroccan culture’s shopping culture and desert climate.

Riad Kniza

I became a travel tourist to Morocco two weeks after reading my sister’s blog (it just was not possible to fly the next day). I checked into the Riad Kniza and was determined to enjoy my vacation alone shopping and climbing up the Atlas Mountains. The Kniza is a small hotel inside the medina. (Just like in any other Moroccan city, Marrakesh is composed of an old, walled city or medina, and an adjacent modern city called the Gueliz.)

Djemaa el Fna

I made my way to the Djemaa el Fna after sleeping for a few hours to get over my jetlag. It was already 6PM when I headed out. Being the busiest square in the entire Africa, the Djemaa was already bustling with food stalls. Tourists from Europe and America were munching on some food. Since I am not quite the experimental type when it comes to food, I looked around for any signs of the hamburger. I was casually told by my tourist guide that the square actually teems with performance artists by day – acrobats, storytellers, dancers and musicians as well as water sellers.

On my second day at the Djemma, I went out to the souk or traditional market (which is said to be the largest in Morocco). I bought a few souvenirs as proofs of my journeys travel. 

My Morocco adventure travel to the square did not last – I was back at the Kniza at 7PM and headed straight to the restaurant. I spotted M. Bouskri at one of the tables; he offered me a seat when I approached him. For the rest of the night, over servings of traditional Moroccan food, Mr. Bouskri shared to me things about Marrakesh that I would not have known just by looking at the food fest in Djemaa.