Good Morn.. -omg what is that smell- Marrakesh

I arrive early in the morning at Marrakesh, the heart and soul of Morocco. Marrakesh is desert landscape and more of a flat city than tall. The ground is reddish brown and sand colored. Patches of green appear scattered in the flat sandy grounds. The buildings are no more than three or four stories at the most.



I follow the two French girls to the bus. For the cost of 10 dirham I was able to get from the airport to the main entrance to the medina. The entire ride over, I see people riding bike like scooters. These vehicles look like bikes but have a small engine under the main drive train cog. They make an even more annoying noise than modpeds and Djemaa el-Fna scoot along slowly on the edges of the road. Through the front gates we arrive in the main square area called. The square has lots of tents setup selling foods and an area dedicated to fresh squeezed orange juice, at 3 dirham each, roughly seventy-five cents US. I start walking around the market and taking in the various smells and sights.



The difference between pristine, clean, and nature park that is Switzerland and this dry arid desert country of Morocco is night and day. There have been many "what the hell am I doing" moments on this trip. Some of these include sleeping in the cold on top of Ben Nevis, running with the bulls at San Fermin, an 18 meter waterfall jump at Interlaken, and finally this: walking into the main medina market area of Marrakesh, Morocco.



Just whiffs of both good and bad smells mixed in with huge open market. I look around me and the people are dressed so vastly different. I see monkeys, cobras, turtles, chameleons and camels all over the market. Music is being played from instruments that I’ve never seen before. The hustle and bustle was all just a lot to take in all at once.