La dolce vita

‘Get lost and find treasures in the souqs: the ultimate urban labyrinth,’ Lonely Planet’s ‘Marrakesh’ guide urged. Subconsciously, I decided to take its advice.

I’ll never forget the day that I got lost in Marrakesh’s web of market stalls: the souqs. After a day of sightseeing I made my way back to my riad beyond the walls of the medieval Medina. Dazed and disoriented, grappling with culture shock and the constant shouts of ‘Shakira,’ I relented. Without realising it, I had entered the narrow souqs, and it would take quite a while to find my way out.

Terracotta-hued dust enveloped me. Donkeys and carts hurtled past, hooded wild horsemen overtaking each other with pride. Carpet stalls and beaded slipper stands mingled with tradesmen brandishing their bootleg Chinese goods. My senses were assaulted with the heady scent of horse dung, oranges and incense, the hustle and bustle, the constant catcalls. If only I had been gifted with invisibility.

Narrow streets turned into even narrower alleys, winding and uncurling, but ultimately reaching a dead end, like a murderous maze. I showed a bearded trader my map and pointed at the circle that marked my riad. ‘It’s that way,’ he pointed, vaguely indicating to my right, slightly smirking. Thanking him for his generosity, I went on my way. The wrong way.

Forty minutes later and the sun was setting fast. I found myself in an alley where sad cats scrounged and desecrated donkeys brayed. Each carpet stall looked like the last. Vibrant magentas and burnt ambers…oranges and incense...donkeys braying and traders howling...young boys hassling. My head hurt.

With customary good fortune I happened upon the little man with the fez I had met the first evening on my way into town. ‘Beware of the people around here,’ he had uttered, grave concern written on his face. I started to express my frustration, but this had long since abated. Exhaustion and adventure had collided and retreated and I had actually quite enjoyed losing myself in the souqs. In hindsight, that is.

A mixture of fantasy and reality, exhilaration and exhaustion, affirmation and contradiction – like any travel adventure, getting lost in the souqs is undoubtedly a good way to prepare yourself for the Marrakesh experience. Just don’t ask for directions!