I landed in Casablanca yesterday on the 9th. All the Moroccans have been very friendly and very helpful and interested in travellers. A few have obviously tried to charge way to high for things that I want to buy, but overall the experience has been very good.
Casablanca has a huge mosque that is worth seeing. They spent billions on it and interestingly wasn not even designed by a Muslim. It is quite impressive though. Then after sampling some mint tea and local chawarmas (quite good), i took a train to Marakesch and had a really good conversation with three guys who live in Marakesch and were going home on the train.
Arriving in Marakesch at night, the first thing that I thought was actually - TOURIST TRAP! Lots of stores, lots of tourists, the square and market all seemed to be aimed at one thing and one thing only - suckering you in to cough up some cash.
However, upon awakening the next morning, I had a better impression. It still felt quite touristy, but the city is really pretty and well done up...I would compare it to Santa Fe -- touristy, yes, but also very nice. Saw lots of nice Berber rugs and handcrafts and sampled a bunch of local good eats (some good bread, fried fish, sausage, etc). I also bought the local form of Tiger baum for $1.50. The guy originally was asking $15.00. I think I still probly overpaid but didnt feel like haggling anymore.
Everyone in the streets thinks Im Japanese and would shout Konichiwa at me.
Overall Marakesch is really pretty and I tried to take many pictures of the Medina, ie the old Muslim quarter where most of the sightseeing is at.
