Arriving in Marrakech:-

Flying into Marrakech provides some outstanding views which fill you with anticipation. On one side of the aircraft you have the high peaks of the Atlas mountains, surrounded by vast desert and untouched sand dunes. On the other side you get your first glimpse of a sprawling dusty city with a surprising amount of luscious green fields surrounding it. I have never been on a flight where people have craned their necks and excitedly discussed what they could see like they did on this flight.

As we stepped off the plane, the heat didn't hit us like it would in Europe. The dry, 40 degrees+ air was not overwhelming at all and in fact very comfortable and welcoming.

Although I had read many guides and thought I was pretty clued up as to what to expect from Marrakech, the transfer is still a bit of a culture shock. During our 20 minute transfer we witnessed groups of boys and men completing ritual bathing in scenic water fountains in the middle of the road which they needed to complete before prayer.

As we turned every corner there would be something new for sale from a cart, stall or even just a blanket laid on the path - watermelons, cactus fruit, tagines, clay pots, orange juice, plants, chickens (both alive and dead!), nuts, herbs, spices, dried fruit, I could go on......it felt like everyone on the streets had something to sell.

We passed the old city walls and our guide pointed out a huge graveyard which simply had hundreds of unmarked and plain gravestones inside it which our guide explained is the Muslim way.

I naively thought there would only be one mosque in Marrakech as the guide books only mention the famous Koutoubia. The skyline however is full of smaller mosque Minaret's, each a seemingly perfect replica of Koutoubia but none are as grand and tall 220 foot imposing structure.

We passed the Royal palace which was surrounded by huge high walls and heavily guarded by armed military and police every few metres around the perimeter. You couldn't see anything at all yet we were still politely told that photographs were forbidden.

Next we passed the 7 saints of Marrakech which were 7 column tombs in memory of the city's 7 founding saints. They are said to protect the city from any harm.

The roads were absolutely manic, our guide warned us about mopeds and how they thought they owned the road and he certainly wasn't wrong. If any driver dared to hesitate for just 1 second at lights, a junction or a roundabout they would immediately hear the sound of 20+ horns sounding urging them to hurry up.

Mopeds are used as a family car in Marrakech, we saw 5 people on one moped at one point and baby's would be riding in their mother's shawl or toddlers sandwiched between mum and dad on the same seat, all with no helmets on and dangerously weaving in and out of traffic. I had to close my eyes at one point when we narrowly missed crushing a moped and passengers into the wall as it tried to squeeze past us. Absolute madness!

We witnessed all sorts of animals in our short journey; 5 camels were being taken for a walk down the motorway, 2 cows were sharing a trailer with 6 men, chickens were being pushed around in carts and animal's were being skinned by the roadside.

Some of the roads had been temporarily partially closed to make way for the huge influx of men who had all lay down their mats and were kneeling to pray. A taxi driver later informed us that the number of people who pray during Ramadan is huge compared to other months. It seemed like every corner we turned would have men on the road or by the roadside praying.

The 20 minute journey certainly opened my eyes but definitely left me eager for more. We felt like we were on another planet and had been transported to some far off, mystical and magical land and not just a 3.5 hr flight away from the UK. As we pulled up to our hotel and were greeted by the door staff with a lovely refreshing cocktail, I couldn't wait to check in and begin our adventure.......