Mesmerising Morocco casts its spell on me

From the red heart of the Sahara to the bustling souks of Marrakesh, this African location will leave an imprint on your soul, writes Aileen Murphy…

International Women’s Day is an occasion I’ve always been aware of but never really celebrated.

This year I decided to do something different, the sands of the Sahara were calling and I was going to make March 8 all about me.

The whole adventure started on a bleak cold January day when I saw a post on Facebook appealing for Irish ladies to come on a Moroccan adventure to the heart of the Sahara to mark International Women’s Day. I didn’t take much persuading… my deposit was paid, and I was in.

Fast forward to March 8 and a group of strangers met early in the morning in Dublin Airport. Filled with trepidation we looked at each other and wondered what we had signed ourselves up for. A group of 10, we consisted of myself from Tyrone, a Donegal duo, two ladies from Wexford, one from Bray who came along with her grand-daughter, one from Drogheda, and one from Lucan. Our final member, a Brazilian native now living in Germany would meet us in Marrakesh. Spanning counties and continents this group of women also spanned almost 50 years from the youngest to the oldest.

It’s an unnerving experience embarking on an adventure like this with people you have never met, especially when you know you are going to be sharing bedrooms and be in such close quarters with each other for the foreseeable future. Thankfully we had a group of laid-back ladies who had, for whatever reason, also felt the draw of Morocco.

Oozes spirituality

We didn’t have much time to explore Marrakesh on our first night and early on the second morning we set off for Casablanca. With ‘here’s looking at you kid’ playing on a loop in my head I was looking forward to experiencing this most famous of African cities. After around a three-hour drive we arrived in torrential rain at Casablanca. It was cold, it was wet, this was not what we had come to Morocco for! The highlight of the day was a trip to the Hassan II Mosque. One of the largest in the world this spectacular building is impressive. Holding 25,000 people indoors, with a further 75,000 outdoors it’s hard to imagine what this marble and granite creation would be like when it is full to capacity. Built on reclaimed land nestled beside the sea, and with a sliding roof which opens to the heavens it’s a place of worship which oozes spirituality.

The following day we were up early to start our mammoth journey to the desert. We would spend two days getting to the Sahara where we would stay overnight, and one long day on the road (eight/nine hours) to take us back to our Marrakesh base.

After travelling right over the top of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains our trip was broken up with a stop at the epic Ait Benhaddo, a traditional Berber fortified village which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. With a Scirocco blowing, the sand battered us as we toured this impressive site. There are villagers still living within the walled town which dates back to the 17th century. The steep winding streets transported us deep into a world which seems familiar, and that’s because it is. Ait Benhaddo is the site for many of the famous movies we grew up with – ‘The Jewel of the Nile’, ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Gladiator’, ‘Jesus of Nazareth’, ‘Ben Hur’, and many, many more famous movies were filmed in this remote site. Who needs CGI when you have locations like this!

We also stopped at the nearby Atlas Movie Studios to see where the film stars go when they need to shoot scenes requiring more than Ait Benhaddo has to offer. ‘Seven Years in Tibet’, ‘Cleopatra’, ‘The Living Daylights’, ‘The Passion’ and ‘Babel’ are among the famous list of credits you’ll find here.

Striking triangular dunes

After an overnight in a rural Riad, we were up early once again to begin the final leg of our journey to the desert. After a few hours in the bus we turned a corner and got our first glimpse of the red Saharan sands. All of a sudden the striking triangular dunes appear out of nowhere. They were so perfectly formed that it was hard to believe they were real. But real they were, and we soon found ourselves atop a camel traversing those spectacular dunes. This is what we had all come for, the Sahara had called us as a group of women and we had answered. We weren’t disappointed. Riding my camel (Achmed) for the guts of an hour up and down steep dunes was certainly not as relaxing as it sounds. Gripping the saddle bar tightly and clinging on to my sure-footed friend with my legs, onwards we went. And yet in that moment, it’s hard to imagine anywhere more peaceful or more picture perfect. There was nothing to see except sand and more sand, and nothing to hear except the steady breaths of the animal carrying me further and further into this intoxicating landscape.

Eventually our camp for the night came into sight and it was everything I had dreamed of: Luxurious tents with comfy beds and hot showers were waiting for us, and the camp was beautifully-presented with night-lights and day-beds dotted around the sand and a fire ready and waiting to be lit.

As a group, we sat in silence watching the sun set over the Sahara dunes. For many, the trip was more than just a travel adventure, it was a chance to step back from the trials and tribulations of real life and most of us used the solitude offered as nightfall approached to turn to our own thoughts.

After a tasty meal together, we gathered at the campfire where traditional Berber musicians got the party started. We danced to the sound of their drums under a black sky dotted with more stars than I have ever seen. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like a smaller part of the universe than I did sat under that sky in the vastness that is the Sahara.

It was genuinely humbling.

After a desert sleep, we greeted the sunrise of the new day with a group meditation session. Then, despite my saddle sores from the previous day, we were back on the camels as we returned to our bus for a long day of travel back to our base in Marrakesh.

Heady mix of smells and sounds

The following day gave us the chance to explore the bustling hive of Marrakesh in all its glory. I can genuinely say I’ve never been anywhere like it. A heady mix of smells and sounds, Marrakesh is an experience like no other. Taking a wander into the souks was a crazy experience. Dusty streets filled with the noise of traders bargaining loudly at speed, mixed with the fragrances of spices and animals, coupled with beautiful buildings and architecture… everywhere I turned there was something else to look at and to learn about. It’s weird because there were relatively few women working in the souks, and yet even when we got royally lost in the maze of streets, it’s not somewhere I ever felt unsafe. The only unnerving part is the crazy scooter drivers who zig-zag around you at speed in streets that are barely wider than a door.

I really don’t know how more people don’t lose their toes in the souks of Marrakesh!

One evening, our group was lucky enough to be invited to join our Moroccan friend, Hassania, and her family for a traditional dinner. As it was Ramadan, we waited until the sun began to set before making our way to the outskirts of the city to Hassania’s home.

We joined her twin sister, her mother and her nephew for a beautiful meal of cous-cous and friendship.

We may have come from different cultures, and at times there was a language barrier, but no topic was off limits. Hassania answered any questions we had about her country, her lifestyle and her faith. With grace she allowed us a unique look into the life of a Muslim woman living in Marrakesh. In turn, we told her about our adventures in the Sahara and throughout our trip.

There was great laughter as Hassania’s elderly mother, who didn’t speak English, chuckled heartily to herself as we showed her videos of us trying our hand at sandboarding in the desert and rolling down sand dunes.

As we left Hassania’s home, we met the men streaming out of the mosque on the way home from night prayer. There was a realisation that this night had been special, we had experienced Marrakesh not just as a tourist, but as a local.

As our Moroccan adventure came to an end we returned to where it had all began… Dublin Airport. But this time we were not a group of strangers meeting for the first time, we were a group of friends who had experienced a week we would never forget.

We had bonded, we had explored, we had shared stories and life experiences, we had laughed and then we laughed some more. As we said goodbye and went our separate ways, each of us knew this was a week we would never forget, and that Morocco would hold a special place in our hearts for a very long time to come.

For me, International Women’s Day is now very firmly marked on my calendar.

Of course, it won’t be a trip to the desert every year, but I will pause and make time for myself. I think it’s something we ladies should all try to do. It’s only one day a year and we are all most definitely worth it.

* I organised my Moroccan adventure with support from the excellent Dreamin’ Holidays (www.dreaminholidays.com) and using a Ryanair flight direct from Dublin to Marrakesh.