Upon arriving in Marrakech early Friday morning, we took an airport taxi to the Riad we had booked for our stay. Located in Targa (the newly developed wealthy district), along the way we drove by rundown factories, crumbling stucco walls, lavish abodes, donkey carts, well kept gardens and luxury cars. Marrakesh is a city of contrasts.Typically, I think we do a fair job of capturing the essence of the places we visit. But, reviewing our photos from this trip, I should qualify that all Moroccans don’t wear the customary overcoat made popular amongst American hippies in the 60’s–nor do all women cover themselves from head to toe, every child is not dirty, all people do not ride about in donkey carts. The Morocco that we’ve captured within our photos is somewhat misleading as we’ve taken photos of the most beautiful and notable sights–the most unique. We’ve neglected to reflect the wealth of the upper class, the designer shops and the more mainstream culture. Had our trip been a bit longer, we certainly would have represented this other perspective.
Within this post, I’ll try to counter balance a bit of the story you’ll find in subsequent posts.
Villa Guest is a gated villa in Targa. With a brightly colored salmon exterior, sea foam green lattice on the balcony, a striking fountain along the front walk and palms on either side, the villa is striking. We weren’t quite sure of what we were getting into with this villa as we signed up online for its sister property only to arrive and find they had overbooked. The property’s owner assured us that this room would fit our needs and in hindsight they delivered above and beyond.
We took our breakfast on the front lawn or the second floor balcony outside our room. We read our books on the balcony as we listened to the birds chirping in the garden and the peaceful sound of the fountain’s stream. This, our homebase in Marrakech, was a welcome respite from the grit and noise of the Old City and Square. With hindsight, while the villa was our last resort–we wouldn’t change a thing. Villa Guest gave us much rest and relaxation–and a bit of pampering–all at a discount price.