Judd’s trip to Morocco

Marrakech - one of the most evocative places in the world. Just the name conjures up images of this cultural melting pot – sandstone buildings, dusty streets and towering minarets against deep blue skies immediately spring to mind. Known as The Red City thanks to the hue of the thick walls surrounding the old city, Marrakech has been a popular tourist destination in Morocco since the 1960s. While the scene has calmed down significantly since its heyday, Morocco remains a top spot of gay travellers in need of a sunny escape with a rich cultural and artistic pedigree. When planning a trip here, keep in mind that there isn’t much of an exclusively gay scene and that a trip to Morocco will be a more immersive experience. It’s a place to engage the senses, nowhere more so than in the famous souks. These vibrant markets are a whirlwind of colour and noise, where throngs of people weave between tightly packed stalls exhibiting pyramids of brightly coloured spices, richly woven rugs and a thousand other exotic goods. Enticing smells waft through the souks, and the clamour of voices haggling and the cries of vendors competing for customers provides a constant backing track to the city.

In its heyday, Fes attracted scholars and philosophers, mathematicians and lawyers, astronomers and theologians. Craftsmen built them houses and palaces, kings endowed mosques and medersas (religious schools), and merchants offered exotic wares from the silk roads and sub-Saharan trade routes. Although Fes lost its influence at the beginning of the 19th century, it remains a supremely self-confident city whose cultural and spiritual lineage beguiles visitors. Something of the medieval remains in the world’s largest car-free urban area and its charms are many. Seemingly blind alleys lead to squares with exquisite fountains and streets bursting with aromatic food stands, rooftops unveil a sea of minarets and stooped doorways reveal tireless artisans.