Change In Plans

This short post is about walking in the medinas of Fes and Marrakech.

If walking in the Fes medina were a game, it would be a maze, written on dusty ancient parchment, and worked through with an old quill pen. It would be played in a room that was 105 degrees, but shady. It would be pleasant, but frustrating.

If walking in the Marrakech medina were a game, it would be the old video game, Frogger. In Frogger, the player controlled a frog that was trying to cross a stream by jumping from log to log. The logs are all moving at different speeds, and in both directions.

The streets in the Marrakech medina are generally twice as wide (or more) than the streets in Fes. This means that they are generally 15-20 feet wide. In the marketplaces, the streets tend to be narrower, and to have shops on both sides, spilling out into the public space.

In Fes, there are no cars at all, and very few motor scooters or mopeds. The biggest traffic hazard is the donkeys and donkey carts, which force everyone to the sides with shouts of “Belek! Belek!” Having so many pedestrians crammed into small space slows down the pace of walking, but it is subdued and civil.

In Marrakech, the streets are complete chaos. In addition to the pedestrians and the donkey carts (fewer), there are thousands of motor scooters and bicycles, plus the occasional small car or truck. In any given minute, walking in the center of the medina, we would:

• Pass 20-30 people sitting on the sides of the street
• Pass 10-20 people walking slowly or standing and chatting
• Be passed by 40-50 people walking int he opposite direction
• Be passed by 3-5 donkeys and/or donkey carts and 5-10 bicycles
• Be passed by 20-30 mopeds and motor scooters, going in either direction, at speeds ranging from 5-30 miles per hour. Many of these vehicels are carrying two or three passengers.
• Be passed by the occasional car (one every 5 minutes or so)

As you can imagine, this much motion creates collisions and near-misses all over the place. All of the two-stroke and diesel engines also spew exhaust which hangs in the air. Young men (in particular) rev and skid and rev and skid their motor scooters through the traffic, seeming to revel in the video-game aspect of it.

We only saw two real accidents (one bad one), and within the family, Zola was the only one to have a vehicle make contact with his body. A huge, slow-moving wheelbarrow cart full of pastries knocked him into a shop in the shoe market. There were no injuries.

Marrakech is vibrant and alive, and full of people eager to get from someplace to someplace else. Our walks through the old city have been very stimulating, except for Tallulah, who is incredibly casual about it all. This afternoon, she fell asleep in the stroller for over an hour as we walked over the cobblestones. Amazing.