I met Lahcen at my hostel. We get some mint tea. I explain him I want to organize a pancake adventure in Morocco. He tells me: “I know just the place. I am busy now but later tonight I am working in another Riad. Come by if you like.” Since I have nothing else to do than waiting for my brother to arrive, I might as well.
According to Google Maps Riad Dihya is 750 meter away from The Madrassa.
The Marrakech Maze
As you can see it is just around the corner. It shouldn’t be to hard. After 500 meters I look on Google maps again to see how the blue dot has moved further away from my destination than when I started. I walk back, take a right at random and walk on. I look on Google maps, the blue dot is now somewhere in a building and a light blue circle is around it, covering the whole area. So no use here. I pass a guy who says I look like Alibaba and then tries to sell me hash. I tell him no and walk on. “This way is closed,” he calls after me. I heard that before, almost every time I pass a guy when I am not heading to the main square.
After one minute I realize the road is closed. I walk back and pass the hash seller again. “Where are you going?” he asks friendly. I show him the street name and the map. “You are in completely the wrong place, my friend. Follow me.” I follow. I have no choice. He walks fast in front of me. I am still not sure if I should follow him, because I have the feeling we are walking in the opposite direction. We arrive at a riad in the street. He has no idea. He doesn’t even bother to ask for money and leaves me in front of the riad. The guy from the Riad says this is not the Dihya. He gives me a city map and points out where I have to go. I leave and follow his instructions. I take a look on Google Maps and again the blue dot is somewhere far away from the red pin.
I have the feeling that nobody really knows the way. The roads change direction as you walk them, just like that board game Labyrinth. In Marrakech everybody is just walking, hoping they will arrive at the right place. So I decide to just enjoy the beautiful golden alleyways while randomly arriving at my destination.
Finally I arrive at the Riad. “We are gonna give you a real good experience. In my village Imider. You won’t be disappointed.”
