The Medina
What confuses, surprises, or unsettles visitors about life inside the old walled city — and the infrastructure behind it.
What is a medina?The Arabic word for "city."Why is my GPS wrong?High walls bounce GPS signals — errors of 10 to 30 metres.What does "Balak!" mean?Move aside.Why does the bathroom smell?Dry drain traps. Run the tap for ten seconds.Why is the riad so hard to find?The door is designed to blend into the wall.Why is it so cold inside in winter?Thermal mass works both ways.Why can you hear everything?The courtyard is a vertical amphitheatre.Why are the beds so hard?That's how they're meant to feel in Morocco.Why are there cockroaches in a clean riad?Climate and infrastructure, not hygiene.Why is it so loud at 4:30am?The call to prayer (Fajr) from minarets.What was the 2023 earthquake?Magnitude 6.8, 8 September 2023.Why are the walls stained or bubbling?Efflorescence — mineral salts pushed to the surface by moisture.Why are the floors stained or uneven?Handmade tiles are porous by nature.Why does the wifi barely work?Thick walls block the signal.Why does the electricity flicker?Old wiring and shared circuits.Why are there cats everywhere?They're the city's pest control.