Why do medina streets feel narrower than the map suggests?

Buildings lean inward at upper floors, covered passages bridge the gap entirely, and everything from workshops to parked motorcycles claims the remaining space. A three-metre alley might leave you one metre to walk through.

Why does Marrakech feel hotter, slower, and louder than other cities?

Marrakech sits at 450 metres on a clay plain at the edge of the Sahara. Dense earthen walls absorb heat all day and radiate it back all night. Sound bounces between them. The city's rhythm follows the sun, not the clock.

Why does silence sound different here than at home?

Thick earthen walls absorb high frequencies. Courtyard architecture creates acoustic wells. The absence of constant mechanical background noise reveals sounds that were always there.

Why do riads feel cooler inside than outside, even without AC?

Walls forty to sixty centimetres thick absorb heat all day and keep it out of the rooms behind them. The courtyard pulls hot air upward. A fountain adds evaporative cooling. The whole system runs on geometry and gravity — 10–15°C below street temperature without electricity.

Why do riads feel humid, especially at night?

The courtyard fountain that cools the riad during the day keeps running at night. Thick walls absorb and release moisture. Limited air exchange traps humidity in ground-floor rooms after dark.

Why do riad rooms only have windows facing inward?

Privacy. If windows face inward, no one on the street can see in. The family's life happens around the courtyard, visible only to the sky and the household.

Why do shopkeepers shout but then ignore you when you enter?

The shout gets you in the door. The ignoring gets you to stay.

Why does the city wake up late after lunch?

The temperature. Marrakech between 1pm and 4pm in summer is routinely above 42°C. The midday closure is biology, not tradition.

Why are Moroccan houses inward-facing, not outward?

Wealth is expressed inward, toward the courtyard. A plain exterior wall protects domestic life from the public gaze. The principle is [hchouma](https://slowmorocco.com/glossary#hchouma) — displaying wealth on the exterior is considered tasteless.

Why do so many streets end in walls or dead ends?

The dead end is a boundary, not a mistake. The cul-de-sac belongs to the families who live on it — semi-private space where children play because through-traffic cannot reach them.

Why do riad bathrooms sometimes smell?

Dry water traps. Run the tap for ten seconds and the smell stops.

Why do cats outnumber dogs in these cities?

Cats are everywhere in the medina.

Why does tap water taste or smell weird sometimes?

Safe but mineral-heavy. Morocco's tap water comes from Atlas limestone aquifers — high in calcium and magnesium. In older buildings, decades-old pipes and rooftop storage tanks add their own character.

Why do meals feel later than you're used to?

Lunch lands around 1:30–3pm, dinner at 9 or 10. The schedule follows the heat, not the clock.

Why do people eat bread with everything, even sweet things?

[Khobz](https://slowmorocco.com/glossary#khobz) is the utensil, not a side dish. It tears, scoops, and delivers. No fork touches the tagine.

Why doesn't mint tea taste like mint tea everywhere?

Moroccan mint tea is Chinese gunpowder green tea brewed strong, combined with fresh spearmint and a tablespoon of sugar per glass. Poured from height to aerate. Three rounds, each tasting different.

Why does the ground feel warmer underfoot than the air?

Thermal lag. Dense materials — stone, brick, rammed earth — absorb solar energy all day and release it over hours. At midnight, the terrace tiles are still releasing heat absorbed at noon.

Why does heat feel more exhausting here than elsewhere?

Radiant heat from every surface, invisible dehydration from low humidity, and elevated UV at 450 metres altitude. Multiple heat stressors operating simultaneously.

Why do cockroaches show up even in clean places?

Climate and urban density, not hygiene. The medina's interconnected drainage and shared walls create pathways between buildings. A cockroach in a clean riad travelled from the infrastructure below.

Why does walking 500 meters feel like 2 kilometers?

No straight sightlines. Every turn resets your mental map. Add heat, crowds, uneven ground, and constant sensory input — perceived distance stretches.

Why does Google Maps mislead you more here than at home?

Google Maps assumes grid-based, car-navigable streets. The medina has none. GPS bounces off high walls with ten-to-thirty-metre errors. In a city where parallel streets are five metres apart, that puts you on the wrong street.

Why do locals turn right where tourists go left?

Residents navigate by a mental map built over years. The wider street is often the congested commercial route. The narrow dark passage is the empty residential shortcut.

Why do shop aisles seem emptier but more crowded?

A Moroccan [souk](https://slowmorocco.com/glossary#souk) shop stacks goods floor to ceiling with the shopkeeper sitting in the middle. The browsable space is whatever remains — often less than a square metre.

Why does it feel rude to refuse tea but you don't want any?

Tea is a hospitality protocol. Accepting acknowledges the social relationship. Refusing signals rejection of the person, not the drink.

Why does time feel elastic here?

Morocco operates on two simultaneous time systems. Official time runs on the clock. Social time runs on context. A meeting at 10am means the meeting begins when the relevant people arrive.

Why does everything feel more intense at dusk?

Heat breaks, the call to prayer cascades, street food fires up, and the red earth architecture catches low-angle light. Five sensory shifts within one hour.

Why do medina walls feel like memory?

Every repair is visible. Each owner used a different plaster mix, a different colour, a different hand. Rain carves channels. Salt pushes plaster off in sheets. A single wall can show three generations of maintenance.

Why do neighborhoods have their own invisible rules?

Each [derb](https://slowmorocco.com/glossary#derb) is a self-governing unit with codes that predate municipal law. The families share responsibility for cleaning, lighting, maintenance, and surveillance of the shared passage.

Why do markets feel alive but not loud?

Markets are zoned by trade, and each trade has its own acoustic signature. You move through acoustic neighbourhoods with transitions between them.

Why is there white powdery stuff on the walls?

[Efflorescence](https://slowmorocco.com/glossary#efflorescence) — mineral salts drawn to the surface by moisture migrating through porous earth walls. The wall is functioning as a wick.

Is Marrakech safe after the 2023 earthquake?

Yes. Magnitude 6.8, September 2023 — nearly 3,000 dead, but the devastation was in remote mountain villages, not the city. The medina's thick-walled construction proved largely resilient. By early 2024, it was largely repaired and fully operational.

What should I wear in Marrakech?

Shoulders and knees covered. Loose, light, natural fibres. Shoes you can walk on uneven stone in for hours.

Why does the first night in a riad feel unsettling?

Unfamiliar silence, unidentifiable sounds, an open courtyard between your room and the night sky, and jet lag weaponising all of it. Your brain is scanning an unknown environment. By the third night, it stands down.

Why are there monkeys in Marrakech, and should I interact with them?

Barbary macaques are endangered primates taken illegally from the wild as infants, with teeth pulled, and chained as photo props. Paying for a photo funds the next capture. Wild populations live in the cedar forests near Azrou and Ifrane.

Why do women grab your hand and start drawing henna on it?

Once the henna paste is on your skin, you're expected to pay 200–500 dirhams. Pull your hand back before it touches skin. That's the only thing that stops it.

How does a Moroccan hammam actually work?

Three rooms, each hotter than the last. Steam, black olive soap, then someone scrubs your skin with a coarse glove until visible rolls of dead skin come off. Locals do this weekly. Entry runs 15–20 dirhams.

What's the difference between a local hammam and a spa hammam?

A local hammam costs 20 dirhams. You sit on the floor with strangers, someone scrubs you hard, and you emerge feeling reassembled. A spa hammam costs 400–800 dirhams, with private rooms, softer scrubs, and English-speaking staff.

Should I take a calèche ride, and are the horses okay?

Look for the blue SPANA band on the horse's ankle. It means veterinary-inspected, microchipped, and passed as fit to work.

Who has right of way in a medina alley?

An unwritten hierarchy based on physics: laden donkeys first, then handcarts, then motorcycles, then bicycles, then pedestrians. The thing hardest to stop gets priority.

Why is it so loud in the medina at night?

Stone walls carry sound. Courtyards amplify it. No buffer between a wedding next door and your pillow.

Can you file a noise complaint in Morocco?

Yes. Law 11-03 (Article 47) prohibits noise nuisance — fines up to 40,000 dirhams. Penal Code Article 609 addresses nocturnal disturbances. The complaint chain: moqaddem → arrondissement → procureur du Roi.

What is the Police Touristique and how do I reach them?

Morocco's dedicated tourist police unit. Marrakech station: Place Jemaa el-Fna near the post office. Direct line: +212 524 384 601. 24-hour line: +212 524 888 680. National emergency: 19 (police), 177 (gendarmerie), 112 (mobile).

Can you photograph people in Morocco?

Ask first. Point at your camera, raise your eyebrows — most people will nod or wave no. Performers in the squares expect 10–20 MAD. Architecture, food, stalls are fine. Faces are where it matters.

What is Ramadan, and how does it affect your visit?

The Islamic month of fasting from dawn to sunset. In 2026: approximately 18 February – 19 March. Most tourist businesses stay open. Visitors aren't expected to fast — just discreet about eating and drinking in public during daylight.

What happens during Eid al-Adha in Morocco?

Morocco's most important religious holiday. Families sacrifice a sheep to commemorate the Prophet Ibrahim's obedience. In 2026: around 27 May. In 2027: around 17 May. Most urban businesses stay open but may close for part of the morning.

When are public holidays in Morocco, and do shops close on Fridays?

11 fixed public holidays and 4 Islamic holidays that shift annually by the lunar calendar. Friday is prayer day — banks and government offices close, souks and tourist shops carry on.

Should you take your shoes off when entering a Moroccan home?

In homes, riad living areas, and mosques — yes. The cue is visible: a row of shoes near the door, a mat, or your host in slippers.

How do you eat from a shared tagine without embarrassing yourself?

Right hand, bread as your utensil, eat from the section directly in front of you. Someone may bring a basin and kettle to wash hands before the meal.

Why does Agadir look nothing like other Moroccan cities?

On 29 February 1960, a 5.8 earthquake destroyed the entire city in 15 seconds. Between 12,000 and 15,000 dead. Agadir was rebuilt from scratch two kilometres south — wide boulevards, modern architecture, seismic safety standards.

What is there to do in Agadir if you're not a beach person?

Agadir is a base, not a destination. Souk El Had is one of North Africa's largest markets. The restored Kasbah hilltop reopened in 2024. The real draw is what's around it: Taghazout (20 min), Paradise Valley (1 hour), Tiznit's silver market, Taroudant.

Why do Moroccan cities feel layered, not organized?

The short answer

Each era added to what was already there. Unlike European cities periodically levelled by fire, war, or planning, Moroccan medinas were never wiped clean.

A Roman column embedded in a wall. A French balcony grafted onto a much older house. A satellite dish bolted to a minaret.

The street you walk on may be a metre above the original ground level — built up by centuries of debris, collapsed walls, and new foundations laid over old ones. A doorway gets bricked up, plastered over, and a new one opens two metres to the left. Both are still visible.

Sources

UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medina of Marrakesh (Ref 331)
Haut-Commissariat au Plan du Maroc