AIBU to think Marrakesh was far worse than I expected?

You do know though that some will consider Western women wearing an abaya etc is an insult to them ?

They just want to have the usual MN dig at how terrible Britain is. Yawn.

Are you saying that all the women who get assaulted and harassed do suffer fools gladly so it's their own fault?

Been to Marrakesh and the whole of Egypt and love them both.

Stayed in a lovely riad.

Met a guy who had a stall outside and an art gallery upstairs. Went up there and we were smoking hashish.

Had to laugh cos they only did breakfast on the roof terrace and a Belgian guy was smoking hash during breakfast - he had to finish it, he'd done a tour of Morocco.

Took him to meet my mate, had a lovely time. The mate had been married to an Australian woman and they travelled all over North Africa together.
Been to Essaouera (sp!) too, lovely place. Did you know Jimi Hendrix lived there for a while.

Was in M. solo and never got bothered but then I'm late 60's.

Similar experiences as a woman in Tunisia and Gambia have sadly put me off travel to any Muslim majority country.

I am sure there are wonderfully hospitable people living all across the globe, however cultures and customs differ wildly. Some people love to experience this on holiday, I want to feel welcone, safe and relaxed.

The episode of Ab Fab where they are in the soul 😂 Edina

Also what purpose is served by saying “well I wasn’t hassled”. Are you insinuating those of us that were were at fault?

We were modestly dressed but were two unaccompanied young women which was clearly not acceptable to the men there.

No. Inaccurate and racist.

Because it isn't. Marrakech is horrid. We found the rest of Morocco much better.

Both sweeping, and accurate.

That's a pretty sweeping statement, and doesn't align with my own experience at all.

After what I experienced in Cairo in my twenties I vowed never to visit North Africa again never have never will. Grim.

Dd aged 18 with female friend travelled independently around Central America with zero hassle. Same with me at that age. But not North Africa - unless you’re a man then it’s fine 🙄

We had a man in his fifties putting his arm
around my 16 year daughter and chatting her up. We were on a tour from a cruise and the tour guide took the group to a basement shop of his friend on the tour and made us sit while they tried to sell us oils and massages. A man from Liverpool had to chase the shopkeeper to get his change. We were constantly hassled by small children of about four years old begging in the street. I would not go back there.

We loved Marrakech, and neither young adult dd nor I experienced any hassle from the men, even when we were walking around alone or together without DH. They did try to sell us stuff, of course, but it was all in good humour and we didn't feel pressured.

If I'm honest, I was a little bit disappointed with the food...we had some nice meals but the options were somewhat limited for us as vegetarians.

We would happily go again though!

I had a similar experience in Istanbul years ago. I was travelling with a female friend. We felt much more comfortable when we travelled more rurally within Turkey afterwards, it seemed to be something about the city itself. We were dressed modestly and noted some women wearing less (no judgment, just showing shoulders / vest tops and shorts) who got no grief at all, but they were with male companions.

Morocco is a mixed bag. We were told Women over 45 are old so clearly not of interest from a male attention POV. But it’s still an undeveloped country grappling
with its culture and their impression of the western ways of female tourists.

What do you mean, you "don't suffer fools gladly"? I'm sure most of us don't. Sadly it doesn't stop male harassment and assault.

Yep. Unfortunately true.

Absolutely love Marrakesh and Morocco and regularly take myself off there for an adventure - travelling all over. I have never felt unsafe. Yes there’s poverty and dirt as there is here. I am no more harassed there as I am here but I don’t suffer fools gladly so nothing to worry about

I’ve been several times and this wasn’t my experience at all. I walked through the medina at around 10pm at night alone (I’m female, for the avoidance of doubt) and apart from a few pushy sellers i had no bother at all. Neither did I get ill. The animal welfare/abuse is upsetting but you have to take that in the context of history, culture, poverty, suppression of Indigenous culture - you can’t go to a country where poaching and abusing animals is some people’s only source of income and demand it stops without also looking at systemic issues around it. I hate seeing it too so I’m not excusing it. People in Marrakesh are generally very open, friendly and welcoming people if you actually talk to them.

I'm surprised at that poster's experience too. My daughter worked in Malta for a few months in 2024. She travelled around solo for much of the time with no problem. She loved it, and we're planning a trip there soon, so I suppose I'll find out for myself.

I love Marrakech.

Ive travelled all over Morocco, Egypt and the Mid East solo. At the time I had waist length red hair so I took pains to cover it. When I went to Iran I bought myself two long robes of the kind that women there wear. They cover a multitude of sins and you can get off with wearing little underneath. I also wore a scarf to cover my hair completely. Consequently I did not rate a second look in the soukh. Two women walking around with blond hair showing are bound to attract attention. I can recall walking through the soukh at Aswan. Two fellow travellers from my party were being hassled in the manner you describe. I walked right past them and they didnt even recognise me. Its like I was invisible. Thats how I like to shop.

One may argue that most tourists are not going to want to wear hijab. However you are in their country and its wise to dress in a similar manner to local women so as not to attract unwelcome attention. If you take a couple of coverall outfits thats your daytime dress problem solved. I should add that I am not interested in beaches and pools. My interest ies in the art, architecture and culture.

I was in Marakech a couple of weeks ago for a few days with my sisters. We all all 60+ (and not beautiful) so not of interest to men but after reading some awful stuff I was dreading going. We were on high alert for scams and hassle but we were actually very pleasantly surprised. Yes everyone we encountered on the streets was male, and yes they were pushy if you stopped to look at anything, but they were also unfailingly polite and actually kind to us. We asked directions a couple of times to historical sites and were not only helped to find them but given information and advice about them. We stayed in a riad in the back streets of the medina and never felt unsafe at any time, aside from the motorbikes and scooters that whizzed past us non stop. We saw some horse drawn carriages which we stayed well clear of but didn't see any actice cruelty as such. There was lots of stray cats around, but we saw evidance that food and water is left out for them. We were in the main square and I was dreading seeing monkeys and snakes etc but we didn't see anything like that thank goodness. The food in the cafes wasn't great, but we went to a couple of nice restaurants and they were lovely. I probably wouldn't go back, and I would advise anyone going to be cautious, but we really enjoyed our trip.