AIBU to think Marrakesh was far worse than I expected?

This ⬆️

Have been in 2 minds as to whether to go - not sure l will bother tbh

My worst ever holiday was in Turkiye, I'll never go back.
Constant harassment.

It’s been years since I’ve been to Marrakesh and Morocco. Entire trip I was also constantly sexually harassed. Won’t be back.

There are a lot of places on my "don't go"list

Probably more than half the world 😂

This has always been on there

But I had a colleague go as part of a group trip, with her husband.

She said it was so bad that women in the group had to join couples with men in them. So there were no single women in the group she said, but the common factor seemed to be that you needed a man with you

and she said as a couple, they didn't feel particularly safe either. I think she was quite shocked because she just happily goes everywhere. They ended up going round in this larger group for most of the time because it was safer for everybody

It depends where you live in the UK. I feel very safe going out at night, but everywhere is different.

I went as part of a tour group it was part of a Spanish language course and we escourted everywhere. However, we were still not immune from hasstle and warned not to stray from the group. We travelled from Spain and all had to 'accidently' leave a banknote in our passports (10 Euros minimum) for the officials to find else the group would be held up for hours. (It's a scam that is known to the Govt, Police etc but just ignored.) At the hotel the staff (all male) couldn't do enough for the young female members of the group and a few were propositioned. Us older ladies were ignored - to the extent that we were still waiting for our meal when the others had finished!
I enjoyed the trip. I got on very well with our official Moroccan guide, an older man about my age, comparing lives etc but even he was intrigued that my DH would allow me to travel without him! However, I wouldn't go again and certainly not without a man in tow.

Another one here - friend and I (both female) got threatened with violence because we wouldn't pay for uninvited directions to somewhere. If it ever happens again anywhere I travel to, I'm just going to scream the word 'POLICE!' as loud as I can and hope that they just scarper.

You've got to be the only solo women travellers who haven't been harassed, unless you didn't leave the hotel of course.
I loved Marrakesh. I went to the medina with my two DDs. I'd had to tell my eldest to put a kaftan over her strapless dress. At first she wouldn't stop saying hello etc, but quickly got nervous. We were cat called, but still enjoyed the visit, except for the tortoises in tiny cages, in the sun all day. Agadir was better. I enjoyed Sharm, but spent a lot of time snorkeling. Hurghada was run down, but the hotel was good. The dogs on the beach, with puppies were upsetting.

@HazelMember a woman went to leave the hotel alone, at night and the security had the police have a word. Where did you walk alone, at night?

I'm struggling with the "well the first time I went it was awful but the second time I went it was ok" type posts.

Why? Why go twice!!!?

Its on my list of places that I really don't fancy. There's plenty of other places in the world so why would I?!

This alone makes it horrible.

I hated Marrakesh so much - dirty, animal cruelty, couldn’t walk a few steps without being harassed. Men peeing openly in markets. Truly a culture shock.

My friend (who is a pretty seasoned traveller so not likely to put herself into silly scenarios) went with her partner for a long weekend. They got mugged twice in three days!

I've been twice - loathed it the first time (had in laws with me and 3 kids plus 6 months pregnant and I got a chest infection) but it was so much better the second time. Was just with youngest dd and she was about 15. Stayed in a lovely riad where we were given great tips about what to see/avoid. Maybe my expectations were realistic rather than romantic. Wouldn't go back though.

YANBU OP. And fair play to you for being honest. For some reason people like to talk up a lot of these Muslim majority tourist destinations as if they are exotic and exciting places , and if you don’t like it then you dont ’get’ it, nah mate it’s a poverty stricken shit hole where tourists live in luxury and the locals are pretty much slave labour.

And I cannot get my head round women thinking that holidays to these places are in anyway fun - covering up and keeping your head down , you are cosplaying the shitty oppression that women in these countries have to live by and think it makes you worldly and interesting. It does not.

Yeah. As an older woman I wasn't harassed but all the other stuff. After some young kid shouted " fuck you" when I politely declined to enter his shop, I employed my schoolgirl French to ask whether he spoke to his mother like that. I know they're poor but manners cost nothing.

@LondonLass37 If you want mint tea and beautiful tiles, try southern Spain, away from the beach resorts.
It was a Muslim area for a few centuries, and you can see the influence.
Try Granada, the Alhambra, Cordoba, Seville.

It's strange that you class Malta as being in the same culture as it is most definitely not ! I went to Malta just after Covid and found it a beautiful place - relaxing , you can walk on the corniche for miles, lovely food , just lovely.
Now as for the North African countries then yes you will experience this - badgering, leering, selling stuff, trying to get a quick grope while wrapping a scarf round you etc. They don't have much respect for women and they do see Western women as an easy target.

I went 30 years ago to Agadir and never since. Had to go ever where with my husband. Couldn’t even go on public streets alone to a supermarket. The men haunched in the bushes and hissing is horrendous. Young boys came up to us, I thought looking for money, they were offering themselves to my husband. Turkey is pretty similar, and Egypt. My young daughters have never been to these places, I’ve told them nothing about my experiences and they already know not to go.

I wasn’t groped as I was with my DH but I found 3 days staying in the medina exhausting. Constantly harassed by shopkeepers if you even slowed your pace and in danger of being run over constantly by the mopeds everywhere. Riad and food were both lovely but I ended up drinking mint tea, reading my book and watching the storks fly by on the roof of the riad on day 4 because it was all too much for me. Conversely I love Tunisia and find it much less stressful. I think the culture shock is so big for a lot of British people in these places and it’s a more robust person than me that can handle it. I thought I was a savvy traveler, but Marrakesh was too much.

Hated it. I dressed appropriately with arms and legs covered, still got harassed and followed. Didn't enjoy seeing poverty and animal abuse either. Never again.

That's true and a very good point, but even so (and hypocritically), having to actually see the mistreatment would still put me off going somewhere or recommending it to others, and I'm still surprised that people can just gloss over it and/or put it out of their minds when evaluating the holiday.

I didn't mind Türkiye but we often had people coming up to us trying to rub us for luck. which was weird. the food was good at least.

As a female who travels as a solo parent with my DD, Morocco is one of those countries I’ve ruled out unless I can get on a family group tour. I don’t think it’s right, but agree with other comments that it is a place that you need to travel with a man

I’m ignoring it personally, not because I think animal welfare isn’t important in general, but because I get rather impatient with wibbling about the cute little mistreated donkeys on holiday when the same people are generally more than happy to consume cheap meat and battery eggs when at home, because the animals aren’t cute and their suffering is out of sight.