AIBU to think Marrakesh was far worse than I expected?

I went with my husband and was still constantly harassed

It’s Catholic. I’m v surprised you experienced this. I saw a lot of tourists being told to cover up in churches but that’s it.

every woman I know has warned against going and has generally said they didn't have a nice time.

I have a personal enmity with morocco after being stranded in the hellscape that is casablanca. so no I dont blame you.

I was completely covered head to toe - long sleeves, full length trousers, a light shawl which I could use to cover my head. My friend insisted on wearing "holiday clothes" despite my telling her what the result would be. It was a nightmare. I never travelled with her again.

Yeah, this is what's disturbing me about the "I wasn't treated like that so it was fine, you had a bad experience" posts - why just ignore the bit about the animal mistreatment like it doesn't matter?

Had a similar experience in my one and only visit to Turkey.
I have no idea why it is such a popular holiday destination, when all we saw and felt was like your examples of Marrakesh!

Went to Marrakech 20 years ago. Amazing experience but I doubt I'll ever go back. It's ok to be horrified at things that are horrifying.

And I do agree, the whole country is an animal lover’s hell 😢

Casablanca was lovely and very relaxed compared to Marrakech when i went years ago.

You were unlucky - I absolutely loved Marrakesh and have been 3 times now. I wouldn’t stay in the medina its a worth a day visit but there is so much more to see and experience.

I came on a surprise period whilst staying in the city centre and had to ask a few stall holders where I could find tampons. And then they didn’t know what I was talking about so I had to pull up pictures of tampons on my phone, as more of them gathered around looking baffled. Anyway, I found pads from one of them in the end.

I MUCH preferred Essaouira.

Yes, had the same in Egypt, and India to some extent, also blonde white female. I lived in Istanbul for some years and often experienced similar, being kerb-crawled while on my way to work as a teacher, groped in the street, followed etc. I quickly learned what to say in Turkish - very loudly so that all around could hear - and for bus journeys carried a long hatpin in the lining of my bag, which I used to discreetly stab bus gropers. It's horrible but sadly the norm in many Muslim countries in particular, and I think you need to shout or scream when it happens so that the disgusting pervert will at least scuttle away. You're less likely to get knifed or hit than you might in the UK at least, so shout away. What a sad lot of men there are in the world.

Must say that when we visited Luxor with dh, my DM, and dds then early 20s, if we went out with dh we were fine - but if without him we were constantly pestered. And this despite us having lived in Oman for many years, so very careful to dress conservatively, etc.

OTOH dds visited Marrakesh on their own some years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it - but again, no tight jeans or trousers, no bare shoulders or low cut tops, etc. In this sort of environment IMO at least thigh length tops with trousers are advisable - certainly nothing very fitted around the crotch area!

It shouldn’t be necessary, but it is.

I had similar when I went with now DH as soon as he wasn't by my side I got groped twice and we were only there 4 days, the couple who ran the riad we stayed in were lovely though. The food was hit and miss. We do tend to wander around ourselves and not go on organised tours or stay in big out of town hotels. I was young then about 26 I do wonder if I'd get as harassed as a middle aged woman.

Essaouira was much better, you could enjoy the culture without being on high alert. The seafood was also amazing

I've spent 30 years traipsing about the world alone and with partners. Marrakesh was the only place that DP went everywhere with me - including shopping his least favourite activity ever. It was an experience but I wouldn't go back.

I went with dh and dd 14 last year. We did stay in a lovely resort about 10 minutes out from the city but took a trip in one day. Like you we got harassed and led up a dark alley (our naivety showed). We paid a guy £10 to leave us alone and got a taxi pronto.

I was surprised in the opposite way, I wasn't hassled at all - but was with DH and dressed appropriately.

I absolutely loved it, stayed in a beautiful French owned Riad and there is so much to see, Bahia Palace, Saadian tombs, Jardin Majorelle, Jemaa el fnaa square, the souks, the madrassa. Absolutely stunning.

My advice - if you don't like Morocco definitely don't go to Egypt!

Sorry you had a horrible experience.

I have been many times and not had this experience. I found the people to be friendly and helpful. I felt safe even walking around by myself at night which I would not do in the UK.

I liked Morocco but only was there for a day (cruise) had a guide and a 6ft 1 dh. We went into the mountains and had lovely food too. The fact that we were guided might be a big factor though. We are planning on returning independently but won’t be in the cities as we are going on the motorbike

My dh is Moroccan. I don’t like Marrakesh but his hometown is beautiful and safe. I love the family night life. I would go out with my children at 10pm to a restaurant and loads of women and children are still out shopping and having fun.

I really enjoyed seeing the sights in Istanbul, but didn’t generally like the city at all.

I love Marrakech, been there numerous times in the last 20 years.

However if I had experienced what you did then I would not have had a good time and thought it was a hellhole so I don't blame you.

It's a lot more set up for tourists than it used to be. If you thought it was bad now....!

Years ago, I had a similar experience in Malta. Men hissing and spitting at me. I could not go out alone. Awful. I would never go back, or to any similarly cultural countries. Also female, white and blonde.

I was disappointed by Marrakech, it wasn't as awful as you found it but just not much to do in the city. I really loved Istanbul, maybe go there if you want to try somewhere a bit different.