A fairly impulsive holiday to Marrakesh this spring, when I was just craving some heat and sun (and easyJet obviously sensed the vibe and launched sales). I didn’t expect an old African city to be super accessible, but it had got to the point where I thought sitting in a street at 30° was preferable to the UK so went for it.
The hardest part was always going to be finding accommodation without paying a fortune for a modern hotel, but I had a stroke of luck on Google and found a city centre guesthouse ‘Riad’ offering an accessible room… Gold dust. Riad Abaca Badra have a ground floor bedroom with a walk in shower, which the owner put a plastic chair in for me. Some of the angles in the entrance were quite tight, but the owner was so willing and helpful that I really couldn’t have done better on my budget.
I say there are three big barriers for wheelchair users in the city’s old town:
- High kerbs – crossing the road or navigating between disappearing pavements gets tricky with kerbs double the size I’m used to, So don’t try and get anywhere in a rush and anticipate needing help!
- Cobbled streets – as you get nearer the historic parts and the Souk don’t expect a smooth ride. Somewhere on the streets of the city are a few screws from my wheelchair which got wobbled out and I had to book some emergency repairs on return.
- Stairs – restaurants and cafe’s tend to be fairly narrow but with two or three stories and a rooftop terrace, and there aren’t lifts. There are always a few ground floor tables but inevitably you are missing out on a big part of the city experience. Wonderfully we did find a restaurant Kui-Zin who lifted me up the stairs, but with fairly spindly steps I was holding my breath…
That said, it was wonderful and I’d go back. I’ve rarely felt so welcomed in a new place, If people saw us struggling on the street or trying to get into a doorway, they would come to help with nothing but smiles. Tourist attractions like Le Jardin Secret, the YSL gardens, and the Saadian tombs are accessible and offer a discounted ticket price. The new town holds fewer attractions and less charm, but some smooth pavements for a change of scene.
It often feels like as a disabled traveller you’re restricted to more modern/Western destinations, while our healthy peers can go scrambling around more exotic, less developed parts of the world. What I loved about Marrakesh was the completely different culture, whilst never worrying that I’d be stuck or stranded in my wheelchair. Four hours in a cafe on the main square, people watching, sipping mint tea? Any time.
Source: thinkindecimals.wordpress.com