THE MIDDLE EAST & EUROPEAN SERIES PT11
MARRAKESH
It was just another day in hazy Marrakech and the heat was sweltering. For little relief I took refuge underneath one of the so called gazebos used by the many street performers/con men around the main square.
GET THE F**K AWAY FROM ME…
The men offered their snake to tourists and lured a couple in while I watched. The local was straight over with the snake only for the gentleman to refuse until he answered the question,
“How much, how much?”
“Don’t worry about it, we are friends.”
DRAMA
I knew drama was coming, but the gentleman wisely wanted a price before the snake came near him. After straight up refusing and insisting on a price, the local said “ok, 20” almost as if it was the first number he could think of. It was clear he wanted to give a quick answer and move onto the next stage.
HAD A FEELING
Just before lunch, the place was quiet with three men, the couple, and myself observing under the gazebo. I knew waiting around was only going to help the couple whenever the inevitable happens.
I love when conmen target me, I can hold my own and also enjoy turning the tables as much as I can. But the gentleman was wise to agree a price but you can never be too sure what can happen and conmen are known as artists for a reason. I could see they had their sights on this couple, a perfect target, so I wanted to stick around
Being attacked by a man with a snake
POUNDS IN MOROCCO
The gentleman had the snake on his shoulders for 20 seconds, then paid 20 Dirhams, thanked the local, and left.
“NO!” said the local “I said 20 pounds”
Well I burst out laughing and after seeing the confusion on the couples I knew it was my que. The locals had obviously asked where they were from to know which currency they deal in and as £20 is worth more than 20 Dirhams they asked for the former. As I said, they are called artists for a reason.
Being attacked by a man with a snake
RELATED READ: DIVING WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS
MY QUE
“No, you said 20 Dirhams,” I piped up. Which although isn’t necessarily true, they didn’t stipulate £20 either so they were lucky I wasn’t claiming it was 20 Dong.
After I spoke, a local looked at me as if I insulted his mother. He got up, grabbed a snake and went after me. I know I’m safe or maybe just naive as to what could happen but I stood my ground, which was obviously something he didn’t expect. I assume him picking up a snake and darting for me has put others off in the past. But I fancied my chances against an old dehydrated (it was Ramadan) man and a snake.
THE SNAKE
He expected me to flee because of the snake, but I refused to let them get away with it. That was until he took the snake by the tail and whipped the head across my neck which, to be fair to him, took me by surprise but I wasn’t forgetting what was going in the background. I for sure wasn’t going to go head to head but I knew he wasn’t going to either, its broad daylight in the centre of Marrakech. That was clearly the best he had so we exchanged childish verbals for a while until the couple were able to make a quick exit.
Being attacked by a man with a snake
SUMMED UP….
- HIGHLIGHT – Getting lost in the labyrinth or alleys and the souk
- LOWLIGHT – The snake men
- VISIT AGAIN – Unlikely Marrakesh
- RATING – 7/10
FINAL THOUGHTS
In the end the couple left having just paid 20 Dirhams which made it all worthwhile, and who says I’m competitive?
NEXT UP
Flying up to Portugal to check out Lisbon & Porto, where the idea of doing a blog really gets planted! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
108/229
This post is part of The Middle East & European Series, click to explore or for episode 1 click here.
