MADNESS IN Morocco
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that my life has been fairly adventurous so far. I may not have chased a hurricane or got attacked by a squirrel while taking a selfie (‘Florida Man’ on a slow news day), but my life throws up its share of surprises around the globe. So, when Airbnb Adventures—launched last month—invited me to Morocco, I was a bit circumspect. My first thoughts: I’m not diving from an airplane or sandboarding in the Sahara Desert. But Airbnb’s latest segment of Experiences doesn’t entail extreme sports, the oft-presumed loose meaning of adventure. The ‘Adventures’ represent immersive and offbeat multi-day tours led by local operators and guides who help you reach hard-to-access cultures, communities, and natural wonders, and engage you in fascinating tales of the land. That’s all the adventure I need on my travels.
As my flight descends near the northern tip of the African continent, I get my first view of Marrakesh, arguably the tourism capital of Morocco. Undulating shades of red and brown sprawl over an endless desert. The ruddy monotony is broken only by), that all the structures in Marrakesh follow this colour scheme as a rule—implemented to maintain the identity of ‘the red city’. Marrakesh’s population composition is 99 per cent Muslim, one per cent minorities—including mostly Jews and Christians, and in this kingdom, religion and state are virtually inseparable.
