Originally Posted by
dano18
We were/are planning to visit Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddau. I see that you've been to both and I appreciate you pointing me to your suggestions.
We are still kicking it around and haven't booked accomodations. The plan was to go somewhere exotic and relaxing. We've had a really stressful winter/spring with family sickness and death. So our concerns are not just with out safety but with the worry and stess level of our family back home.
Now with Ghadafi's son's death in a NATO strike, we're considering postponing North Africa and returning to Laos (our favorite place).
We're gonna give it a few days before we making a decison.
I really appreciate your suggestions and well wishes.
Thanks again,
dan
Re. Libya, etc., as I was planning my most recent trip, I pulled out my map and realized that the distance between Libya and parts of Morocco is similar to the distance between Italy & Spain/Portugal. I wouldn't postpone a trip to the Iberian penninsula if there were fighting in Italy, so that convinced me not to worry about Libya.
Yes, the Marrakech bombing does give great cause for concern. I would, however, hypothesize that the Djemma el Fna is the busiest gathering point in the most popular city for tourists in the country. (I don't have hard data, and I would be surprised if the Djemma el Fna has the highest percentage of tourists of any attraction in the country...I suspect the beach destinations probably have a higher percentage of tourists.)
If I were planning a trip to Morocco today, I'd probably pick great sites that aren't central points of congregation for foreigners. So it might include:
* Fes al Bali
* Chefchaouen
* Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech
* Ouarzazate, Ait Ben Haddau & camping in the Sahara
* Volubilis
* Riads in bigger towns