In the medina of Marrakesh: piles of rubble, open shops and tourists
In the streets of the Medina of Marrakech, Saturday September 9, 2023. MORGANE LE CAM – LE MONDE
As soon as you pass under one of the arches that mark the entrance to the medina next to the royal palace, meter-high cracks in the buildings and piles of rubble on the ground testify to the severity of the earthquake that shook Morocco. There were a few ambulances and police sirens wailing that Saturday afternoon, but traffic was normal.
To get to the riad, you have to climb over a two-meter-high pile of rubble and zigzag between fallen power cables. Fortunately, unlike other small buildings in the area, it did not collapse. Some neighbors look tired and worried as they watch the damage on their street from their front door.
Several landslides make access to the medina’s small, steep streets inaccessible. In one of the souks leading to the Tinsmiths’ Square, one of the shopkeepers warns passers-by by pointing his finger at a wooden roof that is in danger of collapsing and part of which has already collapsed, leaving a pile of rubble on the ground: We must tear down the walls on the right side to avoid being caught in another landslide.
In the square, dozens of Moroccans, men, women and children, still lay on blankets on the ground, in the shadow of the surrounding arches, next to part of a collapsed building. No doubt they stayed overnight there, like thousands of other Moroccans who set out in search of a safe place to sleep: outside the medina and its streets, lined with mud houses on several floors, some of which were in danger of collapsing. Collapse, in a square or on the edge of important traffic arteries without too many buildings nearby. Some even pitched their tents on the city’s main arteries. Since the earthquake, rumors have been circulating that another quake is expected, prompting many to flee the city’s historic heart.
Further back, in front of the entrance to the tourist Bahia Palace, there are still piles of rubble with motorcycles and pedestrians staggering between them. Next door, the Artisan Exhibition shop is in danger of collapsing. All that remains is the brown tiled sign, topped by a balcony that appears to be in balance. For how long ? At the front, a tour guide appears to be going about his business, organizing his Saturday lunchtime tour as if nothing had happened. “This is the damage from last night,” he says to the few tourists following him, pointing to the rubble piled on the ground just outside the now dilapidated entrance to the palace.
In the medina on this Saturday afternoon, most of the shops were open and tourists continued to stroll through the streets, apparently unaware of the severity of this unprecedented disaster in Marrakech. An ice cream seller continued to stroll through the old town, looking for customers. To the right, to the left, in the small hidden alleys, piles of earth and bitumen. How many are still buried under this rubble?
Morgane LeCam