I Miss You! This is the echo of each corner, each alleyway of the Medina and every riad's patio. The Medina of Marrakech misses the sound of the tourists' feet, the multi-language whispering and the most common expression "Balak Balak" used by the luggage-cart pusher that replaced the car horn inside the Medina.
There is no sound louder than the sound of prayer in Jemaa El Fanaa Square, and nothing except silence dances on the rhythm of emptiness. There is no odour smells here rather than the aroma of your love, no tales narrate here except the stories of your fear. You may be hurt by my gloomy picture without you. But, yes, I am Marrakech, as you have not seen before. You have been roaming around my Medina with its alleyways and enjoying my carnival night in Jemaa El-Fna Square, where musicians, acrobats, storytellers and slapstick acting troupes tap into the Medina's frenetic pulse.
There have been millions of tourists to Marrakech, but today I am crowded by emptiness. Perhaps you have never seen me this quiet and depleted, but indeed I am Marrakech; nevertheless, I am no more a "Land of God", as my Berber name indicates. I am now a "Ghost Land". I am no more the Red City, for since the COVID, I am living in darkness without you. So I can not see my natural red ochre pigment that adorns my walls and buildings.
You have become a silhouette as if you walked from a photograph and left behind blackness. There is an ache that comes and goes, always returning in quiet moments. I want so much to keep you among my Medina walls and into my shapely and comely riads.
I know that your absence is down to me. Please understand that nothing good can come of this right now, and I'd instead take the pain today than tomorrow. Maybe in a few weeks or months, we can be together again...Then we can have something actually good and everlasting.
The passage of time can dull many things, allow the brain to redirect, reinvest energy elsewhere. In these tough times, know that I miss you and that I will be here if you ever want to visit and bask in my beauty and culture. But for now, our paths diverge, and every step is heavy, and I hope this pandemic vanishes sooner.
Please keep your cheerfulness and be patient and safe! With you, the square will be vibrant, the tales interesting, and the Medina life will come back to life.
I can not wait to see you again.