I have never experienced such jarring harassment like that which I encountered in Marrakesh.

I visited one year around Christmas knowing that it was one of the only places on earth that does not celebrate any aspect of Christmas; no Christmas Trees, no songs, no decorations, no festive marketing, nothing Christmassy at all.

Late in November the weather was hot. The sun was shining. There was no sign of Christmas anywhere.

I spent a weekend in Marrakesh, half a day of that was on a quad biking adventure in the desert.

What can I say about Marrakesh:

Its an intense place – a very intense place! Walking around the souks is enthralling but the experience is totally spoiled by constant harassment and beckoning from hawkers.

Walking through the souks is like getting lost in a maze of very narrow alleyways and chaotic hordes of people. Traders were constantly beckoning me towards them. Some of them followed me around, pulling at my hand and tapping me on the shoulder. Then there was the scammers; guys that will spot you as a vulnerable tourist and advise you that “the road is blocked, come with me and I’ll show you the exit.” Apparently their trick is to lure you into a trap where you’re walked into a dead end then mugged by a gang of criminals. The whole time you’re there you feel like you’re constantly on edge, and you have to watch your step as well, as scooters come whizzing up and down brushing against you in these tight little spaces.

Most traders are eager to rip you off. If you need to buy anything, bartering is compulsory.

The nocturnal buzz of Jemaa el-Fnaa is scintillating. Night time at the square is lively, and it can seem rather wonderful, but again its sullied by pushy food promoters. As I walked around the food market at Jemaa el-Fnaa at night time I was so often blocked by men pushing menus on me and men trying to point me towards a seat. I sat and watched as these guys literally stepped out in front of pedestrians and refused to let them pass. I wondered how uncomfortable it must be for women.

At night there is ritualistic music and activities in Jemma el-Fnaa. There are dancing men dressed up as women which seems incongruent in a Muslim country where a proportion of the real women walk the streets in black hijabs.

You’re forbidden from taking pictures or videos of people in the square, if you’re caught taking pictures they’ll intimidate you into giving them money. There are snake charmers and performing monkeys in town; its easy to view them as a fun spectacle but the dark truth about those animals is they are badly abused by their owners. The animal cruelty of Marrakesh is very sad and unethical.

Another awful thing I noticed was the blatant disregard for animal welfare in Marrakesh. It was upsetting. There are stray cats dying all over the place. They are sick, weak, dirty, starving and infected, and they are just left to rot all over the place. Its horrible. There are horse-drawn carts, and many of the horses look dirty, stressed and sick. Its not uncommon to see horses trotting about with sores and cuts all over their legs. The worst thing I did personally was ride on a camel’s back in the desert. I will not forgive myself for failing to research those camel rides before booking online.

The camel I rode on was out in the desert, he was chained up to other camels like the human centipede. All the camels were howling in pain as their “master” dragged them by the chains to stand up, walk and sit down. It was nasty, I felt awful, and after it was done I vowed never to do anything involving dodgy animal tourism ever again.

I was glad to leave Marrakesh. Its not a place I’d be eager to revisit. Aspects of it are marvelous, for example the ancient medina, the museums, palm trees, ornate designs and absorbing colours, but the people are terrible, the culture is rotten and its a mess. Its a sad place for humanity and a worse place for animals.