Marrakech Do's and Don'ts?

There is a Morocco expert called Darren Humphreys over on the Frommer Morocco board. If you take your question there he will no doubt answer. Also scroll through the Morocco posts there for ideas. I must say that buying a guide book would be a good move. That's what I did before I went in March.

Bring along a compass. I'm not kidding. I use a tiny one from REI (about the size of a coin). Not exactly a precision instrument but it'll tell you which way is north. I've found a little compass to be very useful in many strange cities, but it's super helpful for when you explore the medina in Marrakech (or Fes), which is a maze of tiny, twisty, disorienting streets. You will find would-be "guides" (and freaked-out western tourists) who tell you that you should never venture into the medina without a guide - they'll tell you that you'll get lost, and you'll never find your way out. Utter nonsense. Yes, the streets are confusing, but if you have a compass and a functioning memory, you can easily find your way more-or-less back to where you entered no matter how long you wander or how turned around you get. Keep track of what's north, etc. Watch for "landmarks" along the streets and you'll be fine (internal running dialog: "let's see, I entered the medina heading south; I made a right turn at that table with a stack of sheep's heads; there was that big pile of donkey doo near the fountain, etc., etc. ..."so when you stumble past that fountain an hour later and you realize it looks familiar, check your compass, turn left at the donkey poo, bear north at the pile of sheep's heads, and you'll emerge into the square where the cross-dressing acrobat dentists were waving bloody teeth and demanding a payment for posing for photos with cobras draped around their necks...). No problem! Just keep your wits about you, keep moving and don't forget to have fun.