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Morocco has a certain charm to it - like an old movie playing in front of your very eyes - the medina, the souks, the travelers, the snake charmers, and the chameleons. After having read so much about Africa and what to expect when I land there, I was mesmerized at how Morocco had its own culture that was like no other I had ever come across. Mosques, palaces, and gardens ruled the city of Marrakesh - with a climate that was hot and dry - but bearable for a girl hailing from a tropical country like Bangladesh. The uniqueness of the place was so refreshing that it took me by surprise. Here I was, in an unknown land, far away from home and for the first time in the African continent. The first thing I notice is the middle eastern influence in the country, starting from the clothes they eat to the food they eat and the sheer population of Muslims in the country. You can hear the Adhan, a call for prayer, 5 times a day and men flocking to mosques all together to offer their prayers in long colorful caftans that fall to the knee. The women are wearing hijabs and burkhas and running errands with such beautiful smiles and glowing skins. The environment was pretty monochromatic, but the dresses, the markets, and the people made the place so vibrant. What I didn't expect was even though they were deeply rooted in the Arabic Middle Eastern culture, everybody was speaking more in French than in Arabic. Fortunately for me, I was there during the time of Eid-ul-Azha, a 'Festival of the Sacrifice'. The festivities were evident in the air as people struggled to finish their days and return home with sweets and bread. On the morning of the festival, a young friend named Ali saw me walking down the street, mesmerized, and asked me if I wanted to join his family for the celebrations. I have celebrated this festival at home but never away from family and thus I accepted Ali's invitation quite gratefully. Ali was the eldest of two, living with his parents and his sister Sakina. We started the day with a prayer that was soul-cleansing and went ahead to see the actual sacrifice of a goat. I expected them to cook and eat the meat but was astonished to find the whole family as vegetarians who donated the meat to the poor and the hungry on the outskirts of town. Ali and I drove all the way to the older part of the town to distribute the meat and then some to his neighbors. For the rest of the day, we spent sightseeing all across the old medina of Marrakech and eating and drinking until the sun went down with an excellent view from the rooftop. Marrakesh had a soul in itself, and it filled my heart to content. What I didn't know was that they had quite the nightlife in Marrakesh as well. As a kind gesture, Ali and his friends took me to an open door restaurant with live music, belly dancers and an 18-course meal with fire-spitters and performers keeping everyone entertained. Our next stop was the nightclubs. In a country so deeply rooted in its Arabic ways, I was astounded to see such a flourishing nightlife in Marrakesh. Never did I expect to experience this. The night was still young, and so were we. The time I spent in Marrakesh was truly an experience of a lifetime, not because I was able to travel and immerse myself in a culture so different from my own but also because I ended up making friends from the trip that made it all the more enjoyable!