Marrakech Airport felt like an oven

There is no air bridge at Marrakech Airport, just some stairs down onto the tarmac. The first thing I thought when leaving the plane? Build a bloody air bridge with some air conditioning!

Sitting for a few hours in a cold air conditional aircraft does not prepare you for what comes next. It is August, 2010, and we have just landed. Walking out of the aircraft onto the top of the stairs is like stepping into an oven. Stepping onto the tarmac is like stepping on a hot plate.

It’s hot! Very hot! The hottest I have ever experienced… AND I AM FROM AUSTRALIA! With the feeling that the liquid inside your body has started to evaporate, the challenge to find a water source as quickly as possible comes to mind.

Thankfully the walk to the terminal is short and it is cool inside. It may have been quite warm inside the building for all we know, but it was a hell of a lot cooler than outside.

After passing through customs, grabbing our bags and withdrawing my first ever Moroccan Dirham, we suck it up and head back outside into the oven. Only these clever Moroccans have built something special. A giant solid awning towers over the terminal entrance, with an amazing pattern in its design which lets the breeze through but keeps the shade. An impressive welcome to a country.

We later found out that the mercury topped 51ºc just as we landed. Ouch!

An impressive structure to keep the intense heat at bay at Marrakech Airport. Taken by James Miller in August, 2009.

What other impressive entrances have you seen at airports? Let me know in the comments.