Morocco, Part One

My sister Paige had a long list of places she wanted to visit while she was stationed in Germany.  She crossed all of the places off her list except Morocco and she is leaving at the end of May.  So, being the wonderful sister that I am, I volunteered myself and Hyrum to accompany her to Morocco so she could feel like she had completed all she wanted to do and see while here in Europe. 

A great big "THANK YOU" goes to Oma who watched our boys for us so we could go play in Africa...What an amazing and generous woman!

I never thought I would visit Africa, I guess I was a little scared of the whole idea of going to someplace that was so foreign and, in my mind, hostile.  I have to say I really enjoyed the trip.  Everyone was very friendly and kind and willing to help out lost tourists (for a fee of course!)  That was one of the crazy things, no matter where you turned people were asking for money.  Money to take their picture, money to show you where something is located, money to look around their workplace, etc.  At first I thought it was a bit rude but in the end I realized this is how they live, they survive off the tourists that visit.  I didn't feel so bad giving them a few dollars here and there, I have so much when compared to what they have.  Visiting Morocco gave me a great lesson in humility and being grateful for the many things I have.

We left from our house, Saturday May 7th, to drive 4 hours to the Frankfurt/Hahn airport, our first flight with the ultra cheap Ryan Air Airline.  When we arrived at the airport in Mararakesh we experienced culture shock just trying to secure a taxi from the airport to our hotel.  You never know if the price they quote you is a fair price or it they can tell you are tourists and want to squeeze you of every penny they can.  We were grateful for Paige and her Arabic language skills, I think she shocked many a taxi driver when she busted out with her Arabic.

There are a lot of photos here but you have to really visit yourself to truly understand this place.

The courtyard of our hotel.  All three of us stayed in the same room, I felt safer that way.

Cafe Argana.  Al-Qaeda planted a bomb here the week before that killed 16 people, this cafe was about a block from our hotel.  I have to admit, the first evening we were walking around the square I was totally nervous and anxious about everything and everybody...I even had myself a mini panic attack.  Don't worry, after the first night I calmed down and enjoyed the rest of the time we spent in Morocco.

There were lots of people in the marketplace, Djemâa el Fna, selling food, playing drums, dancing, charming snakes and painting henna.  This man is holding a cobra, inches from his face.  When Hyrum didn't give him enough money for this photo he started chasing him with the snake...needless to say I was scared out of my mind...I don't like snakes.

We decided to get a nice feel for the layout of the city by taking a carriage ride around.  It was sort of nerve wracking because the carriages share the road with insane taxi drivers and crazy men on motorcycles.  Those horses have nerves of steel to weave in and out of that traffic day and night.

Djemâa el Fna at night.  All the stalls have bright lanterns and the locals come out at night after the heat of the day has passed.

We tried a bit of this Moroccan dessert, sort of like a really dry pudding.  They give you a glass of hot tea to wash it down.  Very spicy, very interesting.

 The next morning we headed out of town a bit to see where they cure animal skins to make leather.  On our way we passed what we later found was a common sight, a giant pile of garbage with multiple mangy cats enjoying the leftovers.

The tanneries.  Let me quote from our Fodor's guidebook.  "For a whiff of Marrakesh life the old way, the tanneries are a real eye-waterer, not least because of the smell of acrid pigeon excrement, which provides the ammonia that is vital to the dyeing process."  Why did we want to see this?  I don't know.  The smell stays with you for a while.  I couldn't believe the workers that were standing, waist deep in these vats full of toxic chemicals and "pigeon shit" as our guide called it.

One of the many vats full of sheep hides.  They soak for over 2 months before they are dried and stretched and prepared for leather goods.  Do not go here if you are a member of PETA!

Our next stop was El Badi Palace.  This 16th century palace is now sandstone ruins but you could tell it was impressive in its day.  

Some of the mosaics still survive on a few of the walls and floors.

The Saadian Tombs were our next stop.  The beautiful mosaics and Italian marble pillars were amazing.  These tombs gave us an idea of what the palace would have looked like if it had not been plundered multiple times by invading armies.

Probably our favorite sight in Marrakesh was the Ali ben Youssef Medersa.  This was an extraordinarily well preserved 16th century Koranic school.  As many as 900 students from Muslim countries all over Africa would study here at one time.  The mosaics, the intricately carved stone and wood, the beautiful tile work, all of it was amazing.

Our last stop for the day was Musée de Marrakesh.  There were a few rooms with some interesting displays but the main attraction is this crazy huge atrium with this chandelier that resembles a UFO.

The Colorful Marrakesh Markets (or Souks)

 Everywhere you turn in the winding labyrinth that makes up the Marrakesh Souks you are wowed by the colors.  Spices, shoes, jewelry, purses, makeup, potions and powders, clothes, pottery...it is a bit overwhelming but also a real treat to see such an amazing array of stuff in one location. 

After all the walking we did we went back to our hotel for a rest.  This is a photo from the top terrace of our hotel.  It was a beautiful evening.

One of the cool things about Marrakesh is that it still has the old wall running completely around the city.  Eight of the 14 original babs (arched entry gates) leading in and out of the city are still used.  This is us in front of Bab Agnaou, one of the prettiest and best preserved arches.

We splurged one night and ate at a fancy restaurant.  The food was amazing.

Did I mention our fancy dinner came with a belly dancing show?  Oooh, la, la.

The Koutoubia Mosque lit up at night.  One of the real treats of our visit was hearing the Muslim call to prayer five times a day broadcast from the many Mosques in the city.