Marrakech Magic

Trip Start Jun 29, 2008
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Trip End Nov 27, 2008


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Flag of Morocco  ,
Sunday, October 19, 2008

Our tour only touched the surface of sites available to visit in Marrakesh, the third largest city in Morocco after Casablanca and Rabat, and definitely the most exotic of these 3 destinations.   It is a popular tourist destination, being the gateway to the High Atlas Mountains and the desert, as well as the meeting and marketplace of African, Berber and Arab Morocco.  Like the other imperial cities, it is surrounded by city walls, which are red walls of dried mud.
                                                                                                                    
Our morning tour took us to the Bahia Palace, the museum of Marrakesh, and to a traditional Berber pharmacy, where they explained the various uses of their medicines and lotions and allowed us to try some so that we all smelt very fragrant by the end.  We even purchased stuff there!!  There were a few lovely paintings in the museum, which was housed in a 19th Century Palace Spice shop
Spice shop
 .  Following our tour, we had the afternoon free to enjoy the square and souks of the medina.
 
Jemaa el Fna, the main square of Marrakesh, is a highly animated square situated in the medina.  Here you will find street entertainers including snake charmers, Berber musicians, story tellers and boxers.  Apparently there are also fire-eaters and sword-swallowers, but we didn't see any of these.  There are stalls selling food, henna tattooists and traditional doctors with their Berber medicine and potions.  There is endless activity in the square, which is full of locals as well as tourists.
 
At one end of the square lies the Koutoubia Minaret, the third of the three great 12th Century Almohad minarets (the others being the Giralda in Seville and the unfinished Hassan Tower in Rabat).  At the opposite end is the main entrance to the souks, which are a delight to wander through.  When you want to find your way out, you simply ask for directions to the square to find your way back.
 
For our final night of our tour, we had a wonderful Moroccan meal at one of the nearby restaurants, complete with belly dancers.  It was a nice way to end our tour.  Ben and I stayed on a further day for a visit into the High Atlas.  We decided on a tour to the Ouzord Falls, where 3 tiers of water cascade 100m into a gorge below.  It was nice to see so much water after travelling through so many dry country-sides, and a peaceful way to end our time in Morocco.
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