The great Tagine purchase
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2008
1
48
52
Trip End
Nov 13, 2008
Marrakech,
Morocco
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The market itself was certainly less crowded than DJemaa el-Fna; much fewer tourists and a higher percentage of locals. The flip side was we stood out more and I was approached more often than had occurred during our exploration of the Souks in the Medina! We progressed through the market, seeing an elderly gentlemen doing some wood lathe work, driving the lathe with his feet; there was also a man putting intricate painting on some ceramic pots. Then we came to the fresh food.And boy was it fresh! On the left there were some stalls selling horse meat; we knew then we were going to have a different market experience. The aromas grew stronger as we progressed deeper; soon to the left were cages of chickens and rabbits; to the right were carcasses of chickens and rabbits; fresh blood was visible on the floor which was in the process of being cleaned; probably remains of a recent slaughter. Shellie, a vegetarian, was doing remarkably well at this point, however we decided to take the next available exit. Immediately outside the market were some flower stalls containing some incredibly flower arrangements.We then commenced our walk to the garden. Along the way a gentlemen asked for the time, upon which he exclaimed ``you speak English!'' His name is Mohammed and he has recently returned to Morocco from England after undertaking training in English to teach it back home. It appeared we provided an opportunity for him to practice his English; so we joined him for a coffee at a nearby cafe. During the course of the chat Mohammed explained by Djemaa el-Fna is formed the way it is and is the largest of its kind in Morocco (due to caravan traders from the south meeting traders from the north); and why many Souks are higher than pedestrian level (they are at camel height). We paid for his coffee, and he offered to travel to the markets on his motor scooter and pick up a Tagine and a pair of blue-scarfs for use in Essouria for us; an offer we accepted. So an hour later we met him back at the same cafe, and he supplied us with the goods. We ended up with three good traditional souvenirs for the price of a cup of coffee and 20 euro (200dh) which was around the price we expected to pay for one item; so a good deal all round (although I am certain there was a fair profit margin for Mohammed in the transaction!) We got Mohammed's postal address so we could send him some postcards from Australia (he is a collector).We then bid farewell to Mohammed and continued our walk towards the garden, the original focus of our trip today. When we reached the garden it was charging an entry price and; seeing as Marrakech has many beautiful gardens accessible for free we decided to not enter.As dusk approached we headed towards Djemaa el-Fna again to experience the Souks surrounding the market place at night; this time comfortable in the knowledge that we had purchased our souvenirs and could comfortably say ``La Shukarun'' should we be approached for a sale.The streets within the Souks are quite narrow; so constantly during our walk we were dodging people, and scooters which had a tendency to speed along the pathways at high-speed, sounding their tiny horns in warning as they tried to weave around you. Fortunately many had headlights so if they were approaching from front-on you could see them (you can infer some didn't have headlights, which made dodging them an interesting experience). The mosques which are scattered amongst the Souks to allow men there easy access were also crowded for evening prayers; I managed to catch a glimpse inside, seeing a brightly coloured space with walls covered with complex patterns formed with brightly coloured tiles.We then worked our way back up Mohammed V Boulevard, settling for bread and sweets from a nearby Moroccan patisserie; using our travel tube of Vegemite on the bread. Tomorrow we head for Essouria.
