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We arrived in Marrakech (also spelled Marrakesh in case you're wondering) after our 8 hour train ride and went looking for our hotel. This time we stayed at Hotel Amani. Again, we dumped our bags and headed right out to find food. We took a petit taxi (a small taxi) out to the big market and immediately saw that this was very different than Fez. There were tents with tables and chairs set up with just about any kind of food you could want. There were small children, who should have been in bed, out running around begging for money and huffing paint. There were drunks and many more young people than what we had seen in Fez. Where Fez was traditional and seemed mostly untouched by tourism, Marrakech seemed like the tourist hotspot. We stopped at one of the tents and sat down to eat. We were brought bread, salad, olives, kabobs, and seafood...and of course mint tea 😊 It was a feast after being on the train all day and eating food from the trolley that went past the compartments. Our "chef" was very friendly and recommended some day trips for additional sightseeing outside of the city but
I think the constant begging for money during our meal as well as the children out at one in the morning begging and huffing left a sour impression on us and we were eager to see what we could of Marrakech in the morning and be on our way.
May 26th
We got up early again and headed for the big market. They limit you to a maximum of 3 passengers per petit taxi so we all had to go in separate cars. Matt and I got there just as the snake charmers were setting up and got some great shots of the king cobras and also got to pose with some snakes. The man was very friendly but all pictures in Marrakech come with a price. "Gary" the snake charmer wanted 300 dirhams for pictures but Matt was able to talk him down to 200. A few minutes later a woman trying to get me to buy a henna tatoo took my hand and just started writing on it. I told her I had no money and she said it was "small gift" then insisted on 300 dirhams for her trouble after she was done. We gave
her 40 just so we could get rid of her. Men dressed in crazy red outfits kept stopping and asking if we wanted to take their picture...we had learned by this point that pictures cost money so we kept saying no. We met up Joy and Adam and a man with two monkeys had them hop onto Adam. We didn't take any pictures until we verified with Adam and Joy that they were willing to pay for them 😊
Once our group was reunited and we wove our way through the henna ladies and snake charmers we entered the labyrinth of the shops. The shops here were more modern than the ones in Fez but it was still easy to get lost in the small lanes. Matt and I restrained ourselves to buying a t-shirt for him and a scarf for me but the others bought pottery and woodcrafts. We did meet a really nice older gentleman that helped to guide us back to the big market. He worked at the tannery in the yellow vats and showed us his stained yellow hands as well as his very official card saying that he worked there. He offered to show
The Henna Lady
I'm smiling here because this was BEFORE she insisted on money that I told her I didn't have! us how to get to the tannery but we were anxious to be on our way and declined.
Note: If you ever go to either Fez or Marrakech wear closed-toed shoes. Donkeys are widely used to transport people as well as goods and donkeys tend to leave donkey droppings. Better to get donkey doo on the bottom of your closed-toed shoes than in between your toes because you wore sandals! Also, the majority of Moroccans are Muslim so conservative dress is a must for women. It's best to wear clothes that cover your armpits and knees...no tank tops or shorts! I was in capris and a lightweight blouse and was very comfortable in both of these places.
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