meknes + azrou

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After breakfast this morning, I caught a shared taxi to azrou. According to my LP book, once a week, in azrou, there is a big souk, where all the locals come to haggle over their berber carpets. The once a week is a tuesday, and, as today happened to be a tuesday, off i went.

azrou is on the road to fez, and it took us about an hour and a half in the taxi. I think i perhaps got there a little late in the day - altho was there before 11- as the souk seemed to consist of a covered market like the sort youd find in provincial towns the world over, a fez bits and bobs of shops selling local products - where i tried out my haggling skills and bought some cushion covers + jewellery,- and then a long road, leading away from the centre of town towards what looked like a suburb of new builds, which was lined on one side with berber women presiding over piles of what looked like church jumble.

Ive got a new camera (thanks, mum) and have been keen to pretty much snap anything that moves, but am never really comfortable taking pics of people- there were a few at the market, really wrinkled, weather beaten old Berber women, with their tattoed faces, that would have made great photographs, bit I just couldnt bring myself to ask them, and you cant take it without asking.

Despite being slightly disappointed with the market, azrou itself was quite pleasant to wander round- I mooched up some of the back streets, reached by steep flights of crumbling stone stairs, leading to the mountain, and chatted with some of the women that where sat on their doorsteps.

I got another shared taxi back after lunch at the hotel panorama, arriving back in meknes about 3pm.

This afternoon, I went to have a look at the mausoleum of moulay ismail. Being a non muslim, I wasnt allowed near the mausoleum itself, which had a barrier across the entrance, tho was allowed to take pics from behind the barrier. I was allowed to wander round the rest of the complex- several courtyards around a mosque, with the ceiling and walls done out with carvings and intricate tilework.

After that, I caught a taxi to the train station, and booked my ticket back to marrakech, then caught another taxi back here, to the medina. Despite making it clear that i knew little french, and even less arabic, he quite cheerfully chattered away, and seemed to be giving me an impromptu history lesson.

Nearly 6pm now so heading back to the riad, which is v nice, + the foods great. The people who run it are very sweet, tho speak little english, so communication is a little stilted. Havent quite yet decided what to do tomorrow yet- will think about it over dinner. or breakfast.

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Comments

[Mum]

Photography !
Sounds as tho you're having a great time. DO pluck up the courage to ask 'nicely' if you can photograph people - better momentoes even than buildings.