Wearing $$$ on our Foreheads

---

Determined to send home the extra baggage that we accumulated along the way, Gene and I determined once again to make a visit to the post office a must. We deduced from prior experiences with the postal services throughout Africa that boxes would not be readily available and decided to head straight to the main square to barter with the vendors for a used box. Our first attempt was a failed one, but I was able to pick up on the Arabic word for “box,” which would prove handy as we bartered with other souq owners for packing materials.

After paying the equivalent of $0.50 USD for a beat-up and broken down box, Gene and I headed back over to the post office with the hope that they could provide newspaper or bubble wrap to secure our newly boxed items. A short time later, we found ourselves praising the United States Postal Services and headed back to the square to barter for the necessary packing materials. After paying only $0.50 for a box, we were not happy when one merchant refused to budge from his originally quoted price of $3 USD for a sheet of bubble wrap, and another wanted us to pay more than the cover price for used newspaper. I’d swear we had dollar signs tattooed into our foreheads.

After dropping the extra pounds, we ventured back toward the square to check things out and were greeted by a dancing cobra and two rattlesnakes. Wanting to capture the moment on camera, I crouched beside one of the men and swore off all attempts to place a smaller snake around my neck, to no avail. I decided to cut my visit short as the black cobra hissed in our direction. Before I could make my getaway, the snake handler demanded 100 Durham (equivalent to $10 USD) for the photos taken. Entirely fed up with the discriminatory haggling of our travels, I handed the guy 2 Durham and walked away, in spite of the shouting that took place behind my back.

We thereafter headed over to the Kasbah (Royal Quarter) and stopped to visit the Saadian Tombs - an original, privileged cemetery for the descendents of the Prophet Mohammed. The cemetery contains nearly 200 ornate tombs, which serve as the resting places of the Saadian princes. The mausoleum is divided into three small halls with 66 Saadians buried under the two main structures and more than 100 buried outside of the buildings. The halls at either end contain the tombs of children. While an independent knowledge regarding the history of the Prophet Mohammed and his descendents would have made a visit to the tombs all the more worthwhile, Gene and I quickly lost interest as we aimlessly made our way around the mosaic grave markers.

When all else fails, shop till you drop - even if window shopping must suffice. Gene and I made our way from souq to souq in the Kasbah until our stomachs growled in anger. We stopped for lunch at a little kebab stand and decided to head home early for a quick swim and some heavy European travel planning.

---

Photos

The Koutoubia
The resounding call to prayer emanates from this 70m tall minaret, visible for miles in any direction.