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Published: April 19th 2010
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We (Joe and I) left on schedule at 3.30am (4th Feb) from my house in a Mercedes cab headed for Luton Airport. Neither of the missuses came up with the goods as far as providing us with cars go! Cab was £50 which worked out cheaper than getting a cab to St Pancras then a train to Luton.
We managed to get seats by the emergency doors so we had extra leg room. The flight went well and took about 3 hours and 20 mins. We arrived in Marrakech at about 9.20am, it was cloudy and it looked as if there had recently been heavy rain, but it wasn't too cold and as the day went on it brightened up and became quite hot.
We were met by a driver who drove us in another Mercedes to our hotel (Riad Noor Charana) near the large square in the centre of the old town (15 Euros ride). The city traffic is quite chaotic with mopeds, bicycles, pedestrians and horses and carts all inter-mingling in a seamless fashion. We were led down a few alleyways to the unassuming entrance to our hotel, inside was a tardis-like splendid little oasis sheltered from
the madness outside.
While waiting for our bedroom to become free we sat down to some breakfast of pancakes, chipatties and bread with freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee and yoghurt.
After breakfast we wandered back out into the heaving labyrinth down to 'La Place', the main square where snake charmers piped their mesmerising tunes, people sold their wares, commercial monkeys hopped on to the shoulders of unsuspecting tourists, and donkeys clattered past with fairy-like carriages trailing behind them.
We walked down to the mosque and then on to the Artisan shops where the prices are conveniently already set (elsewhere you have to barter). Opposite this was a pretty park, called an 'e-space' and bizarrely there were public internet sites dotted around the park. In the park was a fantastic exhibition by my favourite photographer Yanns Arthur-Bertrand who takes amazing landscape photos from the air.
As we were leaving the park a man approached Joe and asked him for money for something to eat. Joe said he would buy him something if he showed us where we could eat lunch for 20 Dirhams (less than £2) so he happily walked with us back to La Place and
took us to a grotty little joint down some grotty little alley. We ended up eating tinned sardines in a large bread roll! We said goodbye to our guide and headed back to the hotel for a little rest.
Our Riad (which literally means a patio garden but is used to describe guesthouses which have courtyard patios) is very stylish like a boutique hotel, and is run by a Frenchman who seems to have spent most of his life in the US. After a little lie down we headed back out for another wander round. We got apprehended by a guy who worked in the tanneries and he led us down a myriad of alleys to the place where they work. It was interesting to see how the goat and camel hides get treated and end up as a handbag or a pouffe. Inevitably we were shown into one of the artisan retail outlets and the hard sell began with carpets getting rolled out and pouffes being fluffed out in front of us! I took a fancy to a nice black pouffe and with the words of my wife ringing in my ears ('don't bring back any Moroccan artefacts!')
I made him a reasonable offer which he didn't accept and I ended up no doubt paying over the odds for it!
On the way back we were accosted by the same man who had led us to the tanneries, asking for a tip for the privilege. I argued that I had bought a leather pouffe and he should get a commission from the shop seller, no no he said I don't get any commission, so Joe, being as big a mug as me, gave him a tip just to get rid of him!
By now it was dark so we walked down to La Place which was a sensory experience to behold. The place was packed. There were dozens of eating stalls and the smells were mmmmmmm. We decided in the end to go back to the restaurant that had been recommended to us by our hotel owner. A 3 course set meal was 75 Dirhams (about £6 odd). Food was average but it was a romantic atmosphere with candles and petals on the table and a couple of local musicians serenading us!
After breakfast on Friday we set off for the 3 in 1 ticket
i.e. the Marrakech Museum, Ben Youssef Medersa, and the Almoravid Koubba. Joe was navigator for the day and skilfully led us through the multitudinous alleys until we were completely lost! Various strangers pointed us in the right direction which was the exact opposite to where we were going! Anyway being laissez-faire kinda guys we enjoyed the wander and Joe did some shopping along the way, buying a lovely blouse for his wife which I'm sure he could have bought cheaper in Harrods in London! The shop owner was a friendly chap and explained to us the joys of polygamy and how that Moroccan men could have 4 wives if they wanted. I asked if many men had 4 wives, to which he answered “no maybe only 5%” I queried why this was if it's such a marvellous thing, is it because you have to be rich to have so many wives? “No” he said “there is a law that a man can only have another wife if the first one agrees to it and these days they just don't agree to it!”
The museum has to be the worst museum I've ever seen in terms of artefacts, not that
they were bad just that there weren't any! Actually in that sense it was a pretty good museum as there can be nothing more boring than tons of chipped pots and vases skilfully lit on glass shelves. However, the building itself is beautiful inside, full of marble mosaic and a gigantic central chandelier. Nearby is the oldest building in Morocco, the Amoravid Koubba, just a small place but a fore-runner of Moroccan style architecture. Also nearby and much more impressive is the Ben Youssef Medersa, a former Koranic school attached to the mosque of the same name. It was established in the 14th century (although largely rebuilt in the 16th century). It is a fabulous place with a large courtyard with a pool in the centre. Very photogenic!
After visiting the Holy Trinity we were hungry so we stopped off at a little local café and had lamb kebabs, bread, rice and olives then returned to our hotel for a lie down. At 5pm we went to the nearby Hamman baths (the Isis Spa) and had a whale of a time being oiled, soaped, scrubbed, muddied, and finally massaged by couple of young ladies. Very agreeable we both agreed.
At 7 we were back at our hotel for a 3 course dinner with a none-too-bad Moroccan red wine and the company of a Russian lady and her English husband and a Zimbabwean fellow and his mate from I'm not sure where. Main course was a slow cooked chicken dish with lentils and flat bread. European prices but not a bad meal.
On the Saturday we headed for the Majorelle Gardens which had been owned by Yves Saint Laurent when he was alive. They are located outside the old city in or at least near the French quarter. Getting there meant we had to again find our way through the labyrinthine alleys of the souks. Each time we get lost but we don't mind because we always see something new and fascinating. This morning we saw the market for the animal hides and the workshops of the lantern and iron makers. With a bit of help we eventually found the gardens which were small, compact and peaceful with lots of palm, cacti and bamboo.
From there we walked into the new area of town and had a drink and cake in an expensive café, next to some
newly built art deco-inspired apartments and decorative ponds. However the whole area wasn't particularly nice being intersected by very busy roads and modernish buildings. It completely lacked the character of the old Medina and souks so we didn't hang around long and set off back to our hotel. We relaxed for a while bathing in the sunshine on the roof terrace before heading back out to the main square where we enjoyed some fast food which had been slowly cooked (if that makes any sense!), the meat tagine was especially delicious. The streets and square were absolutely mobbed, worse than Oxford Street at Christmas!
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Heather
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Great photos!
I really enjoyed your photos and reading your post! Reminded me of my time in that part of the world. I'm always looking for great photos to share on my community blog. Check it out if you have the time. Continued safe travels! dirty-hippies.blogspot.com