Marrakesh Part 3 (Last One I Swear)

Location: Marrakesh, Morocco

This will be my last post on Marrakesh; a long time coming considering all that's left is a couple sites and some funny stories.

First up is a discussion on the food. I came in with no real expectations (I'm not even sure if I'd ever eaten Moroccan food before). I was pleasantly surprised by the assortment of rices, vegetables, and meats in almost every dish. I normally shied away from the fruits because they were uncooked and contained only god-knows-what pesticides on them.

We took a restaurant recommendation from my friend's guidebook for lunch. I ordered the most typical Moroccan dish called Tangine. It consists of a lower and upper base with the lower being a slow-cooked stew with meat and spices, and the upper with propped-up potatoes and other vegetables. The price was phenomenally cheap as well; I don't remember exactly but the dish below along with bread couldn't have cost more than a few dollars.
We enjoyed the food and service so much that we came back for lunch our other two days in town. Here's a picture of another day's lunch.

Now energized with full stomachs, our first stop of the day was the El Badi Palace. Originally built in the late 1500s, nowadays it's unfortunately ruins after being raided to build other palaces. But much of the overall structure survives and includes a main square with large sunken gardens, as well as underground dungeons. Plus one can wander uninhibited inside and it's a fun place to explore.

Here's a shot from one of the raised ramparts looking into the main square. Similar to the Roman Coliseum, one can tell this would have been quite a site in its heyday while adorned with imported Italian marble.
And a look down one of the underground dungeons. Would have been a fun place to play hide and seek. Unfortunately there were no children to scare either.

Our other stop was the Majorelle Gardens - a 12 acre botanical garden created in the 1920s now owned by a fashion designer named Yves Saint Laurent (admittedly I've never heard of them but that doesn't surprise me).

Visiting here was a really weird experience. It's located in a run-down part of town but once you enter the high walls and front gates it's really nice and even a little chic (probably due to its owner). And I'm certain this contained more green than I saw for the entire rest of the country combined, so to me this doesn't really "feel" like Morocco.

One fun thing we did before leaving is take pictures with some of the various wildlife in the main square (called the Djemaa el Fna from my first post). Of course I went right for the snake charmers - men enchanting cobras with their flute playing skills. One guy would play while the other took pictures with your camera in front of the snake. Pretty cool stuff to see up close.
While I had a blast with the snakes, it turns out my friend had a serious fear of them and could in no way be enticed to get anywhere near them. But he was a lot more excited about the monkey handlers, so we walked over to one. Basically a trainer has a monkey on a leash and it does tricks (somersaults, flips, etc) and then jumps over so the payer can handle him.

This particular one had apparently been trained for some more dubious activities, for it had barely landed in my friend's arms when it started to pull at his watch. Fortunately it was a cheap one securely held by a velcro strap, but the two of us watching this monkey exhaustively pull at it with both its hands was pretty funny.

After it gave up on the watch it climbed his head, where it proceeded to pull his sunglasses right off his face and toss them to his master. I actually managed to get a picture of our not-so-subtle thief in action, which is one of my favorites from the trip. Hilarious stuff.

Later that night, we returned back to the main square to have dinner in the tents set up nightly by the food vendors. The smell of slowly cooked beefs of all kinds filled the air, and it was intoxicating. We finally found a place with a reasonably priced menu and a cook who didn't look entirely shady and dug in. Again, big portions and great food.

But the food wasn't the interesting part of the story. Towards the end of our meal our waiter dropped of a plate of plain looking sugar cookies, which we turned down. He repeated several times "free, free" and left them on the table. Despite my hesitation and warnings, my friend wound up eating a couple of them.

When the bill came, our amount was far more (something like double) than what we'd ordered. So I asked the greeter who seemed to be in charge to come over, and he explained the extra amount was for the cookies we ate for dessert. I explained that the waiter told us multiple times they were free, and there was no way a couple cheap cookies were worth the same as both our entrees. He replied "not free, you pay" several times and our waiter was suddenly nowhere to be seen.

This is likely one of the maddest times I've been in my life, both for feeling cheated and walking into it while suspecting it beforehand. It escalated until I was shouting at him, then at the owner who walked over after hearing the commotion. Tensions were high.

I made it clear I had no intention of getting ripped off, accused them of being thieves, and threatened to call for a policeman if they tried to stop us from leaving. My friend, likely having more sense than I did, decided this risky outcome was not worth a few dollars and paid the full amount while I was arguing. Probably a wise choice in hindsight, but man was I pissed at the time.

And on that happy note, that's the end of the Marrakesh travels. Next stop, the Sahara desert!

Marrakesh, Part 2 (Finally)

I suppose an explanation is in order. It is more than a year since I left you hanging about my Morocco travels -- which is really a shame because there are a lot of cool stories and amazing pictures to share. Perhaps my guilt finally got the better of me, but for whatever reason I decided to start up again and finish what I started. Bear with me, as these stories are from my head and are at least a year and a half old.

If you need a reminder as to where the story left off, feel free to go back a post to enmesh yourself in the atmosphere of Marrakesh.

Location: Marrakesh, Morocco

Just as a reminder, these stories are based in Marrakesh and was the first stop in Morocco. Although I was living in Spain at the time, I have only been in Morocco a day.

Our hostel was right off the main square and was recommended by our guide book. We didn't have a reservation, not so much from a lack of planning but because it was very difficult to make one (these places don't really have websites). My friend and I decided to grab a double room, and if I remember correctly it cost us about 5 euros each per night.

I'll admit up front that I'm a sucker for Arabic architecture. You'll see a bunch of more impressive pictures as you read on, but I was even impressed by the tile designs within our little room. Better than a Motel 6 anyway.


Slightly less impressive were the bathrooms. Lets just say I wasn't exactly sure how to handle the common squatting toilets like the one below, but we were fortunate to normally find a traditional western toilet when needed. I'll admit of being completely unaware there was even another "type" of toilet at all, but discovering those little gems first-hand is what traveling is all about.


First stop once we got moving was the nearby Koutoubia Minaret, which is the largest mosque in the city and contains one of the largest minarets (bell towers where call to prayers are made) from the era in the world. It was also the model used for the bell tower in Seville (Spain), one of the many historic examples of the back and forth between the Moors & Christians in this region.


At seventy meters tall (~250 ft), it is by far the most visible structure in the city. We found it easiest to navigate in most parts of the city by orienting ourselves to it. On the top are 4 globes (one for each side). Legend has it they were originally pure gold and were only 3 in number. The 4th came from the emperor's wife after failing to fast for an entire day in Ramadan, so she had all her jewelery melted down as compensation.

Next on our stop was the Marrakesh Museum (this likely has a more involved name but I can't seem to find it). In any case, it houses a 19th century palace and temporary art collection. What really impressed me here was the architecture; I freely admit that I find the Arabic style fascinating and unique but still this was pretty cool.

This is one of the entry rooms on the way into the art exhibits.
If memory serves me correctly I wasn't allowed to take any pictures of the art, which was just fine by me as I spent most of my time admiring the tile designs on the walls anyway.

One of the main rooms. I was especially impressed with the attention to detail on the chandelier. I recommend you click and view this one full size to get the full detail.

Another good shot from one of the rooms looking out.

Next site we visited was across the street called the Ben Youssef Madersa. Although barely mentioned in our guide book, it turned out to be very impressive place to visit and contained some great indoor architecture.

The facility acted as a Koranic school where students memorized the Koran by rote. Originally built in the 1100s, the 130 dormitory facility is estimated to have housed as many as 900 students at its peak, making it one of the largest theological colleges in North Africa. After 800 years of education, it closed in 1960 and was renovated before being re-opened to the public.

Consistent with Islamic tradition, the walls only contain geometric patterns and Arabic inscriptions. Pretty cool stuff to see up close, and its impressive architecture reminded me of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.


This is a pretty cool picture showing how they integrated their holy writings seamlessly into the design of the wall. Notice right above the green tile -- that's all Arabic language taken from the Koran.


Being so blown away with the inside decorations, I was even more struck at the contrast with the un-kept streets on my way out. It's amazing how impeccable the tourist parts were kept compared to the rest (like below).


Next stop on our tour were the Saadian Tombs. I honestly don't remember much of the history behind these except the site was lost and only re-discovered in the early 1900s. Hard to imagine you could lose a royal burial place such as this for 300 years, but apparently it does happen.

There was more impressive architecture inside, but my favorite and most unique picture is the archway below.


After all this walking around, we conveniently walked by a McDonalds. At the extreme disgust of my friend, I talked him into going inside so I could order a vanilla shake. So here I am with one of the best tasting (after all, it was really hot!) shakes I've ever had. [Years later, he now admits his jealousy and wishes he bought one too.]


And it turned out that wasn't the only time we ran across a common name brand translated into Arabic that day.


My apologies for my first post back being so heavy on the history lessons. This was the bulk of the sites we visited, so most of what's left to cover in Marrakesh is the lighter side of our food stories and some other humorous antics.

As usual, if you want to check out the rest of the travel photos you can here.

Trying to Get One's Bearings in Marrakesh

Location: Marrakesh, Morocco














Back in February while working in Madrid, I took a week off and traveled through Morocco. A fellow American intern had been planning it for awhile, and it sounded really exciting after he described it to me one day. I asked if I could come along, and after he said yes, I quickly bought my airplane tickets.

One aspect I realize in hindsight is a bit strange is how trusting I was. At that point I had been living in Spain for 4 months and was used to being the sole decider of all kinds of trips abroad. But I felt so busy at the time that I never even looked at the itinerary he planned; all I knew when I departed was which cities we arrived and left from. Fortunately he knew what he was doing.

Before we get started, here are some basic facts about the country of Morocco:
-It's located at the northwest tip of Africa and is right across the Mediterranean Sea from Spain
-Despite it being in Africa, it's completely an Arabic culture
-The main languages are Arabic, Berber (local dialect), and French
-99% of Moroccans are Muslim
-The country's size is slightly larger than that of California
-The currency is the Dirham (dh), which was roughly 10 dh to 1 euro at the time

The variety of places we visited almost made it seem like 3 separate trips, roughly divided up into the large cities, the Sahara, and a small & secluded town high in the mountains. All had a very unique feel, and it was undoubtedly an aggressive amount of ground to cover in 8 days.

Marrakesh
The town where our plane landed and adventure started is called Marrakesh. Located near the nation's center (see gold star on map above), it's home to roughly a million people, making it one of the largest in Morocco. Because it is also a former imperial city and capital of the country, it also houses many of the nation's important historical sites as well.

Marrakesh itself is comprised of two halves: the ancient & walled "Medina" built in the Middle Ages, and the "Ville Nouvelle" built by the French in the 20th century. This is typical for many of Morocco's cities and reflects French colonization.

The Middle Ages were a time of great prosperity for the country as they expanded and controlled much of West Africa and most of modern-day Spain. Their empire lasted from roughly 1100-1500 AD. As such, much of the historical architecture is from this era as well.

However, after the Christians reconquered what is modern day Spain (mentioned in a previous post for Granada), the Moroccan empire was greatly weakened and fought off invaders for several centuries until becoming an official protectorate of France in 1912. By then, the country had been dealing with outside political influence from other European countries for quite some time.

Depending on who you ask, the French influence was either a godsend or a curse. But they did build numerous new structures in many of the larger cities, essentially bringing modern aspects to populated areas which had stagnated for several hundreds years.

As you might imagine, having a city built half in the Middle Ages and half in the 1900's provides quite a contrast, and indeed it is quite evident as one explores Marrakesh.

Okay, no more of that boring history stuff - lets get into the pictures and stories!


Day 1
Our first stop was the Djemaa el Fna. It's the main market square surrounded by restaurants and a large open space with rows of cart vendors selling local fruit, vegetables, and spices. There were also snake charmers, acrobatic monkeys, and storytellers (at night), sprinkled around as well. Because of its central location, proximity to the souk and exotic attractions, it is the most popular spot in the city. Which of course attracts the bargainers and con artists, which we'll get to later.

This is a view of the main market during the day.

At night, the produce carts leave and are replaced by large food tents. Imagine hundreds of people grilling all kinds of food, arranged neatly one after another in long rows. Of course each of them promotes the best food in Marrakesh and have waiters wandering around promising as much. Smoke is everywhere, and at one point I just couldn't resist taking a photo.

Here's a shot looking down at the market from a balcony of a second-story restaurant.

A little further down are groups of men huddled in circles, with anywhere from 10 to 100+ people listening to a story teller. We didn't understand a word because it was all in Arabic, but the man with the collection plate still expected us to donate a few dirhams (roughly fifty cents).

They've also got games resembling the kind of thing from county fairs setup in random areas. Here's a picture of people trying to guide a ring around the top of a soda bottle using a fishing rod. Of course, I never saw anyone win.

At one point we were trying to find something resembling a club - music, drinks, girls, etc. So we walked around and finally found a place with audible music from the outside. But once we got in, it was a little different than we expected. First of all everyone there were white tourists, and the music was playing for the sole benefit of a few belly dancers. I managed to sneak in a pictures without attracting too much attention, and one actually turned out.

And that was our foray into the risque side of Marrakesh. In hindsight, it was really stupid of us to be looking for something resembling a night club in the old part of town because of the predominance of the Muslim culture. These people aren't exactly known for drinking or womanizing, and never in public places. But hey, learning these kinds of useful insights is what makes for good traveling.


Day 2
We awoke early the next day and headed into the Souks, also one of the most famous aspects of Morocco. Souks are essentially local markets, and in Marrakesh they are narrow & covered streets sprawling off from the main square like tentacles for very long distances. They consist of wall-to-wall shops on both sides, and the street itself is no more than 10 feet wide.

It's also a very loud place, and shopkeepers are always shouting at you in all languages imaginable. We found we had better luck if we didn't say anything so they wouldn't know which language to harass us with. They mostly started with French or English, but I tried to pretend that I didn't understand them. Considering most of them speak 10 languages, I'm sure they didn't believe me.

It's also a very fast-paced place. People walk very quickly and consistently dart in and out of side streets. At one point I was almost run over by a donkey-drawn cart, driven by a kid carrying dead animals to the local tannery. All the roads twist and turn, making it almost impossible to keep a sense of direction. And the smells are, shall we say, interesting.

The souks themselves are divided into sections based on goods. The sections we saw were mostly clothes, jewelry, carpets, ceramics, wood products, and metal crafts.

At first, the feeling of walking through was pure insanity. It was so much to take in and utterly impossible to not be bothered every 30 seconds. Shopkeepers were consistently stepping in front of us, forcing us to stop and listen to them. Most conversations went like this:

(With thick Arabic accent and large hand motions) "Hey! What you looking for? I give you good price. Come on - step into my shop and I give you good price. Very nice things. Hey, hey - where you from? My shop very clean. Have many nice things. I give you good price".

All of this while we were side-stepping him and trying to get around, only to have it happen 10 feet later. It literally felt like running a gauntlet.

We made the mistake of talking to store owners for awhile (after all, as a Westerner we're accustomed to answering someone if they ask us something). This was a big mistake, and made our journey through considerably more challenging until we stopped.

After about an hour, I found myself unwilling to say anything, even to my friend, because they would hear English and it would be all over. And I kept my sunglasses on at all times and only looked at stores from my peripheral vision; even turning my head to look at someones goods would incite the conversation above.

One part of the souks contained shops which specialized in gold, and I was lucky to get this pic while the shopkeeper was distracted with my friend.


Because of the craziness of the situation (not to mention the bad idea of pulling out a camera in public), I unfortunately don't have any pictures on the main streets. However, I did snap a few later on in another city called Fes, which are below. Keep in mind these show a souk much cleaner and less crowded than those of Marrakesh, but still conveys the general idea.


And this to prove I'm not just stealing photos from the internet :)

There's lots of other good Moroccan stories to tell including snakes, monkeys, and even camels. Plus I'm planning on talking about the food next post (which was surprisingly good), so stay tuned!

And if you absolutely can't wait to skip ahead, all other photos I took in Marrakesh can be found here.