We met up with my Mom in Lisbon for our flight to Marrakech and discovered that my Dad had lost his passport while on his way to meet up with us and was going to be delayed at least a few days. We were really disappointed and spent some time trying to sort out details of how to meet up, the best way for him to get back, and such. After arriving in Marrakech and settling into our riad (usually large private homes that have been turned into guest houses with 3-10 rooms that have courtyards and rooftop terraces) we spent some time wandering around in the central square. The next day was our big day in Marrakech.
Central mosque in Marrakech
Fresh squeezed orange juice in the square
We spent that morning wandering through the maze of souks (kind of like market stands) that sold all sorts of things from pointy toed shoes, to leather goods, teapots, ceramics, tapestries, and rugs. All of it was beautiful, colorful, and interesting but the sellers were extremely aggressive so for the most part we just looked and kept moving without being able to stop to take a good picture or get too close of a look. The colors, smells and sounds were very ‘foreign’ and strange but quite interesting.
We then walked around Ben Youssef Madrasa, which was a religious school built in the 1500s that had amazing tile work, carving and architecture. After what seemed like hours of wandering in circles we made our way to one of the tanneries that Marrakech is famous for and got to take a tour to watch them curing, skinning, and dying the leather. It was super smelly and they gave us mint to hold to our noses while we walked around but it was very interesting. Then we went to Bahia Palace, which was a nobleman’s palace from the 1800’s that was also full of amazing tile work and gardens.
The whole Medina (inner, walled, old city) is an absolute warren of twisting streets and alleys with a complete lack of signage and everyone would love to show you where you are going and then demand money, so after many miles of walking around the city we were all both physically and mentally exhausted. Being in a Muslim country it is extremely hard to find alcohol and we were told there was none in the vicinity of the main square, where we were staying. We finally found a bar that sold alcohol and were able to buy a bottle of wine from them to take up to our rooftop terrace which felt like a lovely little escape. We went out later to the square to have dinner at one of the many food stands and see all the activity when the square comes alive at night with food, music, and more.
Cultural Note: Most people in Morocco country speak Arabic and Berber with French being an extremely common third language. Some people in tourism also speak a bit of either Spanish or English so we are able to get by alright while stumbling around in one of three languages, though we learned quite a bit of French and often didn’t know exactly what food we are ordering. Most of the women wear the veil, some have the full or almost full face covering, though in Marrakech and Essaouira a good 30% probably didn’t wear it at all. In the many riads and other places that we stayed we interacted almost solely with the males. All were very friendly and outgoing, and treated my mother and I very naturally, even hugging us. We saw the women hardly at all and almost never interacted with them. It seems like the men kind of live in parallel worlds where western women are treated in one way and their women are treated in another, very different way. We hear the muezzins call to prayer 5 times a day, including around 4:30 every morning.
if you want to get an idea of what the square is like at night
Not much to see in this one at night, but the music is interesting
