Sunday, July 29, 2007
Day Twelve; Marrakesh
After a breakfast of pain au chocolat and good coffee with fresh milk, we had our city tour, provided by a portly gentleman named Mustapha, dressed in a long robe. He took us by the Koutobia Mosque, and into the Souks, where the hustle and bustle of Marrakech is. He left us in a ‘pharmacy’ shop right in the centre of the Souks, with an amazing display of herbs and spices inside and out. We were treated to a sales patter by the owner, and a couple of the group accepted a massage.
All of us bought something; I got packets of a blend of 35 herbs and spices for cooking (everything in my kitchen now smells of them!) plus pots of hand and face cream supposed to work miracles. I suspect Mustapha was on commission!
Typical Tile Work in Marrakesh
The 'Pharmacy' Store!
He left us at a café where we had lunch, then all split up to go souvenir hunting. We walked across the main square- theDjemaa el Fna . It was a vast space, filled with stalls selling fruits, snake charmers, water sellers in traditional costumes, and henna tattooists. One girl approached us asking if we wanted a tattoo- of course, we all said ‘no’, but in one swift motion, she grabbed me, said I had lovely eyes (I had my sunglasses on!) and squirted a load of brown gunk onto my hand! I tried to pull away but she said “I do you lucky flower…now you give me present!” The mess on my hand looked nothing like a flower, so I gave her 5 Dirhams (31p!) she protested, but when it was clear that was all she was getting, she stalked off saying “Fuck you!” I was left with what looked like an allergic reaction on my right hand, it’s only just faded!
We went into the Souks for last minute souvenirs. What an experience!! A labyrinth of small dark alleys under a patchy corrugated tin roof, packed with stalls selling everything from carved wooden camels to cloths and chunky jewellery. Wherever we went, we were constantly pestered “You English? You look at my stall… lovely jubbly…” it was quite exhausting in the end, and we were glad to go back to the hotel for a coffee by the terrace!
The Souks 
The Main Square
Then home- knackered but happy!
All of us bought something; I got packets of a blend of 35 herbs and spices for cooking (everything in my kitchen now smells of them!) plus pots of hand and face cream supposed to work miracles. I suspect Mustapha was on commission!
Typical Tile Work in Marrakesh 
The 'Pharmacy' Store!After he collected us, we were taken to a museum which was a restored house originally belonging to a wealthy family. We also went to the Place Ben Youssef, which was a 600 year old school for training 14- 21 year old boys as priests.
He left us at a café where we had lunch, then all split up to go souvenir hunting. We walked across the main square- theDjemaa el Fna . It was a vast space, filled with stalls selling fruits, snake charmers, water sellers in traditional costumes, and henna tattooists. One girl approached us asking if we wanted a tattoo- of course, we all said ‘no’, but in one swift motion, she grabbed me, said I had lovely eyes (I had my sunglasses on!) and squirted a load of brown gunk onto my hand! I tried to pull away but she said “I do you lucky flower…now you give me present!” The mess on my hand looked nothing like a flower, so I gave her 5 Dirhams (31p!) she protested, but when it was clear that was all she was getting, she stalked off saying “Fuck you!” I was left with what looked like an allergic reaction on my right hand, it’s only just faded!
We went into the Souks for last minute souvenirs. What an experience!! A labyrinth of small dark alleys under a patchy corrugated tin roof, packed with stalls selling everything from carved wooden camels to cloths and chunky jewellery. Wherever we went, we were constantly pestered “You English? You look at my stall… lovely jubbly…” it was quite exhausting in the end, and we were glad to go back to the hotel for a coffee by the terrace!
The SouksLater, we met Ali and Assiz in the Djemaa el Fna and had dinner with them in a traditional restaurant on the terrace of a hotel, serving a set meal of traditional Tajines and a desert of huge chunks of red melon and Moroccan pastries. Plus the inevitable mint tea! We were sat under a huge, tent-like canopy, and said our goodbyes to the ever cheerful Assiz.
The Main SquareOur flight home the next day had been changed three times; Ali left us at the airport and there was a bit of confusion as it transpired that two flights had been merged into one- we ended up flying to Agadir before reaching Casablanca where we were to change to Heathrow. It meant that instead of the 2 ½ hours we were to have at Casablanca, we now had 20 minutes; just time for a quick look round the Duty Free and have a caffeine boost (me and Sandra).
Then home- knackered but happy!
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Woo Hoo! Well done for fininshing it. Very good pics, you've definately got an eye for photos. I just randomly hold my mobile phone up and cross my fingers. Sounds like an interesting trip, plenty of hill climbing in a warm climate a great warm up for the MDS. Being fairly knew to this walking malarky I didn't even realise there were trips like this. I'll have to have a look online and see what cool places there are to tire myself out!
Cheers Rich- thanks for your compliment re the photos, not sure about having a good eye though, I just take about ten photos of each subject so manage to get one decent one!!
These trips are great; I have been with both Explore and Exodus, they both have websites, just enter them into Google. Well worth going on!
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These trips are great; I have been with both Explore and Exodus, they both have websites, just enter them into Google. Well worth going on!
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