Marrakesh

On the last day of our honeymoon we planned on spending the day exploring Marrakesh with the help of a tour guide.  Even though we had done some wandering through the souks the day before, sometimes its nice to have a guide show you the historical sites and give you a bit of history about everything.  After a quick breakfast we headed out to the square to meet our driver and tour guide.  Our first stop of the day was outside the medina.

Jardin Majorelle is one of three public gardens in Marrakesh.  The garden is named for a French man, Jacques Majorelle, who began the garden in 1924.  He was very passionate about his work and the garden is a true representation of this.  He collected plants from around the world (including 5 continents) and is noted as one of the most important plant collectors of his time.  Josh and I wandered the grounds for a bit before heading back to the car.

Jardin Majorelle

The rest of the day was spent exploring the winding streets of the medina.  We started in the oldest part of the medina where the city structure was originated.  Here they still do most of the trades (carpentry, leather work, etc.).  Our guide explained that first the mosque was built followed by the madersa, or Koran school.  Then usually a bakery and a hamman (public bathing house).  It was neat how you could still see these original structures maintained today.

Our first stop was the Madersa Ben Youssef.  This Koran school was much larger than the one we toured in Fes although the construction was similar   Beautiful mosaics lined the floors while marble and cedar wood made their ways up the walls.  Aziz, our tour guide, was a wealth of information, a regular walking history book.  While we were in the courtyard of the madersa, he filled us in on the history of the monarchy dating back to the Philistines.  It was really interesting to us as we had read a lot about the changing ruling parties before coming.

An arch way in the madrasa

The call to prayer area

After our history lesson we explored the upstairs dormitories a bit.  These small rooms were pretty dark and gloomy.  I definitely wouldn't want to spend my days there!  From the madrasa we headed to the adjoining Museum, the Musee de Marrakesh.  The museum housed some interesting artifacts dating back into early Moroccan history.  We walked through exhibits on Fes' pottery and Berber jewelry.  As many museums in developing countries, it wasn't much to look at.  The fact that the descriptions were only in French and Arabic also made it a bit harder to understand what everything was.

Josh in one of the balconies

The museum

On the way to our next destination, we stopped at a local apothecarium.  These traditional doctors are gaining popularity as many Moroccans are avoiding western medicine.  We checked out the many jars of herbs and remedies and were amazed at the different concoctions for stomach aches and fever.  We ended up purchasing some mint tea despite the apothercary's attempts on selling us on more.

The many jars of traditional medicines and spices

Aziz then took us to a local antique shop to browse.  Josh had been admiring some of the traditional Moorish sabers but we were hesitant to buy anything without knowing for sure it was authentic.  We were quickly shown upstairs where Josh found a few knives he was interested in.  Most were adorned with jewels and camel bone.  I spent some time browsing the jewelry.  I had been looking for a pair of earrings but thus far had resisted buying anything because of the poor quality.  After some haggling we ended up walking out of the house with a beautiful henna-dyed, camel bone encrusted saber for Josh and silver turquoise earrings for me.

With our purchases in hand we headed back to the main square.  Performers were in full force and we were quickly swept into the hub bub of it all.  I even had one of my teeth pulled by the teeth pullers set up around the square ;-)  Starving, we ducked into one of the small cafes and indulged on some pizza and sandwiches for lunch.  Again it was really nice to enjoy something other than tangine.

After lunch we headed to the Palais Badi, an imperial palace that once held the Prime Minister and his four wives.  Its said that the prime minister had a liking for one wife in particular and set out to spoil her.  Her bedroom was the most grand with mosaics everywhere and large windows to let the sun in.  Later she would move in to his private apartment located in a separate part of the palace.  Even without the interesting back story, the house itself is really interesting.  Its the traditional Moroccan design with an open courtyard in the middle and rooms off of it.  The cedar woodwork is seen best in the ceiling designs and large mosaic fireplaces are in every room.

One of the beautiful ceilings

Another view from the palace courtyard

From the palace, Aziz left us and we decided to do some more exploring on our own.  We headed over to the Koutoubia Mosque and spent some time walking around the large exterior and the gardens behind it.  The gardens are beautiful and provide a much needed place to relax after a long day.  Many couples and teenagers could be seen hanging out on the benches or near the fountain.

The minert of the mosque

Another view

The souks were calling our names again and we headed back into the maze of streets to seek out those last few purchases.  I wanted to get a few small tangines to use for serving dips and condiments.  We managed to find a few in bright colors with metal work around the lid.  Josh loved the wood work and we bought a beautiful domino set to use.  The ceder blocks were inlaid with a lighter wood to make the dot designs.  Our last purchase was a plate lined with camel bone and metal work.  The bright orange and blue pattern stood out against the others and we thought it would be beautiful up on a wall.

For dinner that night we had already decided we would try one of the food stalls lined up in the square.  We had kind of scoped out everything the night before but did another lap around them before deciding on the first stall.  We ordered chicken and kebabs of all kinds and enjoyed a small feast on our last day.  Despite some worries about stomach issues, we both were fine the next day.  For dessert we ended up buying a whole box of sweets.  Translation issues got in the way and the seller didn't quite understand that we wanted just one piece.

Our dinner stall for the night

Stuffed we walked around the square one last time admiring the snake charmers and local musicians.  The Djema del Fna really is a hub of activity and just one big stage.  Tired but intrigued we ventured down one street that seemed to be filled with neon lights.  Instantly we were transferred to a modern era with real stores and restaurants   It was like a little gem among the history of the medina and a lot of locals could be seen wandering up and down the street.  It was a nice reminder of the new era a midst the old.

Our honeymoon was a trip I won't forget.  Somehow we manged to fit years of history and culture into a ten day period.  The food, people, sights and landscape of Morocco are so unique and we were so excited to experience what little we did.