(Sorry for the delay in blogs. I am having troubles logging on to Blogger or any blogger sites with my home connection. I've discovered my studio's connection works quite well and I will be blogging from there from now on. Somebody get me connected to Wordpress, PLEASE!)
We head to
Marrakesh which was founded 1000 years ago and is one of the great cities of the Maghreb. It was founded in 1062 by the Almoravid sultan,
Yusuf bin
Tachfin, and became one of the Islamic world's most important artistic and cultural centres. It was once the hub of camel caravans from the south. The oasis was the finest city many traders had ever seen.
The journey there is spectacular.
It varies from lush to dry valleys amidst the lunar landscape of the Anti Atlas. The road is particularly harrowing as it is under roadworks. We drive through several miles of sticky tar only to hear our vehicle rattling very worryingly for the rest of our journey.
On a series of winding roads the soil turns bright red. I start to understand how paint manufacturers can use soil for burnt sienna pigments. Like before, I notice the dwellings change to match the colour of the soil.
We catch site of oak trees, walnut groves, and oleander bushes.
The
riad we arrive at in Marakesh, Les
Cinq Soeurs (The Five Sisters), is spectacular. It is newly renovated and completely empty for our entire stay.
We are given the largest room and there is a small pool in the internal garden that is a huge relief after a scorching day in the medina.
We head out on the streets.
The
Djemaa el-
Fna is the focal point of Marrakesh. It is a huge square in the
medina and the backdrop for one of "the world's greatest spectacles" (according to the Lonely Planet Guide Book). There are snake charmers, musicians, women hennaing, holy men, herbalists, magicians, jugglers, trained monkeys, storytellers, and the occassional lunatic and pickpocket. In 2001 UNESCO declared the square a World Heritage site describing it as "a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity".
The square comes into its own at dusk when rows of open-air food stalls infuse the immediate area with mouth-watering aromas. But watch out because if you show too much interest you are pounced on by one of the many young men working for the various stalls, coersed into eating "the best food at the best price" (all at their stall, of course).
We choose one stall, sit ourselves down and order some vegetarian delights for incredibly cheap prices.
As the sun sets we continue to wander around...
...until we discover a great stall that has all their glasses stuffed with tea leaves and giant sugar chunks waiting to be poured. We sit ourselves down and drink the sickly sweet concoction paired with a Moroccan sticky sweet pastry. Somehow in the midst of taking this picture I lose my wallet. I am never sure if I have been pick-pocketed or have just dropped it and it was grabbed. (Yes, this also happened to me in Liberia. Thankfully, when I travel I carry a "simple" wallet that contains just enough for that day and absolutely no ID or cards. Although it is painful to lose, we are only set back for that day.)
We hear the Muslim call to prayer and head down towards the large
Oessabin Mosque to get a feel for the place.
The following morning we are served an amazing breakfast at our
riad on the rooftop overlooking an older section of the
city.
Freshly squeezed orange juice with home made "pancakes" (which are closer to crumpets) coupled with some sort of pancake with rice noodles baked inside.
For the next two days we wander around
Marakesh and get a feel for the city that is so famous. We stick our heads down alleyways, getting lost, and wander through the dusty streets.
I can't for the life of me remember the name of this Bab (city gate), but I do remember the harrowing experience of running across two lanes of traffic to get to it. It took awhile to get a shot with no traffic.
Our walking includes all the modern art museums and galleries and I am sorely disappointed that every single one of them is closed in the summer months. Instead, we visit some sites that are open during this low (and very hot) season.
Long hidden away from intrusive eyes, the
Saadian Tombs, alongside the
Kasbah Mosque (pictured one above), were originally the privileged burial place of the
sherif, the descendants of the Prophet
Mohammed. The photo above shows the entrance of the main
koubba which is a Prayer Hall supported by 4 pillars, where mainly the children are buried.
The ornate tombs that can be seen today is the
resting place of
Saadian princes. The tombs had been sealed up and were only rediscovered in the early 20
th century. As a result they still convey some of the
opulence and artistry that must have been lavished on the palace.
The tombs were rediscovered in 1917 when
General Lyautey's curiosity was awakened by an aerial survey of the area. He ordered a passageway to be made to
the tombs and they have since been restored.
Nearby is the
Palais el-
Badi ("The Incomparable Palace"), the most famous of the city's palaces and now in ruins. It was built between 1578 and 1602 and reputed to be one of the most beautiful palaces in the world. The walls have been taken over by stork nests which you can see clinging to the tower in the picture above.
The palace has a 130 metre long central courtyard with a 90 metre long pool and sunken orange groves and flower gardens. One large structure used to be the reception hall used on state occasions. Pictured above is the confusing maze of underground corridors,
storerooms and dungeons.
One great stop and a bit hard to find is the
Jardin Majorelle (& Museum of Islamic Art). It really is a bit of a haven away from the chaos and business of
Marakesh. This garden was
designed by French painter, Jacques
Majorelle, who lived here from 1922 to 1962.
Marakesh has more gardens than any other Moroccan city and great escapes from the hubbub of the city. In among the cooling water features, the cacti, bamboo, palm trees is an eclectic blue villa which contains the museum.
East of the main
medina is the
mellah (the Jewish quarter) which is still home to some of
Marakesh's 238 remaining Jews.
Saadian Sultan
Abdullah el-
Ghalib moved the Jews into this secure quarter beside the royal palace, surrounded by walls and entered by just two gates, in 1558. The royal family appreciated the talents of the Jewish community of jewellers, bankers and traders who spoke many languages. Its local cemetery, the
miaara, is an eerie site (pictured above) with brilliant white tombs that stretch into the distance. We are given a tour of the oldest synagogue (not open to the public) by a local man we meet.
Marakesh is probably the most visited tourist destination in Morocco. We read rave reviews about the mystical, ancient, and bohemian city before arriving. Strangely, we don't take to the city. It is harried and frenzied, too hot and quite frazzled in many areas. During our stay the main square comes across as more tacky touristy than magical. We are glad to leave after two days and are exhausted from the traffic (motorbikes careening up the small pedestrian alleyways).
Fes is still our favourite city so far.
Now we make a bee-line to the coast.
The scenery again is plain. I quite like the photo above with it's black signs marking the landscape like tombstones.
We stay at a great little place Nigel has found on the Internet called La Maison du Vent in Essaouira. It is filled with all sorts of art. It is an eclectic and interesting place to stay and we are grateful to be left alone after Marakesh. The painting above is in our room and we both wonder if anyone would notice if we took it with us.
Another piece in one of the hallways.
We climb up to the rooftop and open the locked door at the top of the winding staircase. We understand why it is locked when we step out onto the roof. Being so close to the ocean the strong coastal wind, called the alizee, is fierce and almost impossible to enjoy, but has made it Morocco's best-known wind-surfing centre. We scan the rooftops and notice everything is white. In fact, it is blinding in the bright, hot sun.
I peer out our bedroom window to the scene outside.
We make our way down the winding staircase to explore the small city.
The one thing we notice immediately is all the vacationers. Not foreign tourists, but Moroccans on vacation. It is nice to be somewhere where there is no one pinpointing you as a buyer and trying to get you to buy a carpet or some sort of leather goods.
It has a beautiful 18th century port which we poke around in. Its charm lies in the fact that tourism has not totally taken over the town. The port remains a hive of activity with fishermen and boat builders getting on with daily life much as it has been for centuries.
There is a chilled out artsy atmosphere. It has, in fact, a growing reputation and artists musicians, craftsmen, and film makers have all fallen for its charms.
You can buy fish freshly caught from the fishermen in the port and take it to a great little place that will cook it up for you. Now that is a great business idea.
Essaouira's wide sandy beaches are filled with people and are great places for walking and people watching.
The town enjoyed a brief hippy fling in the late 60's and early 70's after a much talked about visit by Jimi Hendrix. Sure enough we see all sorts of dread-locked youth, both foreign and Moroccan. That evening in the main square (beside the delicious ice-cream parlour) there is a huge stage and an all night concert with mostly reggae music being performed.
I actually find a contemporary art gallery and start to get an idea of what the art scene is like in Morocco. We happen to be in the city the weekend of a large cultural event (hence the all night stage) which offers a large exhibition of Moroccan artists that we stumble across by chance on one of our wanders.
Essaouira has the feel of a Mediterranean resort. The mellow atmosphere, narrow winding streets, and white houses with heavy old wooden doors makes it a great place to relax after the rest of our journey.
Essaouira's walled medina has also been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2001. Its well-preserved, late 18th century fortified layout is a prime example of European military architecture in North Africa.
Its fortified walls, turrets, and colonnades hide a maze of narrow streets lined with white-washed houses, workshops, art galleries and riads.
The thick city walls are a great place to perch your self up on to get an amazing view of the port. The ramparts were famously used in the opening scene of Orson Welles' Othello (1952)for a panoramic shot where Iago is suspended in a cage above the rocks and sea. Other films made here include Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004).
Yes, we definitely like Essaouira.
