Around Marrakech For The Afternoon

After the Palace Bahia, we wandered the streets of the souk, with Rachid showing us places of interest, including a little courtyard that had been a hotel back in the day, where traveling merchants would keep their camels and wares on the lower courtyard, and have the rooms on the second story for spending the night.

We wandered past spice shops, artisans stores, and then deep into the heart of the souk.  We stopped at a clothing store with authentic Moroccan dress, but Carol declined to buy and I declined to look (sorry, it's all interesting, but not something we would wear.  Others can, but we play it safe in what we wear).

We went to a second palace, which is now the Marrakech Museum, an art musem located in the center of town.  Not as impressive as Bahia, but still very cool.  Rachid took us back into the Hamman (Turkish baths) which were private to the family back in the day.

(After reading "With Open Arms: Short Stories of Misadventures in Morocco" I did not want to actually use a hamman.  That said, don't read the book before you come.  It's highly entertaining, but not like our experience in Morocco at all!).

The most impressive room was a covered over courtyard with art displays, and, more delightful for me, three fountains lined up in a row down the middle.  Alas, two young women tourists plopped themselves down between two of the fountains for what I expected to be selfies, but instead they stayed there the whole time we were in the room.  

The room was actually dominated by a huge chandelier that looked nearly as big as an invading space ship!  (Okay, slight exaggeration, but note the use of the word "slight.")

We plunged back into the streets of the medina, winding this way and that, going from souk to souk.  (Souks are different types of markets -- shoe, leather, meat, etc.)  Rachid took us through so many different places, there is no way we could have found our way out.  While it turns out I preferred the market on the way to the Atlas Mountains, it was still amazing to wander through.

We are not big buyers in these markets (says the couple who bought not one, but two rugs!), but it is still worth the time to see how differently it is done.  Rachid noted that this market in Marrakesh does not attract local buyers, but they sell mainly to the tourists (another reason it was great to go to the market in a country village -- we were two of just a handful of tourists amidst throngs of Moroccans).  By not buying, we avoided haggling over the price, which is definitely not in our skill set.  

Then we went through a crowded flea market section, where Rachid cautioned us against pickpockets.  (It's not hard, it just takes vigilance -- don't ever let the change of pickpockets deter you from someplace interesting.)  All of the stalls were run by women.

We finished up in el Fnaa (if you want to know how to pronounce it, ask someone else), which is the main square of the city.  It is also a marketplace with stalls, snake charmers, and other "entertainers."  Even taking pictures of the snakes cost money, much like taking pictures of the costumed characters in Time Square.

I wish had spent more time in the square, and thought about going back for the night market (it is open till midnight, except in the summer, when it is open all night).  Let Wikipedia describe the scene:

During the day it is predominantly occupied by orange juice stalls, water sellers with traditional leather water-bags and brass cups, youths with chained Barbary apes and snake charmers despite the protected status of these species under Moroccan law.^[5][6]

As the day progresses, the entertainment on offer changes: the snake charmers depart, and late in the day the square becomes more crowded, with Chleuh dancing-boys (it would be against custom for girls to provide such entertainment), story-tellers (telling their tales in Berber or Arabic, to an audience of locals), magicians, and peddlers of traditional medicines. As darkness falls, the square fills with dozens of food-stalls as the number of people on the square peaks.

After relaxing at the hotel for a while, we went to dinner at Dar Marjana, where we were seated on a couch in the old courtyard, right by the fountain.  Along with musicians, we were entertained by a belly dancer.  The food was plentiful and quite good (once again, lamb and chicken on a prix fix menu), and once again we enjoyed the Moroccan house red wine.  Back at the hotel, we had a nightcap and enjoyed the gardens in the dimly lit night.