Tapas to Tajine : Marrakech

I was a little worried that by the time we got to this point in the journey that it would be like an ‘ABC’ tour of Europe, i.e. ‘Another Blasted Church’ only with a Moroccan spin. That turned out not to be the case. We first visited Saadian Tombs which are richly decorated with colorful tiles an Arabic script. As is the case in mausoleums here the Kings are in one location, the wives and favorites in another and the children in another, but the difference here was there was a King located with the children. As it turns out he was not a good king and his final resting location was the payback. The lesson, be good to those around you! The second stop was Bahia Palace, also rich in Arabic arches, beautiful cedar ceilings and gardens There are many rooms each changing in look depending if you were the King, wife or concubine.

We were then off walking through the shops and work area of Marrakech which turned out to be very interesting for all. The place is packed shops making and selling shoes, metal work, leather good, wood carvings, etc. Sydney was particularly taken with the metal works. Many skilled workers here, the handy work was quite good. Both Kim and I saw many things we liked but knew we could not get back. Our guide Jamal helped keep the sellers from bothering us but if I was approached when I was looking at something came up with a sequence of saying “Air France’ then acting like I was caring luggage then saying ‘trés cher’, all of which translates to ‘Air France will charge me a lot if I carry too much back. This they seemed to all understand. We also stopped at an antique store where they restored Moroccan furniture, etc or took items and changed them into something else, like a beautifl door into a very beautiful table. Looked like a suite in San Simeon. Oh to have too much money…

We cut back through Djemaa el Fna at the end and Sydney was all into the snakes again. That fear is obviously gone.

After a swim and dinner Kim and I retired to the roof patio attached to our suite with a bottle of wine (Beauvallon Beni M’Tir Blanc, a chardonnay made near Meknés) just kicking back and relaxing in the warm evening. After talking for a while I had to remind myself that this warm evening was far from home. An odd feeling.

BTW the blog software is cutting off the right third of the large photos we have been posting…. Looking for a fix….