Our local guide Abdul met us at 9.30 this morning (Monday 28th September) and we set out together (including Rob this time - yay he is MUCH better!) in the crazy traffic and narrow laneways of the Marrakech medina for a morning of adventures, our last full day in magical Morocco.
First stop, and very close to our riad, was the Palace El Bahia, built over 16 years at the end of the nineteenth century for the country's prime minister who seemed to share power equally with the Sultan of the day. It was intended as a very grand palace of its time (with room for four wives) and we were all very impressed by the beauty of its cedar interiors, the Andalusian style decoration and mosaic work and extensive gardens.
Abdul led us through the maze of the medina's streets - through the old Jewish district (the Mellah) and the Kasbahs. The Jewish population of Morocco is much reduced these days as the royal family received big bonuses from the Israeli government after 1948 and then after the 6 day war in 1967 for any Moroccan Jews who emigrated to Israel (so many were "encouraged" to do so).
Marrakesh is known as the "red city of Morocco"...and reds of every hue are all around us!
The hand of Fatima is everywhere in Morocco (and all over the Middle East apparently)....the universal sign of protection, especially for warding off the "evil eye".
I was lucky to catch this pic of a busy bakery as most people here make it clear they don't want to be in my photos (and that's fair enough!).
We made our way to the Saadien Tombs which are a major attraction in Marrakesh. They date from the 1500-1600s. Among the graves are those of Sultan Ahmad al Mansur and his family. The bodies are laid out on their right side with faces pointing east towards Mecca. During the 16th century Morocco used to trade sugar for Carrara marble from Italy (kilo for kilo) - so beautifully decorated Carrara marble (and cedar) are the main materials used in these tombs.
The Koutoubia Mosque is a real landmark here. In fact no other building in Marrakesh can be built higher than the minaret of this mosque (77m) so, as a result, there is no high rise development in this city of well over one million people. The Koutoubia Mosque was built during the 1100s and has inspired the Giralda of Seville (our next stop on this trip) which was constructed in the same era.
Abdul walked us for hours then through the souks of this ancient city........leathergoods, antiques from all over Africa, textiles, food, exotic lamps and carpets, jewellery, textiles, metalwork, decorative wood work...you name it.....it is all here in Marrakesh. No pictures though please!!!
Morocco is a paradise for lovers of colour...Pantone must make regular visits here to create their colour pallettes!
This was the olive market...just got in a quick picture before anyone said no no!
We were well and truly ready for lunch by 2.30 and with Abdul's help we made it to the iconic Dar Essalam Restaurant, set in an exquisitely decorated 17th century palace , founded as a restaurant in 1952, and still run by the same family today. One of its biggest claims to fame prior to our visit is that it was used as a location in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (James Stewart & Doris Day). We too enjoyed a beautiful lunch at the Dar Essalam today.
The plan then was to rest awhile at our lovely riad before heading back out again for one last visit to Jemaa El Fna and the lovely old style bar we'd found the previous evening with the gorgeous view over the rooftops of the old medina.
However, from about 4.00 o'clock onwards the biggest storm broke over the city, emptying bucket loads of driving rain from the sky, deluging the city streets, and flooding whole areas (including parts of our riad). Everyone says it NEVER rains like this in Marrakesh.....but it certainly did tonight...
I took the pic below of the courtyard outside our room after a half an hour of heavy rain and the water was at least 6 - 7 cms deep. Maxie and Rod's room was flooded (however they got an upgrade) along with a number of others in the riad.
The city is not built to handle rain like this...it came to a standstill tonight. So we spent our last night in Morocco at our rain soaked riad with all the lovely staff waiting on us with drinks and snacks and musicians playing.....just perfect.....and still the rain fell.
We drove back from Essaouira to Marrakesh this morning (Sunday 27th), arriving in time for lunch served at the divine Jardin Majorelle. About an hour out of Essaouira we were amused to see this sight (pic below) on the side of the road. The local goat farmers have noticed that tourists are intrigued by seeing their goats feeding off the leaves of the argan trees, so one enterprising fellow has taught his goats to set themselves up in this well placed tree, near to the highway, so they can look like supermodels when the tourists stop to take pictures. Of course a small fee is required to take a picture! It's a very lucrative business judging by the number of cars that stopped at this tree.
Rob is feeling quite a bit better today though not a lot of energy to spare. I was pleased to get a picture of him up and about today - especially against the Majorelle blue walls of the former residence of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge at their former home, the Jardin Majorelle.
The garden provides great lessons in working with a dry, arid climate..there are lots of palms and cactus, some hardy ferns and loads of succulents.
We said goodbye to Rachid and Mohommed, our wonderful guide and driver from Morocco Expert Tours (and we were very sad to say goodbye too!) at our Riad Ksar Anika.
Maxie, Rod and I braved a late afternoon walk to the famous Square Jemaa El Fna and saw first hand the snake charmers, musicians, henna artists, scam artists and food sellers that make this square famous. We only walked part way around a section of its perimeter, so as not to lose our bearings on our first day in Marrakesh - we will do more tomorrow.
Back in the peace and quiet of our beautiful, classy riad we were served dinner in the pavilion overlooking the courtyard pool, probably the most beautiful setting of any of the riads we have stayed in thus far!
A local guide showed us around the medina of this old port city this morning (Saturday 26th). It's always great to hear the historical context from an articulate, knowledgeable local person and get the layout of the place. The medina's layout is more planned than most and houses about 16,000 people. It would probably only take a few days to get to know your way around here.
We follow the ancient medina/sea wall around from our riad and reach the old French built skala (fortress) outpost pretty quickly. Essaouira's safe port access from Africa to the Atlantic Ocean has made it a significant prize for many invaders and occupiers over the centuries....including the Romans, the Portuguese, and the French. This part of the medina's wall is very heavily fortified....
These cannons were made in Barcelona in the 1700s.....
We wander down the streets and lane ways of the medina and then eventually out to the picturesque old port area.
The fishing boats are all moored today. It's the second day of Eid and things are very quiet everywhere we go (like Boxing Day at home(?). The port cats must be wondering why there are no fishy bits for them today
Our guide left us around lunchtime after introducing us to a very attractive and extensive jewellery market. We found a local place for a seafood lunch before making it back to the Riad around 3.00pm. Rob is still not well so he'd spent most of the day sleeping and taking it easy. Jennie was also not feeling too well by now so we had a pretty quiet rest of the day. Maxie, Rod and I had some fun doing a bit more shopping and mixing with the very friendly locals and ending off the day with mint tea on the rooftop terrace of our riad. We also enjoyed a walk down the medina after to the old port area one last time - quite a fun thing to do in the evening as there were hundreds of locals out shopping and socialising too.
We enjoyed our stay in the very stylish Riad Bouchedor in Ouarzazat on Thursday night with its very caring and attentive staff. Rob is improved this morning (Friday 25th) and we're all ready for the long drive ahead of us.
We spend the first few hours of the drive in the high Atlas Mountains on roads that curve and wind through spectacular landscapes of subtle colour and arid vegetation
.....and lush fertile valleys.
We eventually cross the Tizi n'tichka Pass (2260metres) and stop at one of the many argan oil "feminine co-operatives" dotting the highway. No wonder it is such an expensive product (Moroccan Oil) as its extraction is very labour intensive and it would be hard to implement large scale farming operations in harvesting the nuts.
Once we're over the Tizi n'tichka Pass the landscape changes and we can see that farming is much more intensive. In winter this country is covered in snow.
We take a lunch stop on the drive through the more opulent parts of new Marrakesh. Not much is open today on the second day of Eid and the Italian cafe we stop at is slow to serve us (but food is good). It's a good 2 and half hour drive then through flat, poor looking country to Essaouira. As we get closer to the Atlantic Coast we see more olive and argan tree groves and we note the strong ocean breezes and cooler temperatures.
It is always exciting to arrive at our riad accommodation on this trip and there are lots of "wows" as we arrive at Riad Mimouna last night. It's located in the Essaouira Medina (so it involves a walk through the laneways of the old city to get here), but it has the most spectacular location right beside the sea. This is the view from one of our windows...
I love the sound of the sea....and it's just as well as even with our windows closed it is a very distinctive sound in the rooms of this beautiful Riad.
We enjoy a late, delicious dinner in the Riad's dining room high up on the roof terrace. We eat some of the local seafood in a range of dishes that are beautifully prepared. Rob doesn't join us; he's not eating much yet.
First stop, and very close to our riad, was the Palace El Bahia, built over 16 years at the end of the nineteenth century for the country's prime minister who seemed to share power equally with the Sultan of the day. It was intended as a very grand palace of its time (with room for four wives) and we were all very impressed by the beauty of its cedar interiors, the Andalusian style decoration and mosaic work and extensive gardens.
Abdul led us through the maze of the medina's streets - through the old Jewish district (the Mellah) and the Kasbahs. The Jewish population of Morocco is much reduced these days as the royal family received big bonuses from the Israeli government after 1948 and then after the 6 day war in 1967 for any Moroccan Jews who emigrated to Israel (so many were "encouraged" to do so).
Marrakesh is known as the "red city of Morocco"...and reds of every hue are all around us!
The hand of Fatima is everywhere in Morocco (and all over the Middle East apparently)....the universal sign of protection, especially for warding off the "evil eye". 
I was lucky to catch this pic of a busy bakery as most people here make it clear they don't want to be in my photos (and that's fair enough!).
We made our way to the Saadien Tombs which are a major attraction in Marrakesh. They date from the 1500-1600s. Among the graves are those of Sultan Ahmad al Mansur and his family. The bodies are laid out on their right side with faces pointing east towards Mecca. During the 16th century Morocco used to trade sugar for Carrara marble from Italy (kilo for kilo) - so beautifully decorated Carrara marble (and cedar) are the main materials used in these tombs.
The Koutoubia Mosque is a real landmark here. In fact no other building in Marrakesh can be built higher than the minaret of this mosque (77m) so, as a result, there is no high rise development in this city of well over one million people. The Koutoubia Mosque was built during the 1100s and has inspired the Giralda of Seville (our next stop on this trip) which was constructed in the same era.
Abdul walked us for hours then through the souks of this ancient city........leathergoods, antiques from all over Africa, textiles, food, exotic lamps and carpets, jewellery, textiles, metalwork, decorative wood work...you name it.....it is all here in Marrakesh. No pictures though please!!!
Morocco is a paradise for lovers of colour...Pantone must make regular visits here to create their colour pallettes!
This was the olive market...just got in a quick picture before anyone said no no!
We were well and truly ready for lunch by 2.30 and with Abdul's help we made it to the iconic Dar Essalam Restaurant, set in an exquisitely decorated 17th century palace , founded as a restaurant in 1952, and still run by the same family today. One of its biggest claims to fame prior to our visit is that it was used as a location in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (James Stewart & Doris Day). We too enjoyed a beautiful lunch at the Dar Essalam today.
The plan then was to rest awhile at our lovely riad before heading back out again for one last visit to Jemaa El Fna and the lovely old style bar we'd found the previous evening with the gorgeous view over the rooftops of the old medina.
The city is not built to handle rain like this...it came to a standstill tonight. So we spent our last night in Morocco at our rain soaked riad with all the lovely staff waiting on us with drinks and snacks and musicians playing.....just perfect.....and still the rain fell.
