1. Driving to the Atlas Mountains for what should have been one of the best views in North Africa. The completely overcast and foggy day wasn't cooperating, but we made a couple cool stops along the way, including a road side camel stand. We got to ride around for about 15 minutes on one feisty (mine) and one very calm (Ric's) camel. We also stopped at an Argan Oil cooperative run by women. Argan oil comes from a small nut that the women shell, roast, and hand grind into an oil that is used in cooking and also in lotions and other beauty products.
2. Dinner at a restaurant called Le Tobsil. A very traditional Moroccan place that's so hard to find they leave someone on the main street waiting for you and he leads you back through winding alleyways to the door of the restaurant. Lots of different courses, including two tangines, live music and Moroccan wine were all part of the fun.
3. Jemma el Fna Sqaure. Complete with monkeys, snake charmers, dentists, stands cooking brain, henna artists, and a myriad of dancers, Jemma el Fna Square is completely overwhelming and unlike anything we've ever seen. It's a hive of activity, with lots of people trying to sell you anything you can imagine, and covers a huge amount of real estate.
4. Souks. Behind the square lie alley after alley of small souks with the most amazing silver tea pots, straw baskets, spices, olives, mint that you can smell from miles away, Moroccan pastries, beautiful shoes and fabrics, and amazing silver and pottery. It's impossible to find your way around but getting lost is part of the fun. And then there's the haggling...
5. Belly dancers at Le Comptoir, where we ate dinner on Saturday night.
6. Meeting the very nice people who run Herboristerie Le Cargogne, the spice shop right next to our riad. They explained every spice in the whole shop, sat and had delicious mint tea, and talked for a long time about Morocco and why they loved their country so much.
7. Horse and carraige ride from Marjorelle Gardens back to the riad.
8. Dinner on the last night at our riad, Dar Les Cigognes. It was a sumptuous feast with lamb freshly cooked in the ground, traditional Moroccan musicians, and, last but certainly not least, a fortune teller from the Medina (old neighborhood). She spoke only in Arabic and read my future from her tarot cards. I won't give it all away, but it was uncanny the things she knew. And the fact that I couldn't understand a word she was saying (everything was translated by one of the guys from the riyad) made it all the more mysterious and wonderful.
Needless to say, we were more than a little sad to leave this morning. Marrakech is an amazing city... the people were so friendly, we felt completely safe the whole time, the food was amazing, and they've got such an interesting history. If only a pesky little thing called work didn't get in the way, we might not have left!
As always, the full set of photos is up on Flickr (www.flickr.com/rachelbremer) but here are some of our favorites...
Camel ride!
On our way to the Atlas Mountains... Berber village in the background
Jemma el Fna at dusk
Our friends from the spice shop
And their 35 spice mix. Mohammed said the best recipe with this is to mix a little with garlic and olive oil, then marinate meat in the mixture for one day (or more), then grill. Yum!
Monkeys in Jemma el Fna Sqaure... it's a little disconcerting to have them on you.
Fresh mint at one of the souks
Lunch at Cafe De Espices with a view of the Atlas Mountains in the back
Wandering around the narrow streets
Back alley
The "Street of the Storks" right outside of our riad and in front of the Badii Palace
And the stork nests on top of the walls
Donkeys and cars share the road (with bikes and mopeds)
Our riad decorated for dinner on the last night of our stay
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