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Today was always going to be a day of shopping.  We started off at the Complexe D’Artisanat in Rue de la Kasbah.  This is one of the few places in Morocco that you don’t barter.  The prices are fixed and for some that is a real help.  Personally I love a good bit of barter banter. Leaving surprisingly empty handed we headed to, via a coffee stop of course, to the Ensemble Artisanal on Avenue Mohammed V.

 

 This is where June had seen a hat before and today was decision day.  Having watched how the hats are made a purchase was completed.

From there we headed off to the Photographic museum and back to their roof top restaurant. Today was so much clearer than our last visit so much so we could easily see the beautiful snow covered High Atlas to the south..

In the afternoon we managed to tick all off the shopping list but were still on the look out for a pair of ear rings to match the neckless June bought on the `kasbah trip.  One of the guys in the souks, on hearing what we were looking for,  took us for a hike (probably a bit longer than we needed) to one of his mates.  He didn’t have what we were looking for so he took a neckless apart to make a pair.  Not sure we would get that level of service in the UK.

During one of todays wanders through the main square we saw this a guy wearing pink wings and selling toys.  So the next time you think your job could be better just remember the photo of this lad.

 

Today was another day to just wander around this glorious city. We started off by heading towards Jewish quarter.  We dropped by Dar Si Siad which is former palace / royal house that now houses Moroccan arts.  The building itself is along the same theme inside as the Kasbah at Telouet and the Alahambra with ornate stucco that the crafts men carve while still wet. The design are very detailed and must take an age to complete.

After a quick coffee we wandered around the old Jewish Section, While trying to find the entrance to the El Badi Palace we bumped into Mustapha, a 19 year old who is studying to become a motor mechanic.  He started to take us to the palace when we realised that it would closed in a shortwhile.  Mustapah then offered us tea at his house.  We took him up on the offer and although the tea wasn’t the best we have experienced but it was a little different.  We never did get to see the view of the palace from his house that we were told was ‘very very good’.  We dropped him a few Dirham for his time and headed off to the Kasbah Cafe, which was nearby, for lunch.

It was only a short walk…well about 3 km, to our next venue.  The Jardin Menara.  We had seen a few photos of the lake there with the High Atlas in the distance.  Ever the keen photographers we aimed to recreate this image. Well the view of the snow covered mountains was stunning but sadly the lake was a little choppy to get the reflections we had hoped for.

Back to the main square for a bit of people watching while we drank mint tea…  well this time our eyes were caught by a couple of 5 or 6 years olds who were busy trying to sell cakes. There clearly was a bit of a turf war between them and it was a little sad to see young children, the same age as my grandchildren, having their childhood stolen.

 

 

This evening we returned to the square to eat at stall 118.  Abdul recognised us straight away.  The  guys who are enticing potential customers to pick thier stall are all real characters with all the patter and banter.  If you join in the whole experience is more enjoyable and they really don’t mind if you say no. It is a very similar scene to that of parts of France, Spain and Greece….but with more humour and fun.

An early start today as we were heading over the a High Atlas and back again in a day; luckily we were not driving but were able to book a car and driver for the day at a very reasonable rate.  Younes from Ecovoyages Marrakech arrived promptly and by 7.30am we were clear of the city traffic and heading towards the mountains.  A quick stop for coffee after a couple of hours before we hit the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, the highest pass over the High Atlas.

 

Our first destination was Kasbah Telouet and a real gem of a place and well worth the long drive along a road which in parts lacks any Tarmac.  At first the place looked nothing more than a pile of ruins (the whole site is actually three kasbahs in various stages of decay) but there was a surprise awaiting in the form of four rooms almost exactly as they were the Kasbah was built in the 19th century.  Our guide Rasheed was very knowledgeable and well worth his tip as he explained the history of the site.  The family who lived here made their fortunes from the caravans passing through from the south to Marrakech, exchanging salt for gold and sugar for marble.

 

 

From there we continued along the same road following the Oued Mellah (literally translated as river of salt. Lesson learned today was that Morocco had salt mines!) and on to Ait Benhaddou whose claim to fame is to have appeared in numerous Hollywood films: Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator but to name a few.  We didn’t have a guide, despite their best efforts for us to hire them, and were happy to wander around the place on our own.

Ait Benhaddou

Ait Benhaddou

Ait Benhaddou

People still live in the kasbahs which make up the area and to get to the highest point you have to run the gauntlet of several shop owners trying to entice you to view their wares.  We did give in on the way back down and took tea with Hachim whilst negotiating on the price of a silver necklace and an “antique” wooden spoon…..  Bob retained his reputation of bartering like a Berber and we were all happy in the end!

Then began the long drive home and this is where the 20,000 photos comes in.  Having got a new toy after a last trip here (thank you Colin!), Bob had attached his GoPro to the outside of the vehicle and recorded time lapse photos of the routes we were taking. The plan was now to record the journey back over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass. The camera stayed in place but we won’t be able to post the short video until getting home to the UK.

The long day ended with a spectacular view of the sunset in the mountains and home to Jamila’s wonderful cooking…

Having visited most of the major sites in a Marrakech during previous visits, today we decided just to walk and see where we ended up whilst heading generally towards the east of the city. Things didn’t quite go to plan when we got lost in the souks but as there always seems to be a sign pointing towards the main square we followed one of them to get our bearings and start again!  This time we got it right (eventually…) and arrived at the Museum of Marrakech.  Not the largest museum we’ve been to but being located in a restored palace makes it worth a visit.

 

 

From there it was a very short walk to the Medersa Ben Youssef (combined admission with the museum of 60Dh each – under £5 at today’s rate) which was a former religious school.  To quote from our guidebook “It displays all the fine decorative detailing that characterises what was the golden age of Moroccan architecture.” and that pretty much sums it up! If you like architecture head here.  Point to note here, we were approached by a young man who was trying to get us to visit the tanneries and told us that the Medersa was closed due to a religious holiday – it wasn’t!

 

 

A lot of walking usually involves geocaching for us, and although there are not too many caches in Morocco, we were not too far from one so it was off down the alleyways in search of it. The Moroccans are born traders and (sorry, spoiler alert) what better way of getting someone into your shop than by putting the cache there! Worth pointing out though that there was no pressure for us to buy anything and we had a very friendly chat with the shop owner.

 

As we mentioned we were off the main tourist track today so our next stop was the Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech, which houses a collection of photographs of early 20th century Moroccan life. Entry was 40Dh (£2.80 ish) but we can visit as often as we like which given the great little cafe on the roof terrace we will probably take advantage of!

 

Being on the east side of the city and despite what we told the young man earlier, we had always intended to visit the tanneries. We were approached by a “guide”  who offered to show us around and despite being a little sceptics it was actually quite interesting! However having visited the tanneries at Fez, the ones in Marrakech were a little disappointing and of course the visit ended up in a shop which sold a variety of leather goods.

 

In desperate need of coffee (no surprise there!) we made our way back to the main square and one of the many roof terraces providing the best places just to sit and watch the world go by.  Feeling suitably refreshed it was time to head back home but managed to take the wrong turn again which also happened when we came back in for dinner and then on the way back again….. By the end of the week we’ll have it all worked out…..we hope!

Having stopped at the Gatwick Hilton, with no free wifi in the room I may add, it was an early start to Marrakech taking off at 8.00. Made good time though arriving at 10.50, ahead of schedule.

Through passport control and onto Dar Romarra, the Riad we had used for a long weekend in October. We felt that with June’s arm recovering we needed a little haven in a mad mad city….

At 14 C it was a little cooler than last time….but warmer than the freezing UK we had left behind.

After a bit of a kip we wandered through the souks to the main square, Jamaa El Fna. It was far busier than October and a real hive of activity.

A quick coffee on a roof top terrace gave Bob a chance for a bit of timelapse ( will be posted once we get home). Then down to the food stalls. We were bombarded with requests to eat here and here….. they all knew too much about our TV adverts. Quotes like, ‘ this isn’t just any food…it’s Marks and Spencers food’ and ‘cheaper than Morrisons’ were everywhere. One of the guys thought from something June had said she was from Scotland and then started quoting East Enders. He knew more about the story line than either of us.