Marrakech and the Souks

I woke up early, feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. After a good nights rest I was feeling much better, and then loaded myself with 4 bowls of cereal and two glasses of juice for breakfast. That was a great way to start a day, I wish I could do the same on the ship (which is not possible because I end up going to sleep much later there). Breakfast was very interesting, it was like a very early dessert. Most of the dishes were sugar laden pastries and cookies, with some fruit, cereal, juices, and bread. But I'm sure some of the others could use the sugar rush sicne many got very little or no sleep last night. We headed out for our tour of Marrakech around 9, which at first I felt like was a bit late (but I wasn't aware that most of the things we would be seeing would be seen within 30 minutes). We began the tours with a visit to the city's reservoir, which was a pretty boring visit, besides seeing our guide throw some bread into the water and seeing a lot of carp fish living in the reservoir fight over the morsels. But its visits like this that make me not want to take anymore SAS overnight trips. Today especially, I felt like doing all independent trips after this trip in Morocco. From there, we made our way down the street to the minaret, which was a much more interesting thing to see, since it was surrounded by some nice gardens, and was quite tall. The weather was getting much hotter after that, before which it was very pleasant. However even after it got the hottest in the day, it still didn't feel like the African heat I was expecting (most likely because it is getting closer to winter time). Next on our lists of stops, was a palace of one of the late kings. The most interesting part of this palace pointed out by Lotfi (our guide) was that in terms of external beauty the palace was only a little more than a normal house, but the main differences was just size and internal ornamentation and decoration. The insides of the palace were definitely very nice to see, including the fruit garden, and tombs of the royal family and workers that date back 300 years. From there we made our way to a Morrocan Crafts and Rugs Store where they showed us many rugs, the different ways they were made, different materials from which they were made, and the meanings behind some of the symbols in the rugs. It was fascinating to hear all these things, and then we were given some time to look around the store. Of course we didn't do any shopping because most of the rugs were thousands of dollars, and even the crafts on the lower level were ridiculously priced. Then it was time for lunch. We were taken to a truly authentic Morrocan restaurant where the building itself had classic islamic architecture and wall carvings, we were served in traditional dishes, and had a Moroccan band playing while eating. Although all I got were steamed vegetables since I'm vegetarian, most of the others thought it was the best food they've had on the trip so far, if not best food they've ever had. Now was time for the best part: the world-famous Marrakech souks (markets). Before getting off of the bus, we had a minute of silence in memory of the September 11th victims. In order to just get to the souks from where we were, we had to navigate a labyrinth of allies before getting there. And the souks were amazing. They were like the Casablanca markets, but more organized and much bigger. After we got to the souks' center (which was completely empty at that time), we were let loose to do what we wanted for 3 hours. I went into the markets naturally and bought a lot of stuff, primarily gift items for myself, family, and friends. My bairgaining skills are getting better, I was pretty rusty at first, but then got the hang of it. The key is to name your price, and if they don't accept it, walk away. And nine out of ten times, they will call for you after like 5 seconds and agree for your price. The souks got much more crowded when the time came to head back to the center. When we got there, we were amazed to see the entire center full (and it was completely empty just a few hours before). We headed back to the hotel for dinner, which was a pleasant experience once again, and featured mostly different salads for us vegetarians. Since we had no plans after that, we hitched a ride with one of the SAS trips back to the souks, which are aparently a sight to see at night. And they definitely were. The souks, center, and area within a 2 square mile around it where absolutely jam packed. I've never seen so many people, in such great concentration in a single area. And we were told that it stays this packed until 3am. The amount of people in that area was staggering, and I can only do justice by showing you the videos of it (I will upload them once I find interent again). There were acrobats, dancers, boxers, food and drink vendors, and the usual market goods vendors. Kathleen bought us all a glass of Jensing tea, which was a very powerful cinnamon mint tea, that left a burning sensation in my throat for a good 15 minutes after I finished my small glass. Also, the seller put some clear, silverly substance in the tea halfway through, which we thought was cocaine at first but then found out it was just crystallized mint. Howard also had a very racist experience that I will not talk about here, but it was quite an unusual experience. The souks by day and night was a fantastic experience, but definitely drained me of my energy. Time for bed, and another long day ahead of us.
-Nimish
September 11, 2010