The land where the sun sets

We headed to Morocco on a red eye flight on my birthday (via Lisbon) for 9 days of exploring.  We found Morocco different then we expected but overall a great place.  Morocco has a ton of really interesting history which means there are lots of different influences on their culture (West Africa, French, Spanish, Arab, Berbers, Jewish, Muslim, and Christianity to name a few).  Though my Angolan driver referred to it as "white Africa". The people were very nice and welcoming, we felt very safe and I was amazed by the sense of true community they displayed.

First stop Marrakesh for 2 nights.  First impression from the airplane- Morocco is SO green!  I never would have thought that.  They grow olives, grapes and some of the best oranges I have ever tasted. They have annual snowfall and a pretty elaborate irrigation system from the High Atlas mountains.

After arriving we headed to a local spa for a traditional Moroccan hammam and massage.  It was an enjoyable but interesting experience to say the least.  The hammam is a traditional bath that is still widely used today- every Kasbah is required to have one.  It is a heated room (heated with a exterior wood fire and hot water) like a steam room but not as hot.  There are various types but typically it involves what they call black soap which you leave on to soften your skin and then a very, very vigorous scrubbing - they remove a layer of skin and as they say leave you with "baby skin".  Traditional hammam (and what we did) include a lady to scrub you and they are not gentle.  You are then washed again (body and hair) and given an argan oil coating.  We got a massage after which was a great way to start the vacation.  After that we headed out on a night time foodie tour in the pouring rain (we did our first haggling to buy 2 umbrellas).  We learned about spices (including black cumin which clears the sinuses!), baking bread, roasting whole sheep in a underground pit (inside a restaurant).  We tried amazing savory pancakes, roast sheep, cookies and of course mint tea.  Then had a traditional Tagina (Marrakesh tagine which is cooked in ashes and not a flame).

After the black cumin experience!

In the city most houses don't have ovens so people prepare dough and then bring it to a local oven to pay to have it baked.  These "bakeries" bake both commercial and personal bread.  There was a fire in that oven on the left side.

Day two was sunny and a bit cool which was a nice change.  We headed out on a morning guided tour and saw the major sights.  First up Koutoubia Mosque - the tallest building the city and dates from the 12th century.  Only Muslims can enter mosques in Morocco (expect one in Casablanca) so no inside pictures.

Then to the Saadian Tombs - these house the tombs of the former ruling family and are one of the few things that survived the transfer of power since they were hidden.  The women's tombs were all unmarked which I found strange but interestingly they also buried trusted servants in their family tomb area.  We learned about the current King of Morocco (they are a true kingdom in which the king has ultimate power) and found out the current king is the first in their history to take only one wife (and give her the title of Princess) and he passed a law requiring a man to seek approval from his first wife to take another.  

We then saw the Bahia Palace which is a restored palace of a grand vizir of a sultan (a vizier as Jason schooled me is like in Aladdin, the advisor to a king when there are still children and need assistance).

So many types of artistry - that is painted wood and the white is hand carved plaster.   In addition there is amazing tile and metal work.

We had lunch on Jemaa el-fnaa square - the main city square with snake charmers and the like.  We then wandered the city and souk (markets) taking in the sights.   Dinner was a great Indonesian place as we already knew we may be up to our eyeballs in couscous and tangine for the next 8 days (we were right!)

Bab Agnaou- one of the 19 gates in the city wall, dates from the 12th century and provides access to the old royal palace area.  Those are stork nests up top- more to come on that.

Wood fire behind the local hammam, pots against the wall are Tagina cooking in hot ash 

Bread is sacred in Morocco - it is not trash so if you find a piece you are supposed to kiss it and put it somewhere where it can be found - we assume this is why this bread is here

Local hammam- men and women each have their own

Donkeys are everywhere in Morocco- they are used as a method of transport in the old town area to haul items but you see them on the major modern streets as well

Our Riad from the rooftop - it was amazing how once you got inside the building how quiet it was considering it was a busy loud city