From Places to Merdursas...Marrakech!

We dedicated our first full day in Marrakech to sight seeing. Marrakech is a bit different than Fes in that it actually has established its historic sights as tourist destinations, which has had two consequences: 1) the historic buildings/sights have been historically preserved and are better maintained than those in Fes 2) there are crowds of tourists with DSLR cameras, Louis Vouton bags, and harem pants in droves. We started our day off at the Palais Badia (the beautiful Palace). Similar to other Moroccan buildings, this beautifully restored home was marked by elaborately carved stone archways, colorfully painted ceilings, blue and green tiled floors, and courtyards.

In one of the first courtyards we saw, elaborate cedar and stone carvings provided a stunning architectural background to the thriving orange trees in the inner courtyard. Off of the courtyard were a series of rooms with breath taking ceilings and stone work. I believe they use vegetable dyes on this ceiling work – the colors are a deeper and darker than you might expect (almost like medieval European paintings on wood planks/canvases). Floral themes are really key as is the “tree of life” – a common symbol in Moroccan design. We wove our way through the palace to some other courtyards. By far, my favorite architectural element was the painted stone archways. Because these buildings have been restored, one can get a better sense of how colorful they were in the nineteenth century. I love the turquoise flowers inlaid in the stone.

After the Palais Badia, we visited another palace. This one, however, had been systematically taken apart over a 10 year period by a conqueror. Apparently, in its heyday, the palace was the most majestic in Morocco. After the furniture, fixtures, tile etc. were removed; the palace transformed into a mere skeleton of its previous self. Today, it looks sort of like a Roman-era fortress.

On our tour, we saw what used to be the expansive inner courtyard, the crystal room, the dungeons, and the stables. We also had the chance to climb up on the ramparts for a spectacular view of the entire complex and one of the storks who nest on those ramparts. Then we made our way through the souqs near the palace. I really enjoyed wandering around these markets because (more so than in Fes) they display their spices and minerals in giant cones and colorful baskets – a visual feast! We were able to smell star anise, sandalwood, rose buds, cumin, paprika, and ginger. Soon after that, we had lunch at a café with a cute view of the city; I enjoyed vegetable couscous with zucchini, onions, and pumpkin.

After our relaxing lunch, Elah and I made our way to the Saadian tombs – the most popular tourist destination in Marrakech (with the lines to prove it!) The Saadian tombs house the graves of some of the most revered Muslim leaders in Morocco’s history and their ornately carved stoned tombs are proof of that status. There is one major tomb and some subsidiary tombs – all of which are nestled up against a beautiful 17^th century mosque. I don’t even know how to describe the stonework. It was truly overwhelming in its detail and extent. Because the site is so crowded, you only have a few short moments to absorb as much as you can before moving along with the flow of people. Good thing we can snap photos to peruse later! There were large tour groups everywhere – some had a guide with a microphone that transmitted his little speech to their wireless headsets. Pretty cool (and definitely a sign of how much more developed tourism is in Marrakech).

You might think that our day was over at this point. No way! Even though it was 90 degrees and Elah and I were gulping down water like camels about to set off on a 10 day trek in the Sahara, we forged on into the mellah or Jewish quarter to visit a Jewish graveyard. Unfortunately, we had to pass by the tanneries on our way and were perused by numerous savvy men trying to get us to go to the tanneries. We avoided them as much as possible (especially after 2 British women in our riad told us how terrible their experience was at the tanneries). The cemetery was tricky to find, so I had to ask for directions several times. There were numerous people who pretended that the cemeteries were closed and tried to convince us to follow them to the tanneries, and there were some who tried giving us false directions. But, it was actually pretty easy to tell when someone was trying to bamboozle you. So, Elah and I just marched on with our heads held high. 

At one point, we stopped to buy water at a little convenience store and I proceeded to have a lovely conversation with the elder gentlemen who ran the shop. We spoke in French about Marrakech, our travels, the importance of learning new languages and traveling when you can to learn about other cultures and expand your world view. He told me that he only had a 8^th grade education and had to quit school to help his father with the family business. He told me that his grandson intends to go to university. He was adamant that education is essential to ones success, but also felt that some of the greatest lessons he learned in life were from conversations he held with regular people. There is beauty in everyday life, he explained. This was one of the many moments in which I was so happy that I knew French because I would never have been able to have this meaningful conversation otherwise.

Eventually, we made it to the cemetery, which was quite large and very quiet. There were a few other tourists there, but they were off on the other end of the cemetery. Elah and I walked through the cemetery, visiting the mausoleums of some of the holy men. We found it interesting that so many of the normal graves were unmarked. A man at the entrance of the cemetery noted that these were mass graves and are much older graves than the ones at the back of the property (which had specific names/dates etc. circa the mid-twentieth century). Elah pointed out that Jewish people leave little stones on the graves of friends/relatives as a sign of respect. We also noted that many of the graves also had covered metal boxes to burn candles and incense. Elah told me she had never heard of that tradition and that it must be something specific to Moroccan Jews. When we left, we gave the cemetery attendant a few dirhams and made our way back to the heart of the Medina (avoiding the hubbub of the tanneries as best as we could).

We took a bit of a break at our riad – we enjoyed some mint tea, read our guide book up on the rooftop terrace and eventually made our way to the center square Jmaal El Fnaa for some of the most fascinating people watching of all time.

How would I describe Jmaal El Fnaa? Well, it is a UNESCO heritage site. Honestly, though, that puts it in a category among more “conventional” historic sites. Jmaal El Fnaa is perhaps best described as a street circus. The square is busy 24 hours a day. During the day, snake charmers (yes, they exist) play their mesmerizing tunes while cobras wave their heads back and forth; women crouch on the ground, creating brilliant henna designs on patrons' hands (watch out for the synthetic henna though – it is toxic); men man stalls that sell little tagines and other Moroccan ceramics for 1 euro. As night falls, lantern merchants bring their wares out into the square, lightening their colorful/intricate crafts with candles. Moroccan story tellers attract dozens of onlookers hoping to hear some traditional fairy tales in Arabic. Dance troops, acrobats, flame throwers, and all manner of street performers claim spots int the expansive square and seek to capture the attention of Moroccan and European tourists alike. My favorite part of Jmaal El Fnaa is the 25 or so itinerant restaurants that set up shop every single night in the square. They bring their own generators, lights, tables, tents, grills etc., and make amazing/cheap street food. Elah and I stuck to regular restaurants our first two nights, and then moved down into the square to eat at the stalls our second two nights. They have sausage links, every kind of kebab you could ever want, pastilla, tagines etc. Since they are grilling most of their food, smoke billows up from this cluster of tents all night long – it is a really magical sight with all of the dramatic lighting of the square.

Anyway, Elah and I found a lovely little balcony on the corner of the square to sit and enjoy “the show.” We enjoyed a tasty dinner of tagines – I tried kefta (minced meat) and egg tagine this time. It was awesome! Might have been one of my favorite tagines while in Morocco. Elah and I didn’t even talk that much because our attention was glued on the passersby below.

After a good night’s rest and another hearty breakfast of fresh baked bread, jams, and café au lait, Elah and I set off into Marrakech once again. We targeted the southern part of the city the day before, and set off to tackle the northern part on this day. We headed to a really cool photography museum that showcased photos of Morocco from the 1880-1920. There were portraits of Berber people, scenes from the Sahara, and vibrant images from the souqs. Elah and I noted that both men and women wore long, white dress-like garb (much different from the colorful/modern clothing in the city today). The photographs were fascinating, but my favorite part of the museum was its roof top terrace, which gave us a panoramic view of the Medina.

From up high, Marrakech stretched out before our eyes – hundreds of buildings done in pink stucco with palm trees popping up every few hundred feet. Because we were in the general area of the main souqs, we took some time after lunch to poke our heads into various shops. We saw shops with hundreds of lanterns, ceramics, slippers etc. So pretty! We enjoyed a light lunch too.

Eventually, we made our way to the Medersa Ben Youssef, which is supposed to be one of the finest examples of Moroccan architecture in the entire country. Similar to its older counterpart in Fes, this university is based around a beautifully engraved central courtyard with dormitories for 900 students around that central area. The wood carving, stone work, fountains, and tile work was stunning! 

After the Merdersa, we headed to a museum dedicated to Moroccan crafts (ranging from Berber textiles, to Arab swords, to modern paintings). This may have been one of the most beautiful buildings Elah and I visited while in Morocco. The museum is located in a completely refurbished palace and thus gives one a sense of how these grand residences would have looked like in their full glory. For example, much of the carved stone was actually painted with vibrant blues, yellows, reds, and greens. The tile work on the floors was also complete – I love the combination of greens and blues.

With time to kill, Elah and I headed into a specialty shop where she bought some souvenirs for her family. We had another wonderful conversation with the shopkeeper there in French/English. He spoke about education, language acquisition, Moroccan culture etc. He was a very friendly, sweet, and astute person. He knew how to balance a sale with good conversation. We were actually in his shop for a good half an hour, I think! 

After making those purchases, Elah and I made our way back to the souqs and just got lost. We didn’t worry about getting back to the main square (all the roads seem to lead there anyway). On our little journey we ran across produce vendors, lizards sellers, olive merchants etc. It was a really pleasant afternoon. Later than evening, we made our way back to Jmaal El Fnaa and managed to find a seat at one of the recommended roof top restaurants – this one with a completely different view of the square. 

Funny story – when we made our way up to the rooftop, there were no more tables right along the guard rail that looked down into the square. So, being the proactive people we are, we asked the people up front if they would be willing to move to the side a bit so that we could move a vacant table closer to the action. They agreed to do so. So, Elah and I grabbed our table, waddled over near the balcony’s edge, and realized that we had only taken the table top and not the legs! We had to waddle back, collect the bottom of the table, and make our way back once again. Hahahaaa. I wish I could say people weren’t staring, but they were. And Elah and I were laughing so hard. BUT, it was all worth it!! The view of the square was mesmerizing – we had a better angle to see the story tellers, dance troops, and itinerant restaurants. We just sat their for hours watching hoola hoop and African dancers, guitar players, and story tellers. Thousands of people were clustered in little crowd shaped doughnuts around these various acts.