Marrakech Photo Journal

I'm just going to do this blog post with pictures, since it'd be hard to describe otherwise. I took the overnight night train from Tangier to Marrakech (Friday evening-Sat. morning), and the way back the same thing, arriving Monday morning just in time for class!

The landmark Koutoubia minaret in Marrakech - the minaret is 70m high and was built at the end of the 12th century by the Almohads.

Looking up the minaret at the Koutoubia mosque, now inhabited by pigeons.

A terrace view of the vast Badi Palace, built in the 16th century, in the southern part of the Marrakech medina. It is now basically in ruins, stripped of everything valuable, and even the pools were empty.

Meredith and me inside the Bahia Palace, also in the southern part of the medina. It was built in the late 19th century, but is beautifully-decorated and preserved, especially the tilework and stucco.

An example of the exquisite decoration in the Bahia Palace. This is in one of the many courtyards:

My wonderful, air-conditioned room in the Riad in which I spent the night in Marrakech. Riads, which are beautiful old houses (or mansions) - turned bed&breakfast, are springing up everywhere in Morocco. This one was geared especially toward young people, so it was basically like a luxurious hostel - fantastic, clean, incredibly cheap, and the people were so nice.

Stage 1: The huge main square, Jama' Al-Fna', before sunset with a ridiculous number (> 50, I think) of orange juice stalls. The origin of Jama' Al-Fna' is a mystery, and its name can either be translated as "assembly of the dead" or "the mosque of nothing" - lots of Arabic words can take multiple, diverse meanings, such as "Jama'," which can either mean "assembly" or "mosque."

 

Stage 2: Setting up for the night-time festivities in Jama' Al-Fna'. Smoke coming from the temporary food stalls that appear every night and serve traditional Moroccan cuisine - although sometimes of questionable quality

 

Stage 3: Early night in Jama' Al-Fna', still filling up with people (Moroccans + tourists) and entertainers.

Men working at a tannery in the Marrakech souq - I started exploring early in the morning and got a personal tour from one of the men. He explained the steps of treatment process, one of which included using shredded bark from a Brazilian tree, and another used pigeon poop.

 

Workers treating animal skin to make leather - probably destined for some bags or shoes. There were giant piles of camel and cow skin, as well as sheep.

A nearby apothecary - the friendly old man felt the need to pull off every jar and explain its use to me in Arabic. Everything from saffron and cinnamon to special eyeliner and salts - most of them were pretty unidentifiable, and I didn't exactly understand all of his Moroccan Arabic.

An alleyway in the souq early in the morning when most shops were still closed and I could wander around nearly (but not completely) free of hasslers. When I went back later that day, the entire souq was transformed, which hundreds of bags, shoes, scarves, and other items hanging from every place possible - it almost felt like a jungle.

 The makeshift stand in a back corner a the souq serving Moroccans breakfast - baysar, a thick pea/bean soup with a olive oil and bread. On a whim, I decided to join them and I'm happy I did because it was delicious and cheap.

 A picturesque doorway in one of the quieter parts of the medina. I wandered into the residential areas to escape the crowds and hassling.

 One of the many stalls set up in Jamaa' Al-Fina' selling dried nuts and fruits - I ended up buying some dates and figs.

 Inside the main courtyard of the Marrakech museum, which is housed in a late-nineteenth-century, restored palace. The decoration was gorgeous, although the yellow tint comes from the covering. It houses exhibitions of Moroccan art and sculpture.

 

Inside the Ben Youssef Madrasa, near the Marrakech museum. It's no longer in use, but used to be a Qur'anic school associated with the neighboring mosque. It was originally built in the 14th century but rebuilt in the 1560s. Every surface of the madrasa was decorated, either with tile or carved stucco or wood.

 The central courtyard of the Ben Youssef Madrasa. There were halls flanking the courtyard which served as dormitories for the students - over 800-student capacity.

Another view of the central courtyard from the upper floor of the dorms.

The Majorelle Gardners - an oasis from the unbearable heat (>110F that weekend) of Marrakech summers. It's a private, botanical garden with a grove of bamboos, as well as a cactus garden. We walked over 30 minutes from the Marrakech Museum to get there, and my feet were burning by the time we arrived, so it was a perfect respite. We just sat on a shaded bench for over an hour.

A group of entertainers in Jama' Al-Fna' towards the end of the day - most of the entertainment appears once it gets dark, though.

 Our last stop on our way out of the Marrakech medina. This stand was selling a hot, spicy ginseng drink and some really filling, spicy gingercake.

I took the overnight train back to Tangier, and Meredith and AJ headed off to their next adventure to continue with their research project.