When I last left you, Stu and I had just arrived in the city of Fes.
We started the next day in Fes with a tour of the city's medina - the central, original walled city. IT's famous for being a complete labarynth of narrow streets and alley ways. Photos to come, when I get somewhere with a faster internet connection. We visited a Morrocan rug store in the medina, though with starting prices of 750 euro, they were a bit beyond our range... The tannery was also an interesting experience - the mint leaves they gave us to sniff didn't really mask the smells coming from the giant clay vats.
a donkey in the medina
moroccan carpets
sniffing mint above the tanning vats
leather products
That afternoon we made a trip to the nearby city of Meknes. Fes and Meknes were both imperial cities. As were Marrakech and Rabat. So lots of forts, and medinas and casbahs (?) and palaces to see.
That evening, we went into the Fes medina, to a palace hidden amongst the winding streets for dinner and some belly dancing. I got dragged up to have a try at the end (one of the pit falls of being in a tour group where we are a few decades younger than everyone else is that you always get picked to be the volunteer...). There is video evidence, but I can't... um.... work out how to upload it.... hmmm.... *cough* *cough*
From Fes to Marrakech. We didn't see a lot of Marrakech, as Stu got a bit of heat stroke, so we spent most of our time in the (fabulous) hotel - in our air-con room, or out lazing by the pool. But there are similar structures to a lot of the imperial cities - medina, casbah, jewish quarter, etc.
food stalls at Marrakech's main square (I think the same one in "The Man Who Knew Too Much")
dinner at "Arabian Nights" theme place
These are some photos of a home we visited in the Ourika Valley - about an hour from Marrakech. This is a typical village family home, and the served us tea and some fantastic bread and honey. The honey has a really interesting flavour - possibly flavourings from all the olive trees around.
inside the "indoor sauna" they use for bathing
tangine cooking
serving tea
Today we've driven to Casablanca. They have a MASSIVE mosque here. One of the largest in this part of the world, built some time in the last 20 years I think. Again, photos to come when I get somewhere with fast internet. Or at least, more than 45min free in the lobby.
We did some haggling in the Casablanca medina this afternoon. Managed to get a necklace down from 200 dinar to 50 dinar, so was proud of that effort!
Ok, my 45 min is likely up soon. Hope you're all well :)
We started the next day in Fes with a tour of the city's medina - the central, original walled city. IT's famous for being a complete labarynth of narrow streets and alley ways. Photos to come, when I get somewhere with a faster internet connection. We visited a Morrocan rug store in the medina, though with starting prices of 750 euro, they were a bit beyond our range... The tannery was also an interesting experience - the mint leaves they gave us to sniff didn't really mask the smells coming from the giant clay vats.
a donkey in the medina
moroccan carpets
sniffing mint above the tanning vats
leather productsThat afternoon we made a trip to the nearby city of Meknes. Fes and Meknes were both imperial cities. As were Marrakech and Rabat. So lots of forts, and medinas and casbahs (?) and palaces to see.
That evening, we went into the Fes medina, to a palace hidden amongst the winding streets for dinner and some belly dancing. I got dragged up to have a try at the end (one of the pit falls of being in a tour group where we are a few decades younger than everyone else is that you always get picked to be the volunteer...). There is video evidence, but I can't... um.... work out how to upload it.... hmmm.... *cough* *cough*
From Fes to Marrakech. We didn't see a lot of Marrakech, as Stu got a bit of heat stroke, so we spent most of our time in the (fabulous) hotel - in our air-con room, or out lazing by the pool. But there are similar structures to a lot of the imperial cities - medina, casbah, jewish quarter, etc.
food stalls at Marrakech's main square (I think the same one in "The Man Who Knew Too Much")
dinner at "Arabian Nights" theme placeThese are some photos of a home we visited in the Ourika Valley - about an hour from Marrakech. This is a typical village family home, and the served us tea and some fantastic bread and honey. The honey has a really interesting flavour - possibly flavourings from all the olive trees around.
inside the "indoor sauna" they use for bathing
tangine cooking
serving teaToday we've driven to Casablanca. They have a MASSIVE mosque here. One of the largest in this part of the world, built some time in the last 20 years I think. Again, photos to come when I get somewhere with fast internet. Or at least, more than 45min free in the lobby.
We did some haggling in the Casablanca medina this afternoon. Managed to get a necklace down from 200 dinar to 50 dinar, so was proud of that effort!
Ok, my 45 min is likely up soon. Hope you're all well :)
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