Marrakesh

Morocco Day 2

Today was not very full of activity but it was long and hot!  We spent the morning walking around the Old City of Casablanca, where the souk is.  Little tiny winding streets, lots of market stalls.  I found a little tiny door with the name of a Rabbi on it and Hebrew lettering, suggesting that there are some Jews in the Old City, although I'm betting they are a distinct minority!  And, like in Turkey, there were plenty of cats wandering around the souk!  Because it is Ramadan all the cafes/restaurants were closed and the streets were pretty empty.  Everything comes alive here after sundown, particularly in Ramadan.  We took a drive through the ritzy area of Casablanca out by the beach and stopped to look at the beach.  There was almost no one out there as the Muslims are all sleeping during the day and none of the cafes or restaurants by the water are open during the day.  The views out over the water were lovely. We then had lunch at the hotel, checked out and started our LONG drive to Marrakesh, via the Casablanca airport to retrieve my bag and then the Marrakesh airport to retrieve another person's bag.  The air conditioning in our van was not working, so it was extremely hot.  We finally gave up on the AC and opened the windows (only the ones by the driver and front passenger open!) but at least that gave us a breeze, hot though it was. Then at one point the van overheated and our driver had to pull over to the side of the road, open the hood and fiddle around!  We sat in the heat watching a flock of sheep grazing right beside the road!  The driver got the car going and we proceeded on.  It was a 5+ hour drive, so we napped, talked, and tried to stay as cool as possible!  We finally arrived at our Marrakesh hotel at 8PM, tired and sweaty!  We had a brief break to shower and clean up and then gathered for a LATE dinner.  This hotel is very spacious and luxurious, and to my relief the AC seems to be working (not the case in my room last night!)  As we waited in the lobby to depart for dinner there was a man playing a lute-like instrument, keeping us entertained while we waited for the bus driver to return.  

We arrived at the souk area of Marrakesh just as the last call to prayer was sounding with literally thousands of Muslims streaming to the main mosque near the square.  They do the last prayers and then Qur'anic reciting for quite awhile afterwards.  The souk area was absolutely teeming with people all out for the evening.  Some were there for the prayers and then eating, singing and socializing, some were just walking around the market area, enjoying food, music, all the various market stalls.  There were snake handlers, and guys with monkeys, and food and drink vendors and musicians galore with stringed instruments and drums playing for hours.  We walked through the market which was very festive and exceedingly crowded, mostly with Moroccans, not tourists, and made our way to a restaurant where we had our dinner on a second floor balcony overlooking the souk.  It was lovely and cool in the dark and very comfortable, compared to the heat of the day.  And it was hopping!  We left at midnight and the place was still going strong, with folks, old and young, still singing, chanting, eating, talking, socializing.  You'd never know it was past midnight.  There are lots of horse drawn carriages down in that area and they give people rides all over the center city.  We had to jump out of the way numerous times to avoid being run over by horses!  We had a very leisurely meal up on the balcony, enjoying the view, to the beat of the drums and chanting that were going on below us and people watching from our perch up high.  I had a delicious Moroccan lamb kofte with egg, Moroccan salad (tomatoes, cucumber, onions, spices) fresh bread and fruit.  The only thing missing was my G&T but I'm guessing I won't see one of them until I hit Amsterdam!  Morocco in Ramadan is no place to find any alcoholic beverages!  It is now 1:15 AM and I am off to sleep!

The pics today are me and the group out at the beach at Casablanca and then the mosque minaret in the Marrakesh Old City and one of the many vendors selling candles that were all over the souk.