Today we spent time sightseeing in Marrakesh which is a city dating from the 12th century. It is everything you think of when you hear "Morocco." It is known as the Red City, as all the buildings are made from red sandstone, the red sand from the Sahara Desert. It is easily 20 degrees hotter here than in Casablanca. Temps are in the mid-high 90s during the day, although when the sun goes down it becomes noticeably cooler and very pleasant. We started out the day driving through the part of the old city where the old fancy hotels are located. Our guide pointed out the one that was favored by Winston Churchill! We then stopped at an old garden outside the old city walls that is huge, with acres of olive trees that are over 300 years old. There is a large reservoir with a pyramid type building at one end of the garden. Then as you exit you see the main thoroughfare, Rue Mohammad V and in the distance the minaret of the great Koutoubia Mosque, which holds over 25,000 people. Since it is Ramadan and there are more people attending prayers than the mosque can accommodate, outside, where there are ruins of the old part of the mosque from centuries ago, we could see the straw mats that have been placed down in the ruins for people to pray outside during the Ramadan prayers. After visiting the mosque area we went over to the area where the King has a residence when in Marrakesh and then visited the graveyard of the Kasbah Mosque, right next to the palace. The graveyard area is a beautiful garden, with many rooms in which are entombed members of the royal families through the centuries, including a room for children, for wives, for palace staff and families. Its a beautiful space and the tombstones and rooms are all beautiful tile and woodwork carved walls and ceilings.
After that we visited a herbaria, where we learned about traditional Moroccan herbs, some used for cooking, some for various medical purposes, others for cosmetics and creams. We had demonstrations of the various products and bought our supplies of Moroccan tea and other goodies. Then we went to lunch in the center of the souk. It was lovely in there. The restaurant - Cafe Arabe -was excellent. The food was delicious and very filling and they had a bar so a few of us indulged our longing for alcoholic refreshment! After lunch some folks returned to the hotel and 5 of us continued on through the souk, which has many winding little passageways lined with stalls full of Moroccan crafts - leather, woodworking, textiles, clothing, silver...and on and on. The guide stayed with us, which is a good thing or we may never have found our way out of there. It was crowded, but not as much as it would have been had it not been Ramadan. By the time we left at nearly 5:00, the main square, the Jemaa el Fna, where we had been last night, was gearing up for the breaking of the fast and the hordes of people that would show up at sundown.
We returned to the Koutoubia Mosque area and the Jemaa el Fna just before the breaking of the fast. What is remarkable at that time is how deserted the streets are, as the Muslims are all gathering in restaurants or homes or small picnic groups to break the fast at the appointed hour. They do so by eating 3 dates, drinking water and milk and then, in Morocco, having a bowl of harira soup, a soup made from vegetables and lentils, with Moroccan spices. Our leader found us a restaurant with a top floor, outside, overlooking the Koutoubia mosque so we went up there, and he and his wife broke the fast (and we joined them eating the dates and soup!) and then we spent the evening having our dinner there where we could overlook the mosque. It was quiet for about half an hour after the break-fast, and then people started arriving at the mosque for the night prayers. By the time they started, shortly after nine, there were thousands of people in the outside prayer area, and even more inside. The entire evening worship is broadcast over the loudspeakers, so we heard the Ramadan night prayer sermon first, interrupted by the call to prayer, and then the sermon concludes. Then they did the regular night prayer service, followed by the additional 20 verses of the Qur'an that have to be recited each night of Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan, they read through the entire Qur'an. We watched and listened for nearly two hours. It was fascinating to see the waves of people praying. The women's section, which is much smaller than the section for the men, was absolutely packed, so much so that lots of women who couldn't fit in to join the prayer line, simply sat across the street on the curb and listened from there. It was really beautiful - the mosque and square all lit up, the air pleasant and cool, and the sound of the chanting of the Qur'an acompanying our dinner and dessert. We enjoyed traditional Moroccan mint tea when our meal was over as we continued to listen to the service. Our Imam translated some of the verses as they were being recited, which was most helpful, and he also translated bits of the sermon so we had a little idea of what the crowds were hearing. It was truly a spiritual experience to observe this Ramadan ritual and most impressive to see the devotion of all these folks to their religious observance. We Christian clergy rued the fact that we have no time in our liturgical year that draws crowds like that, not even Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday! When that service concluded it was not unlike Times Square on New Year's Eve as everyone streamed away from the mosque area back to the square or off to home. We came back to the hotel at that point, as it was nearly 11 and we have a very early morning tomorrow.
The pics are me by the reservoir, the camels that were resting and eating as we entered that garden area, a couple of shots of the souk, some of the tilework in the Kasbah Cemetary and the Koutoubia Mosque at sunset. The area that is empty in this picture was packed with thousands of worshippers 90 minutes later!!
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