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| John and I in a traditional Berber home having tea |
John’s and my trip to Morocco has been an amazing experience
so far. As usual, John had a meeting and
unfortunately for him, missed out on two days of excursions around the city of
Marrakesh; however, he and I spent our first day exploring, being picked up by
a city guide whom we used for the rest of the trip, and also being able to take
a trip to the Mid Atlas mountains and the valleys near the city. We were privileged to be invited into a
Berber house in the mountains (I’m sure that all the other people who were
brought to the same house felt the same, and that the family benefitted from
our “tips”. We did see the devastation
that occurred in the 1990’s when a huge flood killed thousands of persons who
lived near the river, and learned that at least three members of this family
were swept away.
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| River with rocks from floods |
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| Pots for sale everywhere |
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| Beautiful Mid Atlas Valley |
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| Camel Ride Possibilities were everywhere...We said "no" |
We thought about Chrissy and Katrina and the ride to the tomb of the Aga Khan back in 1995. Our guide Rashid said...oh those camels must have been anxious. Hmmmmm. Not interested.
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| Carpets for sale everywhere |
I have never seen so many carpet possibilities. Carpets are in all the taxis, covering wood piles, on all the floors, on the ground even. Every inch of space can have carpets. Every single kind of carpet.
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| Beautiful day for a drive in the mountains |
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| Berber Traditional Bedroom |
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| Flour Making "machine" |
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| Another tea shot |
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| Adorable children playing in the Berber House |
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| Very Cute Bed and Breakfast and gift shop |
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| Every gift you can buy |
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| View of the Alladin B&B from a distance |
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| Herb Garden for all sorts of cures |
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| Hyatt and Trish outside the shop |
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| Hyatt welcoming people to the shop |
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| making the Argon oil for cosmetics and for cooking |
In addition to that trip, perhaps another unique part of our
Marrakesh trip was being taken to an olive oil factory, the likes of which I
simply cannot describe. OSHA
beware. Let’s hope that our litre of
olive oil, which is stored in a dishwashing soap container, is taped strongly
enough to withstand the airplane pressure coming home, or our suitcase will be
a disaster.
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| My favorite shot. Happy olive oil workers |
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| oops John and Rashid at the Berber house |
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| John and Rashid at the olive oil factory |
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| olive oil heaven in Marrakesh |
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| Olives for oil |
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| Olives for restaurants |
But the rest of the Marrakesh trip was pure tourist; the
souq’s with all their shops and bargaining and hustling and bustling. Our guide certainly had his favorite shops,
the first of which was a carpet souq and definitely Rashid had John’s number
when it came to this. We must have spent
an hour sitting, drinking tea, and finally coming away with a small Berber
carpet. We also went to a “chemist” but
did not buy the Argon oil that could cure everything, as the buying of the oil
happened when we went to the mountains.
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| In The Souq |
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| Monkey in the square |
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| Snake charmer gets client to put snake on neck |
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| Central Square |
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| Old synagogue from 15th century |
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| Old Mosque Al Ben Youssef where moderate Islam is taught |
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| fabulous central souq |
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| John's carpet downfall |
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| Main Minaret and mosque |
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| El Meridien Hotel |
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| Patricia in Gardens |
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| Patricia by the grave of Yves St. Laurent |
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| Royal theatre |
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| Graves in Hebrew Cemetery Stones provide memories...especially of children |
So many more photos of Marrakesh, but here were the highlights. The central square has its charm, the historical sites their beauty. But, what seems to me most memorable are the very friendly people and their desire to let everyone know that they are peaceful and want to show off a country they love very much.
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Central Square
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