Take me to the Kasbah!!!

King and Queen Farouk have moved outside to the day bed by the
pool. Too sumptuous for words! (Although very uncomfortable!!)

We moved from the ancient city of Fes to Marrakech after a very long drive. I (Chris) was so excited to to arrive in this place as all my romantic ideas about Morocco have been tied up in Marrakech...like "take me to the Kasbah". Spoiler alert: (if you don't want your ideas about the Kasbah spoilt - look away now!) a Kasbah (any Kasbah) is a fort. Boring!!! No Moroccan sultans to whisk me away for some Kasbahian delights...how disappointing. (Wait till I blog about Casablanca - more spoiler alerts!!) Anyway our hotel was called the Kasbah hotel, so it had to suffice. (See the sultan and sultana in day bed by the pool and Kasbah towel).

See I have been to the Kasbah!

The following morning we visited the Palais El Bahia which was a former residence of a grand vizier. The name of the building means "the Brilliance", which is a slight exaggeration, but it is a beautiful old palace with lovely courtyard gardens and a Koranic Schoolroom for the younger children, with an alcove where the "honoured" teacher would sit.

Two teachers in the alcove of honour.
James, our US tour friend, was a
Principal back a number of years ago.

In this expansive residence, we also saw the Harem's quarters. The harem could also include mothers-in-law and other female relatives as well as the concubines. Each wife (up to four) each had their own residences, otherwise there would be fighting. Near these were the Grand Vizier's private rooms, as well as his receptions rooms, where he would receive his guests, etc.

One of the courtyards in the Palais El Bahia.

Then we were off to the (market)  in Marrakech to see its delights. Again we enjoyed the streets and stalls of the market, but it was not as narrow and as busy as Fes. There were more motorbikes however than donkeys and the same BALAK applied, except this time it was moving vehicles (a bit more unnerving!)

Jars of colourful treasures. Have you heard of the famous Argan oil which is "an oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree, endemic to Morocco, that is valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties"? Well, we have bought some...so we will be curedfrom everything you can think of...hopefully!!

We dropped into a Farmacia (their version of a Pharmacy) with its jar lined shelves, with every imaginable colour represented. We had a short demonstration of the jars' delights, herbal remedies and cure alls, then we were given an opportunity to buy these treasures (of course!!!). We bought the potions that will give us eternal youth...so you won't recognise us when we get back, because we will look so young. Joking aside there were some beautiful scents that we couldn't resist, so if we don't look any younger, we will at least smell good.

Whispering sweet nothings!!!!

Once through the market streets we entered the famous Djemaa el Fna (the market square)...and there we were fascinated by...the monkeys...the snake charmers...the acrobats...the story tellers. Very enjoyable to watch. I didn't find it as delightful as Fes, but David enjoyed it every much. We would like to come back and spend more time here one day.

This was a highlight for me...these monkeys were just gorgeous.
The one on my left started to investigate my hands and was
intrigued by the scar on my left forefinger...then nuzzled into
my neck. I want one!!



Again the market stalls were a wonderment and delight for the senses. We could happily get lost in these market lanes for days!!!!!!!!

Olives...what a gorgeous sight!

Typical market lane...so much to see..so much to do...so much to buy!

On our trip around Germany and also in Spain we were intrigued by the stork nests built on everything tall - telephone poles and chimneys were the tall things of choice. Unfortunately, none of these nests housed the storks themselves, as they had all flown south for the winter. This was disappointing. But, joy of joys, in Morocco the stork nests have storks and I have the photos to prove it...so for anyone who missed the joys of seeing storks, these photos are for you.

Storks really do exist!!!

Does this mean the birth rate is up in Morocco?