“Sometimes, when I see how silly people behave, I’m glad I’m a camel.” From the Road to Morocco”

On: March 12, 2017
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Mar 12, 2017

One more breakfast on the rooftop of our beautiful Riad in Fez.

A walk back to our car through the labyrinth of alleys, the city wakes up after 9:30 am, so the flow of humanity was at an ebb low as our porter pushed the luggage cart uphill……did I mentioned that Fes sits in a bowl between two mountains.

The drive to Marrakech took around 6 hours on the tolls road which bought us back to Casablanca, taking the national road through the Atlas mountain would have been more scenic but twice the time.

Again we traveled through the ever-changing scenery of cork forest, olives groves, orchard fields, alfalfa, barley, and wheat fields that stretch for miles. With sheep, donkeys a few cows, and small villages with the ever-present minaret.

You don’t have to travel far to see a sheep herder and his flock dotting the landscape like wildflowers.

Only when we got closer to Marrakech that the landscaped change to a more arid and desolate space, filled with cactus-producing prickly pear, the newest skin treatment.

Marrakesh, the 4th largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco. after Casablanca, Fes, and Tangier. Located to the north of the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains.

Marrakesh is possibly the most important of Morocco’s four former imperial cities (built by the Moroccan Berber empires). The region has been inhabited by Berber farmers since Neolithic times, but the actual city was founded in 1062. In the 12th century, the Almoravids built many madrasas (Koranic schools) and mosques in Marrakesh that bear Andalusian influences. The red walls of the city, built at the beginning of the 12th century and various buildings constructed in red sandstone during this period, have given the city the nickname of the “Red City” or “Ochre City”. Marrakesh grew rapidly and established itself as a cultural, religious, and trading center.

Like many Moroccan cities, Marrakesh comprises an old fortified city packed with vendors and their stalls (the medina), bordered by modern neighborhoods. Today it is major tourist destination.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, the city became a trendy “hippie mecca”. It attracted numerous western rock stars and musicians, artists, film directors and actors, models, and fashion divas. Yves Saint Laurent, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jean-Paul Getty all spent significant time in the city; Laurent bought a property here and renovated the Majorelle Gardens. Expatriates, especially those from France, have invested heavily in Marrakesh since the 1960s and restored many of the riads and palaces.

Jamaa el Fna’ one of the most famous squares in the world it’s the heart of the tourist trade in Marrakech.

During the day it is predominantly occupied by orange juice stalls, water sellers with traditional leather waterbags and brass cups, men with chained Barbary apes and snake charmers compete for your attention. these animals have protected species status under Moroccan law, which is basically swept under the rug.

As the day progresses, the entertainment on offer changes: the snake charmers depart, and late in the day the square becomes more crowded, with Chleuh dancing-boys (it would be against custom for girls to provide such entertainment), story-tellers, magicians, fortune tellers and peddlers of traditional medicines. As darkness falls, the square fills with dozens of food-stalls as the number of people on the square peaks.

The city is creating a permanent space for the food stalls, which currently reduces the square area of the plaza with the addition of fences and construction equipment.

At the suggestion of our guide after we checked in our beautiful streamline modem -Riad – think of Morocco meets Milan deep in the heart of the Medina.

We walked back to the square and managed to get at spot at the rooftop of the Glacier Cafe, at the bottom of the stairs a signed read obligatory consumption.

Drinks where soda, water, fruit drinks, tea and coffee and the lady in front of us had a bitchy total meltdown because they did not have Coke light / drinks on hand we were lucky to find the perfect table to watch the zoo of humanity on display below.

Here is what bothered me…..tourist that back home will be staunch advocates of animals rights, PETA card carriers and most probably vegan tripping over each other to have their picture taken for a few Dinarhs while the monkey is yanked and pull by its handler into submission and the snake is poke until it performs.

Shopping should be fun in Marrakesh is not is almost a combat sports, sellers hawk their wares, grab you to go into their stalls, or follow you for 1,000 and 1 meters asking you to buy species and argon oil like one did to me this afternoon.

He kept walking and talking behind me David in between us, me ignoring him When he was not getting a response he yells “what do you say”. I stopped around and the Cuban in me came out with a resounding I SAID NO David later told me that he mumbles something don’t get angry, but I was not listening and kept walking toward our sanctuary within all this madness.

Dinner was another sumptuous seafood feast prepared at our request by the Riad chef……the 8 Moroccan salads a fantastic pastiste made with fresh strawberries, caramelized pears and pastry cream, and a bottle of champagne that was in our room with a basket of fresh fruit and dates upon arrival.