Morocco at Last!

This will have to be in several installments since I was without internet while away. I also have tons of pictures that I'll post links to. I did my best to try to write out the events of each day so I wouldn't miss anything. There will probably be a loose ends post to all this later on.

Here goes the beginning:

Bumpy flight from London to Casablanca, and then on to Marrakech. We reached Africa by sundown but we were quickly flying in the dark. Only lights were ships off the coast. The land was mostly black except for the ribbons of the highways. Total chaos transferring to the second flight but eventually we made our short hop to Marrakech.

We made it through customs at Menara airport with no trouble. My student visa adds legitimacy I'm sure. We didn't have to look too hard to find the car from the riad either. Manu, the manager/ owner drove us through the medina easily. He was just a tad swarthy but as we would realize he was a good guy underneath the shell.

We stayed in the walled off medina, the old city. The drive was short and the city was dramatically lit at night. the riad was a long way back in to the city eventhough we made good time. Marrakech, so the legend goes, is built like a maze in remembrance of a fantastically dangerous maze built by the Babylonians to house a Berber king. Though the story might not be true the city is a maze. We soon had no idea where we were. Our car suddenly came to a stop in front of a large gate and several guys came out of the shadows. At the time we didn't know they worked for the riad so we were a little unsure about the newcomers. One was bhadir, manu's right hand man. I don't think I'm spelling his name right actually.

The two new guys grabbed our bags and started off down the street. We had no choice but to follow or be left in the dark. The streets there were too narrow for a car and a bit uneven. We were clumsy with our bags. Suddenly we were at the riad.

We did our best to explain that we were tired and wanted to go to sleep, but the guys got the idea and showed us the door to our suite upstairs. Our rooms were fairly lavish at the top of a narrow curving staircase. I think photos will do better than words to explain how beautiful our suite was. I'll post pictures to explain. The ceiling in the main room was several hundred years old and original to the building. The temp stayed very comfy, and we had small airconditioners to help with the heat. The inside of the buildings in Morocco are very comfy in part because of the materials and in part because their walls are thick and doors and windows small. Public buildings had larger openings to catch the breeze. Really the place to be was on the rooftop, where we would usually have meals at the riad or at restaurants. My bed was a bit stiff but I found a comfortable position. If it hadn't been stiff it would have been too warm. Toilet was in a true water closet on the balcony, with the sink and shower in another room. Water comes from cisterns mounted either on the roof or below drains from the roof.

Another building note is that images of the king are as important as light bulbs. He is everywhere and always in a different character. If nothing else as you try to picture my stories in your mind think of shades of Indiana Jones.

Breakfast was hard crepes and bread with honey and several jellies. Freshly squeezed orange juice and mint tea to drink. All of it delicious. I had a few quiet moments afterwards to take pictures of our rooms and listen to the noises of the neighborhood. It had been very cool to wake up to morning prayers, and hearing arabic (spoken and music) around was very much a reminder of years of home.

After a brief tour of the riad (which I have the sneaking suspicion should be written riyad in english) and finally seeing the hamaam (which was actually a jacuzzi), we tried to make our way through the sprawling souks. We only got lost twice which is pretty good given the size of the place. I know we looked lost since one man came over and gave us directions. The only problem was he stalked us for blocks trying to bring us back to the markets (where we would pay him and so would the shop owners). Eventually we jumped in a cab to get away from him and went to one of Marrakech's famous gardens.

The cab ended up being a good idea anyway because the garden was beyond the Medina's walls. Worth mentioning that since we were staying within the Medina we had to register with the police. The garden was like a fantasy world. I've never seen many of those plants (bamboo for one) growing that tall. They were like trees, a true forest of them. Cacti as big as the biggest I'd seen out west. The garden's cafe; however, was not so wonderful in that it was $10 for a cup of tea. That strikes me as a bit extreme.

It was about this time that we were introduced to a cabbie named abdou, who would dominate a good portion of the rest of our day.