DAY 2 Marrakech
30th November 2005
Marrakech street. Enlarge image
We breakfasted on the roof terrace of the hotel, where there was a small kitchen in one corner. The options were omelette, or bread with butter and an orange flavoured jam, and were pretty much the same everywhere else we went in Morocco. After breakfast we headed for the souk north of Djemaa El-Fna for a look around. The streets leading off the square start off wide and open, but quickly the stalls close in, concentrate, and a roof seals out the day light. The smells were of spice, animals, leather and men, and the sounds were of constant invitations to look in a stall or workshop, sometimes in French, but more often correct guesses were made that we are English. It seems odd to be greeted by a ‘traditional’-looking old Moroccan man saying “Welcome, fish and chips” in a place that seems pretty far removed from an English fish and chip shop. The phrase ‘fish and chips’ haunts the English tourist in Morocco, but the absurdity of it usually made me chuckle despite the repetition. After 20 or 30 minutes wandering through this rabbit warren we emerged disorientated but relieved to be back out in the open.
Koutoubia mineret.
Enlarge image
Piecing together our surroundings from the guide book maps we navigated to the easiest landmark in town, the Koubtoubia minaret. After a coffee we walked up Mohamed V Boulevard into the Ville Nouvelle part of town, built by the French to accommodate the colonisers. We stopped here for lunch, our first tangines of many (also tajines), with the usual starter of moroccan salad and accompanied with bread and chips. Tagine is also the name of the clay dishes in which the food is cooked, covered by a tall conical hat-like lid with a hole in the centre. The dish generally contains meat and vegetables, and sometimes lemon and olives depending on the type. As we sat out on the pavement there was a constant stream of passing hawkers, beggar women (to whom most of the bread went) and shoe shiners tapping their polish boxes. Despite being a clear sunny day it was cold in the shade.
For the next adventure we headed south, deeper into the medina. After some confused wandering and direction-asking we found our way to the Palais de la Bahia, along the way passing giant nests topped with storks perched on the city walls. The palace was made up a complex of open-air courtyards and gardens leading into small clusters of rooms. The rooms were all empty but were often decorated with small titles in intricate, repetitive patterns.
Courtyard in Palais de Bahia. Enlarge image
Tiled ceiling in Palais de Bahia. Enlarge image
After this culturally stimulating activity (ok, bit boring) our baser instincts overtook us, and we went out to look for alcohol. The quest led us to the outskirts of town where the expensive hotels are found. A place called Jad Mahal was recommended in a newspaper article Ol had brought along, and the description therein led us to believe that they served booze. However, we'd arrived too early, so again found ourselves walking along Mohamed 5 into the Ville Nouvelle. After investigating some car hire prices for the following day we at last found the Atlas Café, one of the few and precious licenced establishments.
We had to sit inside the café to drink alcohol. The place was cramped and smoky, full of merry Moroccans who kept all their empty bottles on the table, maybe as a tally, maybe as a symbol. We had a couple of the small (25cl) bottles of the locally brewed Flag lager (good!) which took a long time due to the speed of the table service. After the beers we returned to the incongruously plush Jad Mahal. The pre-dinner cocktails each cost more than a night's accommodation in our hotel. The service was extremely attentive and good looking, and the olives superb. We moved to another table to eat. Dinner, which was fantastic, was accompanied by a couple of bottles of good Moroccan red wine and an occasional belly dancer. After a day of much walking on the streets of Marrakesh, the tipsy taxi ride back to Djemaa El-Fna was much appreciated.
