Morocco Day 6: Marrakech
Today was a very guided and structured day. Our first item on the agenda was a guided tour of Marrakech. The first stop was the old mosque there, Koutoubia Mosque, which, funnily enough, was originally mistakenly built not facing Mecca so they had to take apart the entire brick structure and rebuild it to face the right way. You'd think they would have thought of that before building an entire mosque. Our next stop was the Palace Bahia, which was built by Si Moussa, grand vizier of the sultan, named after his favorite of his 4 wives - favorite because she bore his first child. There was some absolutely stunning designs on the walls as well as a beautiful garden in and around the building structures. The tour guide was very quick, moving swiftly from one room to the next, giving information before everyone even got there to hear him say it. I wish I had learned more about the structure and the artwork. The trip has ignited a burning desire within me to take an Islamic/Arabic art class to learn more about the designs and patterns used, what they mean, and where they come from. I am also intrigued by how much (if at all) local indigenous culture plays into this art. I know there is a lot of Berber influence here in Morocco and I've seen some very specific designs in the Berber jewelry that's been pointed out to me so I'd be curious to explore this niche art history. After the palace, we went to an old Koranic school, Ben Youssef Medersa, that also had some really inspiring design work, both in plaster and carved wood. The walls in the main courtyard were totally blanketed with design work; it took my breath away.
Throughout this journey we were walking in the narrow, dark, crowded streets of the marketplace, which is a general sensory overload. People are packed together - locals, tourists, aggressive merchants - as well as many people on mopeds, bikes, and motorized or hand-pulled carts, which were often wide with cause to press our bodies against the sides of the street, smushing into yet more people. You would think there would be rules against motorized vehicles in the marketplace - if not for the physical danger of getting run over but at last for the polluting exhaust that fills the enclosed narrow walk ways! (An interesting tidbit on the topic of health and sustainability: its legal to smoke indoors in Morocco yet they've outlawed plastic bags...) So many smells (and so much dust!) fill the air as well as constant chatter - shoppers and merchants bargaining, people hollering at one another, and of course many locals verbally harassing the foreigners (either to come into their shop to buy things or because they're foreign or with sexual intentions). The harassment wasn't bad at all in Rabat - in fact I hardly encountered it - but it was like nothing else in Marrakech. We got "fish and chips," "spice girls," "skinny woman, skinny price," "Donald Trump, best president," and other more general comments. The most effective advice we were given was simply to ignore them entirely - don't look at them, don't talk back to them. It was hard but needs must as they say. Another element of the market streets that contributed to this major sensory overload was the sheer quantities of goods that filled each store. They were all jam packed full of shoes or leather bags or carpets or jewelry or lanterns or pottery; not a bare bit of wall or floor space to be found. Even if the shops' ceilings were tall, you could bet there would be products filling the walls up to the ceiling.
Within these crowded winding streets was our next stop, a traditional medicine pharmacy. (Or at least this is what we were told but it was definitely more a tourist attraction store than it was a functioning pharmacy for locals.) Inside, we were told about many of the products they have which ranged from cooking spices and herbs to creams and oils as well as some consumables that had medicinal properties.For example, cumin is "Berber ammonium" and does wonders for stomach problems. Also, tea made from saffron is recommended to combat stress and boost the immune system. At the end of the show and tell, they handed us all small shopping baskets and called out each product and their price for us to buy, almost like an auction house. It was kind of an odd dynamic given the atmosphere I was initially anticipating but overall it was cool to learn about the products. Finally after all these stops on our tour it was time for lunch. We went to a very large restaurant filled with tourists and scarfed down our food; the walking tour in the heat really tuckered us out!
After lunch we visited what's called "The House of Life," which is a place tall where those with receiving cancer treatment at the hospital in Marrakech who cannot afford to stay in a hotel or do not have family to stay with can come and live. Every room has space for the patient and one companion who can be a relative or spouse. The house is run by a foundation established by the princess of Morocco (interestingly this is indeed the king's wife; there are no queens in Morocco), which, if I understand correctly, is sustained on her own funds as well as private donations. The tour of this place was similar to the last in that it was very quick and not in depth at all. I think many of us wished that we could have learned more about what they offer and how one qualifies for their services and how they enroll as well as what other options are available to people in similar situations.
After this, we all went back to the hotel to go to the pool. The sun was on its way down and the water was not heated but I went in for a solo dip anyway. It was relaxing to swim and float around by myself for a bit. Eventually it was time for dinner - no birthday serenades but still delicious! After dinner, we we're told that a guide for the trip would take us to a mall down the street from the hotel after dinner so we could hang out. I think we were anticipating a little bit more freedom since when we arrived, they told us to meet back in the front in half an hour. We ended up just buying some tubs of ice cream and hanging out briefly since most stores were closed and we were under tight supervision. We ended up going right back to the hotel and briefly hanging out with some others, but we were all pretty exhausted.
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