Marrakesh

Our final stop in Morocco is Marrakesh: busy, but clean, and the most affluent city yet. Feeling more like Los Angeles down the palm-lined boulevards, but contrasted by the chaotic medina and packed markets.  

Within the bustle of Marrakesh, there is a secret garden. Even greater, a secret cemetery, constructed for a dynasty in the 16th century, and all the members of their house. But somehow, these magnificent rooms full of mosaics and carvings, and tombs of royalty, and the surrounding, interconnecting gardens were all forgotten for hundreds of years. Eventually, the people of Marrakesh forgot the royal tomb, and generations of people assumed the land, whose entryway was closed off by a wall barely a persons-width between buildings, was just part of the adjacent mosque. It wasn't until a French plane flew over that this site was rediscovered and the small wall was taken down. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that it was just forgotten, and not even those running the mosque had thought the footprint of their building was smaller than the city assumed.

Nearby, we visited the old Prime Minister's house, from a time when he wasn't elected and kept four acknowledged wives alongside 24 unofficial wives. Trying to disconnect the beauty of the architecture from the waste of government resources and treatment of wives bought at the market, this place was certainly built to impress with its grandeur. These few pictures don't do the detailed wood carvings and intricate mosaics justice.

We finished our first day in the city with a culinary tour of the market. Starting with a bakery, we sampled coconut cookies, and something like baklava, and crescent horns. We tried different kinds of olives, and I finally learn that green and black olives are not different species, but different ripeness. Green and purple olives are picked earlier than the overripe black olives, which are preserved with much more salt. I tried an avocado smoothie, and enjoyed the savoury Moroccan chickpea soup served with a sweet sesame twist and chewy dates. We capped it off with dinner on a terrace overlooking the square, which came alive as the sun set. Buskers, street vendors, snake charmers, fire eaters - welcome to Marrakesh. We spent our last day at a park, and walking back to the market before a farewell dinner. I already miss the tea and beautiful architecture, but I won't be seeking out couscous for a while. Until next time, Africa.

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