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Brenton Kovacs's Travels
3rd
We are up early this morning to catch our midday flight with Iberia. All goes well and we arrive in Marrakech just after 1pm. We clear immigration and collect our bags. Our driver is waiting to take us to our accommodation. The drive to the Medina is not long, and we see the snow covered Atlas mountains for the first time.
As we enter the gates of the old city the chaos begins. Its madness. People everywhere, cars, motorcycles, scooters, horse and carts all trying to get to and from their destination. We navigate the streets to arrive at a car park which is meant to be close to our accommodation. We are now on, and foot and spend the next half an hour trying to locate the Riad. Once you have seen the maze of lanes and alleys you will understand why it took us so long to locate.
We are now at the front door and after 15 minutes of knocking, we are finally greeted by Naceur, our maid/butler, who lets us in. We have a quick tour of the riad, unpack and head out to the main square, El Fna, the centre of the old city. Its a 20 minute walk through a maze of little lanes lined with little shops selling everything you could possibly imagine. Its busy with pedestrians and scooter rides speeding every so close to you. I am surprised we are not bowled over by them.
The square is abuzz with activity, noise and the smell of food. It certainly entertains all of your senses. As dust approaches we get to the rooftop of a cafe to snap a few pics. Now its time to eat. With so many stalls to choose form its a *************. As we walk around we are continually bombarded by the sprukers to eat at their stall. We settle on one place that has just soup. The soup is called Harira, and it is delicious. A bowl of soup for only 50 cents. Now we need to find a stall for the main course. We find another that has some nice sounding Tangines, so we order a beef and a chicken Tagine. Its comes with some really nice bread and some wicked, spicy dipping sauces. The tangines are delicious and the bill is only $8.
So after wandering around for a while we head back to enjoy the peace and serenity of the Riad.
4th
Its a beautiful blue sky day with a top temperature of 16c. The next 5 days will all be the same, cold at night but glorious blue sky days.
We take breakfast on the rooftop which is served to us by our French speaking butler, Naceur. Now as he only speaks french and we only speak english you can see there will be some difficulties. Alan comes to the rescue with the help of an online translator. We are able to now communicate at a much better level.
We now hit the streets to some exploring. You are continually attacked by sellers, but after a while we succumb to there persistent hassling, only to find we have been doing ourselves out of a wonderful experience. We are taken into a spice/fragance type shop and the guy explains everything about his products. We are also offered mint tea which we accept. Now after 20 minutes i would think that the guy will demand that we buy something. This is not the case. It seems i had it all wrong here in Marrakech. They are very proud of what they are selling and want to share their knowledge of spices and fragrances. The guy is so happy that we have allowed him to impart his knowledge and cannot thank us enough. At no time does he ask money or for us to make a purchase. He shakes hands, gives us a hug and touches his heart.
So now we have no hesitation and going into shops, knowing that there is no pressure to buy, the people are just so happy we have taken the time to look in their shop. Same applies to restaurants, they want to show you all the good food you can eat, and when you tell them no maybe later, they shake your hand and tell you to come back another time. And they do this with such a big genuine smile.
The food here is so cheap and tasty, we are both amazed at the taste.
Now back at the Riad the hot water is broken, so the owner has offered us free dinner to be cooked by Naseur. We are served a Tagine and salad on the rooftop, which are of restaurant quality. Its starting to get chilly on the rooftop so its down into the heated lounge room for the rest of the night
5th
Another magnificent day. Naceur has made us nice breakfast. He asks us for any dirty clothes so he can do our washing. We head into Geuliz, which is the new city. It has some very modern shops and the typical fast food outlets. It is nice, clean and modern without being to touristy. The rest of the day is spent walking the old town.
6th
Today we visit many of the old Palaces and tombs etc. Most of them are only $1 admission. It seems stray cats are abundant, all seem ok to pat. There are plenty of storks nesting on the walls of the old palace. Walking the streets is not for the faint hearted, but if you dont look at the mad scooter rider coming straight at you he will avoid you, only just. There is a nice little cake shop where we return many times run by a pair of twin brothers. We are given the warmest greeting each time and made to feel so welcome. We get a cake and home made yoghurt for $1. While we are sitting one time a guy walks i selling fake phones. He sits and we get talking. He is from Se****l and has so much to tell us about himself. He does not try to sell us a phone, instead he is more interested in asking about us.
I dont think i have met so many wonderful, happy, friendly people in a city where the average wage is $1500 a year.
On our return to the Riad, Naceur has cooked us a magnificent tagine. It is beef with dried plums. It is bursting with Moroccan spices. So good.
7th
Our last day, and it is with a little sadness as i have grown to like being part of the city. We have been welcomed with open arms everywhere. The day is spent wandering and meeting sellers who are so passionate about what they are selling. I have not seen a sad face yet.
You have to accept the madness and chaos on the roads, so of the unpleasant smells now and then. You have to accept the continual noise of the snake charmers and the men with monkeys. The orange juice guys who beckon you to come and buy freshly squeezed orange juice for just 50 cents. It is all part of the big experience, one which neither of us will ever forget. It has been one of the best places in the world so far.
Our butler Naceur has asked if he could have his picture taken with us, to which we agree. It is on my phone, so he has not record of the pictures. So before tea we find a photo shop and get some prints taken. After tea i present them to him, and i can see in his eyes a huge amount of pleasure. He cannot thank us enough for the pictures. We doubt very much if he has a computer or even the internet. He has been a wonderful person to both of us. One we will never forget.
Tonight Naceur has cooked us a tagine of chicken and preserved lemons. It is out of this world, with flavours bursting in our mouths. Such a great cook!
Tomorrow its up early to get our 10am flight to Rome
I could go on for hours about all the other people we have met and how they have left an impression in our memory, but i think i have said enough.
We are up early this morning to catch our midday flight with Iberia. All goes well and we arrive in Marrakech just after 1pm. We clear immigration and collect our bags. Our driver is waiting to take us to our accommodation. The drive to the Medina is not long, and we see the snow covered Atlas mountains for the first time.
As we enter the gates of the old city the chaos begins. Its madness. People everywhere, cars, motorcycles, scooters, horse and carts all trying to get to and from their destination. We navigate the streets to arrive at a car park which is meant to be close to our accommodation. We are now on, and foot and spend the next half an hour trying to locate the Riad. Once you have seen the maze of lanes and alleys you will understand why it took us so long to locate.
We are now at the front door and after 15 minutes of knocking, we are finally greeted by Naceur, our maid/butler, who lets us in. We have a quick tour of the riad, unpack and head out to the main square, El Fna, the centre of the old city. Its a 20 minute walk through a maze of little lanes lined with little shops selling everything you could possibly imagine. Its busy with pedestrians and scooter rides speeding every so close to you. I am surprised we are not bowled over by them.
The square is abuzz with activity, noise and the smell of food. It certainly entertains all of your senses. As dust approaches we get to the rooftop of a cafe to snap a few pics. Now its time to eat. With so many stalls to choose form its a *************. As we walk around we are continually bombarded by the sprukers to eat at their stall. We settle on one place that has just soup. The soup is called Harira, and it is delicious. A bowl of soup for only 50 cents. Now we need to find a stall for the main course. We find another that has some nice sounding Tangines, so we order a beef and a chicken Tagine. Its comes with some really nice bread and some wicked, spicy dipping sauces. The tangines are delicious and the bill is only $8.
So after wandering around for a while we head back to enjoy the peace and serenity of the Riad.
4th
Its a beautiful blue sky day with a top temperature of 16c. The next 5 days will all be the same, cold at night but glorious blue sky days.
We take breakfast on the rooftop which is served to us by our French speaking butler, Naceur. Now as he only speaks french and we only speak english you can see there will be some difficulties. Alan comes to the rescue with the help of an online translator. We are able to now communicate at a much better level.
We now hit the streets to some exploring. You are continually attacked by sellers, but after a while we succumb to there persistent hassling, only to find we have been doing ourselves out of a wonderful experience. We are taken into a spice/fragance type shop and the guy explains everything about his products. We are also offered mint tea which we accept. Now after 20 minutes i would think that the guy will demand that we buy something. This is not the case. It seems i had it all wrong here in Marrakech. They are very proud of what they are selling and want to share their knowledge of spices and fragrances. The guy is so happy that we have allowed him to impart his knowledge and cannot thank us enough. At no time does he ask money or for us to make a purchase. He shakes hands, gives us a hug and touches his heart.
So now we have no hesitation and going into shops, knowing that there is no pressure to buy, the people are just so happy we have taken the time to look in their shop. Same applies to restaurants, they want to show you all the good food you can eat, and when you tell them no maybe later, they shake your hand and tell you to come back another time. And they do this with such a big genuine smile.
The food here is so cheap and tasty, we are both amazed at the taste.
Now back at the Riad the hot water is broken, so the owner has offered us free dinner to be cooked by Naseur. We are served a Tagine and salad on the rooftop, which are of restaurant quality. Its starting to get chilly on the rooftop so its down into the heated lounge room for the rest of the night
5th
Another magnificent day. Naceur has made us nice breakfast. He asks us for any dirty clothes so he can do our washing. We head into Geuliz, which is the new city. It has some very modern shops and the typical fast food outlets. It is nice, clean and modern without being to touristy. The rest of the day is spent walking the old town.
6th
Today we visit many of the old Palaces and tombs etc. Most of them are only $1 admission. It seems stray cats are abundant, all seem ok to pat. There are plenty of storks nesting on the walls of the old palace. Walking the streets is not for the faint hearted, but if you dont look at the mad scooter rider coming straight at you he will avoid you, only just. There is a nice little cake shop where we return many times run by a pair of twin brothers. We are given the warmest greeting each time and made to feel so welcome. We get a cake and home made yoghurt for $1. While we are sitting one time a guy walks i selling fake phones. He sits and we get talking. He is from Se****l and has so much to tell us about himself. He does not try to sell us a phone, instead he is more interested in asking about us.
I dont think i have met so many wonderful, happy, friendly people in a city where the average wage is $1500 a year.
On our return to the Riad, Naceur has cooked us a magnificent tagine. It is beef with dried plums. It is bursting with Moroccan spices. So good.
7th
Our last day, and it is with a little sadness as i have grown to like being part of the city. We have been welcomed with open arms everywhere. The day is spent wandering and meeting sellers who are so passionate about what they are selling. I have not seen a sad face yet.
You have to accept the madness and chaos on the roads, so of the unpleasant smells now and then. You have to accept the continual noise of the snake charmers and the men with monkeys. The orange juice guys who beckon you to come and buy freshly squeezed orange juice for just 50 cents. It is all part of the big experience, one which neither of us will ever forget. It has been one of the best places in the world so far.
Our butler Naceur has asked if he could have his picture taken with us, to which we agree. It is on my phone, so he has not record of the pictures. So before tea we find a photo shop and get some prints taken. After tea i present them to him, and i can see in his eyes a huge amount of pleasure. He cannot thank us enough for the pictures. We doubt very much if he has a computer or even the internet. He has been a wonderful person to both of us. One we will never forget.
Tonight Naceur has cooked us a tagine of chicken and preserved lemons. It is out of this world, with flavours bursting in our mouths. Such a great cook!
Tomorrow its up early to get our 10am flight to Rome
I could go on for hours about all the other people we have met and how they have left an impression in our memory, but i think i have said enough.
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