Month: October 2025

We wanted another day in Marrakech so we booked a taxi into the city in the morning. There were two historical sites on our agenda and then we had a pretty open schedule for the rest of the day.

Not everything over here is old, the Bahia Palace was built in the 1860’s and served as the local rulers home, until the French Protectorate, during the French Protectorate it served as the governors home and offices.

When it was being built the Sultan employed the most gifted workers and artist in Morocco to work on it, and the detail on the walls and floors is impressive.

Unfortunately, the tourist season is starting to ramp up and the palace was mobbed with people. Ton had a hard time getting pictures that weren’t full of heads.

Morocco had a serious earthquake two years ago and both the palace and the Saadian tombs suffered damage. The damage at the tombs was pretty severe.

The Saadian were under going significant repair work due to the earthquake. The tombs are used for the burial of family members of the local Sultans family. After we entered there were a couple of side chambers open, but there was a long line at a door that we presumed was the entry to the main chamber.

It was not until we got nearly to the front of the line to what we presumed was the entrance that we realized that you did not actually enter the tomb, but were only allowed to observe it from this doorway. The doorway was only wide enough for two people at a time. Your time to view the room was limited as you had the pressure of knowing there were hundreds of people waiting behind you.

After our run of the historical sites we decided to head to a restaurant near the souk that was famous for its lamb, and Tagines. Today Ton taught me that there are Tagines, and Tangines. Tangines are the normal meals cooked in the conical clay pots you see all over Morocco. Tagines are similar, but the food is cooked in a slightly different pot over a longer period of time, sometimes in the hot water rooms of the Hammams or bath houses.

We ordered a lamb and a Tagine, the lamb came first and we realized it was plenty for two people. Once again we walked away from a restaurant over full from the giant portions in Morocco.

The souk in Marrakech is immense, but we have learned that there are souks within the souks where artisans who ply the same trade are grouped together. There are leather souks, pottery souks, spice souks, and many others.

Ton had read about a different type of coffee in Morocco called Sahara hot sand coffee. The stall was buried deep in the souk and we would never have found it without google maps. The first thing that struck us was that this shop was run by women. Nearly every stall and restaurant in the souk and the surrounding streets are wholly staffed by men.

The coffee arrived a very dark brown color and the consistency looked almost like hot chocolate. The young lady explained that they used a mixture of Turkish coffee and special spices to make it. It was delicious and I think the best coffee I have had in a while.

We still had some time to spare and someone mentioned that the tannery area was near by. As we were headed the wrong way in the souk for most tourists several Moroccans would point the other way and say the square is that way. When we said we were looking for the tannery they would point us in the general direction of the tanners. Finally a young man told us he was headed that way and led us to one of the tannery yards.

The tannery yard consisted of a series of pits filled with different kinds of liquids including acids to remove the hair, pits full of pigeon dung to turn the hides white, and then several more steps to cure the hide. It was an interesting process to watch and a bit malodorous. The “guide” (that word again) even handed us sprigs of mint to hold over our noses to cover the smell. In the end we ended up in a leather goods and rug shop. Ton was impressed how we had been passed seamlessly along after expressing mild interest in the tannery to a stranger and three (or possibly four) people later we were in a nice shop where we could easily drop a couple thousand dollars on leather goods and carpets. This time we escaped with only a small tip to our “guide” who was waiting for us when we emerged from the shop.

At this point we were pretty tired as we had covered over 6 miles on foot and the temperature was in the 90’s. So we spent the last 45 minutes in a KFC nursing Pepsi’s and enjoying their air conditioning before heading back to the campground.

We took a day trip today into the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. The Ourika Valley is easily accessible from Marrakech and has been transformed into a heavy tourist area.

The valley is mostly settled by Berbers or as they call themselves Amazigh’s which means free people in their language. They are the indigenous people to the area. In Morocco it is estimated that 40-60% of the population is Berber. It is difficult to get a precise estimate as Berbers and Arabs have coexisted in Morocco for so long most Arabs have some Berber in them, and most Berbers have some Arab.

A few miles outside of Marrakech we began climbing into the mountains and the road narrowed as we followed the course of the Ourika river. As we drove our driver asked if we wanted to climb to the water falls above Ourika. Ton and I discussed it and decided to give it a shot. He then strongly recommended we take a guide, so we had to have another discussion, but decided to go with the guide.

Before taking on the climb we had lunch at a riverside restaurant where you sat next to the river to eat. It was a bit of a tourist trap, but still fun.

After lunch we set out on our climb to the waterfall. The Ourika falls are a series of 7 waterfalls from a tributary of the Ourika river. We met our guide Idder who looked like a mountain guide he was wiry, and a little shorter than Ton, but looked like he could climb forever.

The trail was only about a mile long but we climbed up about 500feet in altitude to reach the main waterfall. The beginning of the walk is thru a small village with both sides of the trail featuring stores.

After the village you followed the stream bed. The trail was pretty clear and at tough places rocks had been placed and anchored to make sure it was fairly easy to climb. Near the top there were a couple of places where you had to climb up fairly steep rocks.

Idder took charge of Ton and did a great job of getting her thru tight spots. She had a lot of confidence in his direction and his firm grip on her arm so she easily made it to the top.

When we reached the main waterfall we stopped and took pictures. There was a nice pool at the base of the waterfall but it wasn’t large. Ton had to be patient to get an unobstructed view of the fall as many people would go into the pool to get their picture taken.

At this point Idder told us a secret. He said there is a much easier trail just a little higher up the mountain. It is the trail they use to carry in the supplies for the restaurant at the falls. So following his direction we climbed up for another 100 yards and came to a easier trail that did not involve scrambling over rocks. The drops from this trail were steeper so he kept a close eye on us to make sure we stayed on track.

Everywhere you go in Morocco you are confronted by “guides” who want to show you around. We are skeptical of this as we like to explore on our own. But today the investment in our guide Idder was a good one.

Great cities have an energy that sets them apart, New York, Bangkok, and Paris come to mind, Marrakech is part of those elite cities that have their own special energy.

The traffic is chaotic, the souk is a loud and frenetic zoo, and the main square despite being under construction overloads the senses. It is a truly cool city that you will either love or hate immediately.

I’ve been driving in Europe, North America and South America, and the traffic going into the city center was world class chaos. I thought it was my opinion, but our English neighbors who have been in the country for 60 days told us they were so glad they didn’t drive into the city.

We started out by visiting the main Mosque in Marrakech. Koutoubia Mosque was built around 1100 AD. It is the tallest Mosque in town. Like most buildings that are 900 years old it is undergoing maintenance. Ton had to walk a long way to capture a picture that did not have scaffolding or construction equipment in it.

We next entered the souk, without a plan, Ton wanted to look for some soap that is famous here. It is hard to describe how immense this marketplace is. We spent about 4 hours walking, and I guess we may have covered 10% of it. It is full of hidden alleyways and side rows with different merchants. It is a fantastic place to visit. The alleys are throbbing with energy, it is a mix of tourists and locals shopping together, but for very different products usually.

The roads in the souk or only 8 to 10 feet wide with shoppers, shop keepers ,and motorcycles and bicycles all vying for space to move, or talk. It has a throbbing energy, and you have to be aware of what is going on at all times.

We eventually found the cooperative that we were looking for that sells soap, perfume, and spices for food. It is a way for women in villages surrounding Marrakech to market their products and to get a fair wage.

After an extensive shopping expedition in the cooperative we asked for recommendations for lunch. The salesman we were working with took us about 300 yards thru the souk to an old restaurant that used their spices.

What was amazing about this place was one minute we were walking down this crazy narrow alley way full of people and motorcycles and our guide suddenly turned into a nondescript door and we entered a peaceful beautiful, and immense space.

After entering the enclosed courtyard we were led thru a series of hallways until we entered the open air garden of the female riad which had been maintained in its original state. This was the restaurant we would have lunch in. It was a beautiful setting and we were a bit overwhelmed.

We settled in for a three course lunch. Our waiter had a sense of humor when we ordered a bottle of sparkling water with lunch he declared it to be Marrakech Champagne and mimicked the wine tasting process with the water. He explained that alcohol cannot be served within 150 meters of a Mosque in Morocco which means in the Medina of Marrakech it cannot be served anywhere as there are so many mosques that no place is more than 150 meters from a Mosque.

We spent another couple of hours happily exploring the souk, before heading back to the campground for the evening. We think there are a few more days to be spent in Marrakech.