We left at the crack of dawn 5AM last Saturday with seven other William & Mary girls on a private, roomy, air-conditioned bus. When we drove out of Meknes, the only people out were coming out of the mosques. The drive lasted about seven hours with stops for breakfast and the bathroom. Surprisingly, Morocco actually has really nice rest stops with jungle gyms and a chain of cafes.
When we got to Marrakech just after noon, we checked into our hotel, Hotel Ali. We were put in this big dorm-style room (which was just for us, don't worry) where we discovered there were no towels and the shower head was broken, leaving just a hose. We knew after walking around in the heat and dirt all day, skipping the shower was not a possibility, but we decided we'd just figure it out when the time came.
Since our hotel was right in the center of the big square which is in the middle of the souk, we headed there first. In the square, you can find orange juice for 3dh, fruits, spices, snake charmers, women selling henna designs, and pretty much anything else you can imagine.The souk, or market, in Marrakech is a shopper's paradise, but there is so much stuff (of often doubtful authenticity) that it can be overwhelming. We wandered around for awhile and somehow one of the people leading the group followed a man who took us to the tannery. I was not pleased with this development, but that's one of the setbacks of group travel. When we got to the tannery, they gave us mint to cover the horrendous stench of the hides drying and the (to quote our guide) "pigeon shit." After the tannery, some people bought leather goods and rugs from the store. While they were nice, I wasn't quite ready to part with my cash. However, apparently we will have another tannery opportunity in Fez in two weeks, so perhaps then. The colors, which are made from dyes including coal, saffron, and wild mint, are to die for.
When we were done with the tannery -- an interesting experience but not one I really care to repeat -- we sat down for some ice-cream at a cafe on the square. It was perhaps the most delicious thing I have tasted in a long time! It's hard to find legitimate, safe ice-cream in Morocco, so we all dove at the chance. On Saturday I had a chocolate ice-cream float that was sort of like a milkshake, and on Sunday I had a lemon and orange concoction. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that great here in Meknes.
The afternoon was spent wandering around the souk after we split into two groups to make navigation easier. My group ended up spending a couple hours sipping jus d'orange, soda, and tea and people watching. Between the tourists (some scantily clad) and the natives, there was no shortage of amusement.
For dinner that night, we hit up a rooftop terrace. In the square below was a boxing match and a screaming crowd of thousands of people. After dinner we went to grab more orange juice and met this hipcat fellow named Mustafa, who was a Moroccan now living in Sweden. He spoke Arabic (Moroccan dialect and Fusha, which is what we study), Scandinavian languages, French, and Italian. He spoke to us in Arabic and English about Morocco and languages, which was fun because it is difficult to find people who can communicate with us in Arabic.
After returning to our hotel, we attempted to catch some Z's through the prayer calls, blasting music, and the noise from the motorcycle parking below our window. We tooks showers using our PJs as towels and headed out early after a free breakfast of crepes for our last few hours in Marrakech...
I can't write about Meknes without talking about the ridiculous catcalls! From Spice Girls to Hey, Fish and Chips, to "Victoria! Susie! Skinny!" we heard it all. While we get the occasional "oh la la" in Meknes, everything is much calmer here.
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