Morocco – Marrakech – Souks, Jemaa El Fna Square, Ben Youssef Madersa

Today I went wandering through the Medina (the old city) to start going in search of the Morocco I’ve been dreaming about since highschool.  It is a truly overwhelming place, but unfortunately very very geared to the tourists.

The main square of the city is the Jemaa El Fna Square which is massive and teaming with life.  You really have to be aware to dodge the cars, scooters, hustlers, horse drawn carriages, and henna tattooists.  There is so much going on it is a feast for the eyes.   At night the square turns into an open air kitchen with top chefs vying for customers taste buds from stalls.  Haven’t gone to this yet.

Jemaa el Fna Square

Koutoubia Mosque is the architectural focal point of the square

Garden center Morocco style

Delivery service Morocco style

You can buy anything – gazelle head anyone?

No one has offered me any camels for me yet.

Animals of all sorts are in the square entertaining the tourists – monkeys and snake and their charmers are most prominent

The square is ringed by many restaurants, mainly catering to tourists but providing relatively palatable food.  So far my appetite hasn’t been very big so I’ve only been eating one main meal in the afternoons (breakfast is at the hostel in the morning).  I’ve been enjoying the Moroccan spices of chicken tajines which is baked chicken and vegetables.

Chicken tajine

The cooking dish is actually the tajine.  You can cook anything really in it that ends up as a kind of stew.

Clay tajine cooking dish

After lunch I wandered through the souks.  It’s like diving into aladdin’s cave with the bright array of colours, sounds, and lights.  I like these souks much better than in Egypt.  The vendors don’t harass you very much at all so you can just look and enjoy.

Finding myself in the northern end of the souk in the older part of the Medina, I stopped by the Ben Youssef Medersa.  The Medersa was learning institution (primarily for religion but also law and science) for 132 pupils for 500 years up until the 19th century.  It was restored about 15 years ago and the architecture is beautiful.  It was actually very reminiscent of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Inner court yard of the Ben Youssef Medersa

Medersa court yard

Light well in the students living quarters (8 x 8 dark cells)

After a return trip through the souk, I ended up back at the hostel.  Since the hostel is actually called Hostel Riad Marrakech Rouge, it is fitting that their front door should be bright and colourful.

Hostel front door – still impossible to find if you don’t know where you are going!

Well tomorrow morning I’m out of this place and headed out to the “new city” which was built outside the Medina by the French in the early 20th century.  That is where the tour starts in the evening (at a proper hotel that might *gasp* have hot water showers).