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19 April 2014

Marrakech: Part 3 - "Nice wrists, nice eyes!"

Ok, so back to Part 1 when I mentioned the huge culture shock; this was my first time visiting a Muslim country. For me, the most interesting part of this was the call to prayer. They start between 5am and 6am, and will likely wake you up, but it’s almost soothing. And, should you happen to try to siesta later on, you’ll get woken up again around midday, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nighttime. The pre-sunrise one always seemed to last the longest though, with each mosque chiming in at a different time. I don’t know if it’s because they need more of a reminder to get out of bed and pray at that hour, or because it takes each person at each mosque that much longer to get up and start calling. It was mesmerizing to sit on our riad’s rooftop in the middle of the medina and listen to a call to prayer because of how it seemed to surround you, coming from one mosque on one side, and then one farther away, and then one right next to you.

One thing that always made me laugh (and only sometimes made me feel like a piece of meat) was some of the comments we heard, that are obviously used on every single tourist so they come out so naturally for them. I don’t know if they’ll have the same effect when you read them, but here’s a sampling.

“Shakira! Lady Gaga!”
This was how they tried to get our attention. We felt like real celebrities. Actually, that’s all that we respond to now. Oh, and neither of us are blonde?

“Need a place to eat?”
“No thanks, we just ate.”
“But you look Starvin Marvin!”
This we got a few times walking through the food stalls in the square at night, and it made me laugh so hard.

“How much can you pay?”
Bargaining is the name of the game, but no one seems to respond well to “nothing.”

“Everything is half off because tomorrow I close.”
“Oh, you’re closing?”
“Yeah, tomorrow is my day off.”
“Oh, so you re-open the next day?”
“Well, yeah.”
Good sales technique.

“Small store, small price. Big store, big price.”
In an effort to convince us he had better prices.

“I’ll take you to my brother’s / father’s / uncle’s / cousin’s / relative’s store where you’ll get the best deal.”
We even promised this kid who showed us to Terrasse des épices that we would visit his dad’s store after. We didn’t...

“Where are you from? English? Oh, Canada? I have a cousin there!”
Doesn’t everybody?

“No guide, no money, no problem.”
We wised up pretty quickly and told anyone who offered us directions that we had no money to give them.

“Oh, you’re looking for <insert any place here>? I’m actually going there right now, I’ll show you!”
See comment above.

“Wow, nice wrists, nice eyes.”
Just kidding, they were actually saying “nice breasts, nice ass” but it sounded a lot like wrists and eyes. Sweetest words a girl could ever hear?

17 April 2014

Marrakech: Part 2 - When You're Not Eating

Ok, we’ve talked about the food; now, let’s talk about what to do between the eating. The first recommendation is to get lost in the souks. But, that’s not something you need to be told to do, because I promise you that even those of you with the best sense of direction will get lost. Take a map, but don’t trust it too much. We even gave our map to a couple of shop owners to show us where we were and they didn’t know. Be wary of those telling you (kids especially) that they’ll take you where you’re going because they happen to be going that way as well – it’ll cost you.

Hopefully while you’re lost in the souks you’ll find some cute shops, after all it is the place where I found bronze ostrich-skin shoes that were apparently only made in my size. Snap.

Also, bargain, bargain, bargain. The general rule of thumb is that you should pay half of the initially quoted price, and many of the things that you see will be in other stalls so you can easily say you’ll keep looking or come back. Must-buys include spices, amber, and argan oil. If you’re thinking about buying some leather, do yourself a favour and don’t go to see the tanneries. You see, there’s a reason they give you a sprig of mint to smell when you arrive at the tanneries, and that they have been banished to the outskirts of the medina – they treat the leather with pigeon poop and urine. Yep. You read that right. And once you smell that, you can never un-smell it, and you will forever think about how your new bag is so soft because it had a nice long bath in pigeon poop . . . and urine.

When wandering through the Jemaa El Fna square, day or night, don’t make eye contact with the guys will monkeys or snakes, or the women offering henna tattoos. They will put a monkey on your shoulder, or grab your hand and start drawing!

In terms of sights, two places to see in the medina and to escape the heat would be the Ben Youssef Medersa, and the Saadian tombs. Check out the dorm rooms of the medersa, and try to imagine 5-10 people sleeping per room. It makes my old little Vancouver condo look positively luxurious.

Don’t bother with the Royal Palace, as it is never open to the public, and don’t believe anyone you pass on the way there who promises that today is the only day it is open. Lies. Also, the mosques are reserved for Muslims only, so you’ll just have to enjoy them via the call the prayer that you’ll hear five times a day, or from outside.

Take a break from the medina and head over to check out the Jardin Majorelle, if only to say you visited Yves Saint Laurent’s house. More importantly, the garden is spectacular, it’s a nice escape from the heat, and Majorelle blue is a colour best seen in person. It's also my future home, so you'll want to get familiar with it.

And remember, if you want to enjoy that new leather purchase, stay far away from the tanneries. Or, just come to visit me in Italy and buy some leather here!
I took a picture of this corner so we could find out way back to the riad, and caught this kid in the middle of telling me, ''No pictures, please!'' Sorry, kid.
The ''Look Up'' rule applies everywhere.
Yves Saint Laurent designed a Love card every year for the holidays. This is my year!
Jardin Majorelle photos below.
Jemaa El Fna square at night.
From the outside (of the medina) looking in . . . and around.
A mosque you cannot enter.
Souk photos below!

15 April 2014

Marrakech: Part 1 - The Food, Obviously.

Last week I experienced my first genuine culture shock. Sure, reading this blog it may seem like I’ve travelled a lot this year, but I haven’t been outside of Europe. We had almost a week to explore Marrakech, and I think it’s safe to say I fell in love with it.

Before I start rambling about the trip, if you’re planning a visit, do check out Riad Ghali. We arrived there at about 9am, way too early to check-in, but after sitting for a few minutes waiting for word on whether our room was ready or not, they motioned us over to a table where they had set up a full breakfast for us. YES, PLEASE. The rooms are cute, the staff are so friendly, and the location is great. Oh and the freezing cold plunge pool when it’s pushing 35°C outside is a welcome bonus.

I’ve decided to break this trip down into a few entries, just because there’s so much to share! Let’s start with the most important: FOOD.

We had a list of a few things to try while we are there, and we travel-eat well together. We are both open to new foods and will probably try anything once. We had a list of places to try based on recommendations from an Italian friend who lives there, and we tried everything from swanky cafes to outdoor food courts.

One of our favourites foods that we ate was the pastilla. I think we ate chicken pastilla but there’s a good chance that it was pigeon. We've decided to just refer to it as chicken of the city. Sounds better, right? If you haven’t had pastilla before, you might not understand how delicious it is from the description. It’s shredded chicken cooked in spices, mixed with almonds, wrapped in crisp pastry layers, and covered with . . . wait for it . . . cinnamon and sugar. Think of it this way: In Canada, wrapping anything in bacon makes it taste better, but in Morocco, topping anything with cinnamon and sugar makes it taste better.

Also, get a freshly squeezed OJ in the square. You’ll have to choose from 20 men yelling at you from their stall, but just go with your gut and pick one.

Places to check out:
Terrasse des épices: Try the pastilla. I guarantee you’ll get lost along the way, but that makes it even better when you finally get there.
Cafe Arabe: Try the Harira soup. Please don't try the Italian food. You are in Morocco.
Kosybar: Order a fresh fruit cocktail, and in case you order a dessert, note that the crunchy cigar is just a ladyfinger. Good marketing though.
Dar Essalam: Get their 250 dirham tasting menu, and it will come with a side of belly dancing.
Toubkal: Get their 45 dirham tasting menu, if only for the high/low experience.
- Nightly food court in the square: Again, go with your gut and just point at a few things that you want to try. Every place is numbered, and every place will hound you to try theirs. 

Basically, just try to eat as much Moroccan food as you can. And pick up some spices while you're there, because you'll be inspired to recreate it when you get home! Or, if you're me, you'll pick up some spices just to close your eyes and imagine that you're back there every time you open the cupboard and smell them.

Riad Ghali
Daily breakfast. It should be illegal to start the day without fresh OJ.
View from the terrace of Kosybar.
Is something on fire? Nope. That's just meat smoke, from delicious meat being grilled.
This woman had skills. I would not dance around a room with a tray of fire on my head.
Terrasse des epices. So good that we went twice. And got lost both times.