Morocco – Side Trip

Our daughter was having her 50th birthday and selected Marrakesh, Morocco for the location. Since we were in Spain it was very easy for us to fly down and join her and her husband. She arranged for a 4 bedroom apartment (called a Riad in Morocco) and two of their single friends also joined us for the celebration.

The Riad was inside the Medina. The surrounding wall is 10 miles long and it was built in the 11th century. Until 100 years ago, all of the city was enclosed in the walls. The Medina has a central courtyard which is normally closed to traffic. During the day the courtyard is crowded with people involved in selling their products, plus snake charmers (cobras) and pet monkeys. At night the courtyard turns into a gigantic party with music and dancing. The rest of the Medina is hundreds of paths lined with shops selling almost every legal item you can imagine.

The first night free we all took a food tasting tour around the Medina. We went to shops that sold olives, pastries, all types of fresh juices, nuts and dried fruits.

During the week, we visited many beautiful gardens, celebrated a fiftieth birthday, and toured the Bahia Palace. On a day the temperature was predicted to reach 107, my son-in-law came up with the brilliant idea of visiting a beach town 3 hours away where the temperature was in the 80s. On the way to the beach, we passed a tree full of goats and got to meet their shepherd.

Palace Courtyard
Beach Town

While staying at the Riad we got to know our House Manager, Fatah and our cook, Saida who we stay in contact with and will be friends for life. A favorite spot in the Riad was the wading pool used to keep cool. My wife was amused by the luggage taxi when we were all departing.

2 Comments
  • Rose & Charlie Hourez
    Posted at 15:58h, 01 August Reply

    Another great post. thank you

  • Jewel Clark
    Posted at 01:13h, 23 May Reply

    Thx for this very interesting I enjoyed seeing and reading…

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