Day 9 - October 18 - Marrakech

We started the day with a tour of the tower of Koutoubia. It was built in the 13th century by Berbers.

The original mosque was built in 1147 but a new one was started in 1158 and completed in 1195 because the first one did not properly align with Mecca. Remains of the first mosque can be seen on the left side of the mosque in the picture above.

In the 11th century the Berbers lived in the mountains because they wanted to be safe and also because they wanted to control the mountains in order to control the water. If you control the water you have the power. So the guy who built this tower started by building a 15 km wall around his kasbah and built underground aquaducts. 

Now you cannot build any building that is taller than this tower. It is the law.

The mosque that is there is very simple and plain. You do not show your wealth. Our guide said  "speak less than you know and have more than you show".

After the tower we moved on to visit the palace of Bahia. This was the residence of the old Vizir (prime minister). This palace is known for it's intricate tiles and wood carving decorations. The palace was named after his wife. The ceilings are shaped like an upside down ship for stability.

The most important part of a house is it's courtyard because it opens up to the sky. It usually has a fountain in the centre because water occupied the best position. There are four sections to the garden representing the 4 seasons.

The 1st room that is decorated is the bedroom because it is for you to enjoy and also if you run out of money. There are no human or animal decorations on the walls and ceilings only motives having to do with nature such as flowers.

After the palace we were taken to a local school where we were told about the oils of Morocco as well as their spices. We bought a few spices such as ras el hanout, 2 different kinds, some argan oil for the skin and some saffron. They must have made a mint today because almost everyone came out carrying a bag of stuff.

Spices and oils of all kinds.

We finished the tour after a couple of hours of free time to browse and have lunch around the main plaza or as they call it " la place. " Here there were snake charmers that I stayed clear of as well as buskers and people trying to sell you all sorts of stuff. 

Plenty of horse drawn carriages

Picture taken from a distance.

We decided not to purchase anything here.

We were told to haggle if we wanted to buy something. You offer half of the starting price and then meet around halfway. Most of the stuff looks like dollarama stuff. We did haggle for a small wooden box that has a plastic snake that pops out for Henri and 2 bracelets for Bianca and Danica. They will probably tarnish after a couple of weeks. 

We said good bye to the local guide who was full of wisdom tidbits at the plaza. 

When we arrived at our hotel it was time to say good bye to our main guide as well as the bus driver and the assistant. 

We went for a short walk to pick up a geocache. We easily found it in spite of not having internet or a gps.

Wall painting by German artist Henrick Beikirch

Marrakech train station

Royal Theater

Unfortunately, not everyone has a home to live. Four or five trees on the street of our hotel had these trees setup for homeless people to sleep in.

Tomorrow is a free day.