Saturday, 8 February 2014

30 January – 1 February 2014 – Marrakech, Morocco

Marrakech has always been a marketplace for tribesmen and Berber villagers to bring their wares, spend their money and find entertainment.  We spent a few days trying not to get lost in the labyrinthine alleyways of Marrakesh’s maze of covered market streets.

The narrow lanes of the Medina are crowded with scooters, bicycles, donkey carts, buyers and sellers……

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Handmade leather Moroccan babouche slippers

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Fossils and trilobites for sale – most of which are a tribute to Moroccan craftsmanship

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The life of a pack animal in Morocco is hard

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Djemaa El-Fna is the main square and market place in the heart of Marrakech’s Medina

Water seller

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Locals gathering around performers and story tellers

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Some of them had props which ranged from musical instruments (drums, guitars, horns) to a large vulture!!

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At night it fills with food stalls

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The Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech’s most famous symbol

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The twelfth century Bab Agnaou (Gate of the Slaves) is one of the nineteen gates into the walled city

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The Majorelle Gardens were created in the 1920s and 1930s by French painter Jacques Majorelle and subsequently owned by Yves Saint Laurent

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Ben Youssef Madrasa (Quranic school dedicated to the teaching of Islamic scripture and law), founded in the 14th century

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Inside an ancient walled garden we found the Saadien Tombs

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The Museum of Marrakech

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The ruins of the once “incomparable” El Badi Palace

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Storks are revered in Marrakech – their untidy nests can be found on many rooftops and on the ramparts of the city walls.  According to an old Berber belief, storks are actually transformed humans. To this day the offence of disturbing a stork carries a three-month prison sentence.

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The ornate and beautiful Bahia Palace

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