Welcome to Marrakech!

 January 16

Travel days can be long, but they are always worth it. We arrived in Marrakech, Morocco early Friday morning after an 8-hour overnight flight and immediately headed to our AirBnB in the area of Marrakech called Gueliz. After a little rest, a grocery trip was in order. Food is fresher here than in the US, and the markets are one-stop shopping for everything from freshly ground spices to hard liquor to meat counters that feature whole hogs. The daughters went out to dinner at a nearby artisanal pizza restaurant called Black Pan, and we called it a night. 

                   

January 17 

Today I had booked a walking tour of historic sites in the Medina for Charisse and me. The tour started in the square in Jemaa el-Fnaa and took us to Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and Koutubia Mosque. We were both underwhelmed by Bahia Palace. According to our guide, Abdul, repairs started last year due to damage from a massive earthquake in 2023. About half the rooms are currently off-limits. Bahia Palace is named after the favored wife of Grand Vizier Ba Ahmed. The grounds are beautiful, as is the Moorish detail in the public rooms. We learned that Moorish construction focused on three key elements: cedar wood, plaster, and marble tiles. The three colors of the marble tile represent the earth (brown), the sun (yellow), and the sky (blue). As we proceed through the tour, Abdul informs us that a lot of the marble came from Italy. The Moors traded salt for it. 

After Bahia Palace, we headed to the Saadian Tombs. The Saadian Tombs were built in the 16th century by the third sultan in the Saadian dynasty. The tombs are a blend of Moorish and European style architecture and are covered with colorful tiles. The tombs are on the grounds of the Kasbah Mosque. Some of the tombs have inscriptions from the Quran. The tombs were closed off for over two centuries and only opened to the public in the mid-1900's. 

                                                    

Koutubia Mosque is the tallest mosque in Morocco, and no building in Marrakech is allowed to be taller than five floors because of this. Abdul told us that the triangle next to the minaret on top of the mosque always points towards Mecca, so Muslims know in which direction to pray. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter.