For dinner, a tajine at our riad (hotel) | |
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|  | |  | From the rooftop of our riad | |
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|  | |  | Walking to the Museum of Marrakech and Ali Ben Youssef Madrasa. The medina is very twisty and confusing - I had to ask directions many times, being sure to only ask from shopkeepers instead of young boys, who'd want to lead us there for a tip. | | Inside the Musuem of Marrakech |
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|  | |  | | | Inside the Madrasa - lots of cell-like rooms for the students |
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|  | |  | A lot of the little cells had micro lofts for sleeping, you could climb up on these corner ladders | |
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|  | |  | | | This is supposedly a student setup. Did they really cook their own meals? |
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|  | |  | | | In the markets |
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|  | |  | This stall sells kids clothing. Very creepy to see a bunch of headless kids hanging there! | | Selling baby turtles and lizards |
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|  | |  | The Jemaa el Fna (main square/market) from a rooftop restaurant | |
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|  | |  | Snake charmers | | On the way to the Bahia Palace, we went through the upholstery/mattress making area |
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|  | |  | | | Kenny kept track of how many stray cats we saw. I think he got to more than thirty some days |
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|  | |  | This fellow used his feet and a hand lathe to create handles for wood skewers. | | A tassel shop |
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|  | |  | Some heavy equipment. No barriers or flaggers, you just pick a good time and run by. | | Dust was in the air for a quite a ways. |
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|  | |  | Our bathroom | | The kids "smoking" french fries |
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|  | |  | The kids names, written by the restaurant owner in Arabic | | In the evening, this game was set up in the square. Basically, you try to get a ring around the neck of these soda bottles, which you can win. It's really difficult, but can be done - every once in a while the owner would show how it's done. |
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|  | |  | | | The little kids get to use a short stick, which makes it lots easier. |
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|  | |  | The street close to the entrance to our hotel | | Goatskins drying close to our hotel |
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|  | |  | At the Jardin Majorelle, a botanical garden featuring lots of cactus plants in the new town. | |
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|  | |  | I think Peter took this one | | Cactus galore! We tried to come up with descriptive names for them, like the "I need a haircut" cactus! |
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|  | |  | | | A tree-climbing cactus |
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|  | |  | We met Malika, our former babysitter from Morocco, for lunch. | |
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|  | |  | In the Jemaa el Fna | | We got a picture with these monkey guys. It was a mistake - they were rip-off artists |
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|  | |  | | | Moroccans listening to story-tellers |
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|  | |  | These ladies tried to sell henna tatooes | | Street scenes - a gas station in the Medina. Notice the wheels on the gas pump - it's portable! |
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|  | |  | | | Items targeted at Moroccans are sometimes marked wtih prices, like these are - those for tourists, almost never |
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|  | |  | Christmas morning - Santa managed to make it to Marrakech! | | A day trip to the Ourika Valley |
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|  | |  | Walking around a berber village | | Top of a wall, covered with glass shards |
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|  | |  | A manual stone grinder | | The kitchen |
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|  | |  | View from the roof | |
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|  | |  | It seemed like the roof was made out of sticks covered with plastic, then dirt. | | We stopped at a tourist attraction for argan oil, which is produced in Morocco. Here they're processing the argan nuts. |
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|  | |  | Our car and the driver | | There were lots of these rickety bridges across the Ourika river |
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|  | |  | Walking up to the waterfall. Lots of little shops. Many tourists - it was like an ant trail! | |
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|  | |  | | | Mint tea at the top, with the traditional fresh green mint leaves in the glass |
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|  | |  | | | Our guide to the waterfall. |
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|  | |  | It's amazing how much donkeys were used for transport | | Dinner at a local restaurant. I assume the driver ate for free if he brought in paying customers (us). | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |