It’s been a bit since I’ve posted, but that’s mostly because there wasn’t too much to say about our last few weeks. Since we arrived in Morocco, however, things have gotten very exciting. It’s the most amazing place! Our riad–home/hotel–is beautiful. Here is the central area of our riad. It is called the Riad Abaca Badra.

We are staying in the Medina, which basically just means “city,” but it is the area within the old walls. Our tour guide, Saeed, said the people called it Medina/City to show a sense of ownership and solidarity against the imperialist French; it’s like they were saying: “This is our Medina, the true City.” The French co-opted Morocco in 1912 and built up another area just west called Gueliz. Gueliz is derived from the word for church in French. This is where the French, and therefore the church-going Christians, lived. This picture is how it’s laid out. It’s obviously taken from google maps.

There is so much going on in the city that I have been having trouble figuring out how to organize it, so I’m just going to do it by free association. There are markets everywhere called souks.

Including the most famous market – Jemaa el-Fnaa.

There are so many types of people working here. For example: Snake charmers! He had a COBRA!

Musicians! Here I am playing an instrument called a krakeb. According to our guide, they are modeled after slave shackles. Many slaves were brought through Morocco before being sent out to the Caribbean and the Americas. My hat is coming off because I was trying to spin the tassel on top of it. As you do.

Usually I don’t do stuff like play music with strangers (because I’m basically afraid of everything), but Saeed brought us to this man and had us try it out. It felt respectful, fun, and generally okay. We also tipped him.

The souks are loosely organized into areas of different specialties. For example, there is an area for metalwork–look at these beautiful lamps.

Often in the souks the work is being done in the shops or just outside. The man on the right let me try out carving; he was very critical, giving me a 2/10 for effort. I was afraid of messing up his beautiful art so I tapped too softly and basically got nowhere. The stucco has the consistency of chalk, but it’s less brittle.

Below is what the carving would eventually look like (although his would be in a smaller, less intricate form). The picture was taken in the Palais Bahia here. One thing to notice is the love that Islamic architecture has for symmetry. Once you start looking for it, you see it everywhere in small and large forms.

Also, the Star of David has clearly been incorporated above. Saeed said that both the Jews and the Muslims shy away from figurative art–so no pictures of people or animals. Symbols that are religious, as long as they are not figurative, are used freely. Plus, the Moroccans never really have had an issue with the Jewish religion or the Jews themselves. Both were intense victims of the Inquisition.

Check out the symmetry below! This is from Le Jardin Secret, a most beautiful garden in the Medina. The green path is not water–at first that’s what I thought–it’s wonderful tiles. There is so much more color here than in the UK–the influence of the Berbers.

The food here has been unbelievably delicious and there are smells of it everywhere. It’s so fragrant here that I am hungry all the time. Here are some types of tajine–the crockery and the food cooked in it are both called tajine. The dishes generally consist of meat and vegetables.

And the bread is fresh baked everyday; people prepare their dough at home, bring it to the bakers, and pick it up after it has gone through the oven. Here’s what the bread and the oven looks like. It must be insanely hot in the summer.

We also visited the Koutoubia Mosque and its famous minaret tower from the 12th century. You can see the speakers poking out from the top windows for the call the prayer; it’s loud enough to echo throughout the city. In the time before sound systems, they used the little hanger at the top of the mosque to put up a white flag whenever it was time to pray. Even if the people in the city couldn’t hear the call, they could see the flag and pray at the right time.

Here are some other pictures that I took in the Medina. There are so many cats–thousands, I think. Saeed said that most families have one. The one below is always hanging out by the butcher.

Traditional Hammams or baths with female/male entrances.

There are a surprising number of donkeys.

The Moroccan King Mohamed VI is descended from the Prophet himself and he is venerated throughout the city–this art installation is a next-level dedication to him.

And lastly sweet Garett drinking traditional Moroccan mint tea with me.

We are going to the desert on Saturday but there will probably be another post before then. Thanks for reading.