Marrakesh, Part One

Bonjour.

Sorry to go incommunicado again, but it's been a busy couple of weeks. Sasha, Kyra, Sheri and Don just left Morocco this morning (although we said goodbye yesterday) after a two-week, action-packed and highly photogenic visit.

We were very excited for their arrival. Tommy kept careful watch until they arrived.


After SKSD spent a couple of days in Rabat with us and took a quick trip to Fes, our whole gang headed down to a very hot Marrakesh for a couple of days there, then a three-day mountain trek through Berber Villages in the High Atlas Mountains, and finally, a return trip to an even hotter Marrakesh.

We were pleasantly surprised by the fairly hassle-free trip to Marrakesh, the first opportunity we've had to spend any real time there since arriving in Morocco. Maybe it was just too hot for them to bother, but we weren't really approached by any would-be "guides" or given much of a hard sell anywhere.

That made it much easier to see the sights. During our first stay in Marrakesh, we visited some of the highlights of the medina, like the 14th century Koranic school, Ben Youssef Medersa. We also strolled through and had dinner in Djemaa El-Fna Square, home to snake charmers, monkey trainers, acrobats, storytellers, and vendors of all sorts (from fresh orange juice to magical potions to freshly-cooked snails. More on those snails later, right, Sasha?). It's like the world's biggest open-air carnival, with many attractions fairly unchanged from a thousand years ago, a "Masterpiece of World Heritage," according to UNESCO.

It's hard to describe or capture in photos all of the sights, smells and sounds of the Square, but here's the sunset view from our restaurant window looking out over the Square (that's a typical painted window frame you see along two edges). The second photo probably depicts no more than a quarter of the Square.




It wasn't too hot or crowded when we first arrived, so Anna, Tommy and Sasha were happy to snuggle up to some of the "wildlife" in the Square (see photo of Tommy above and photos below).




And here's a few images from our visit to the Ben Youssef medersa.

There's Sasha in one of the student's rooms. Is he contemplating his future scholarly studies in the medersa?


Perhaps not.


Marrakesh blends one of the most famous medinas in the world with a nouvelle ville that has seen billions of dollars in investment in recent years. We spent a little time there as well, checking out the Majorelle gardens and several new restaurants (especially when World Cup games were playing and chocolate milkshakes were available).

Here are a couple of images from the Majorelle gardens, which are cared for using Trust funds provided by Yves Saint Laurent (who owned these private gardens but opened them to the public and whose ashes were scattered in the garden after his death a few years ago).



I tried to get a picture of the four kids by one of the pretty fountains along the street in the nouvelle ville. But instead of Kyra, I seem to have gotten Bob in the picture.


Too bad Bob doesn't have Kyra's poise.

Many more photos to come of Sasha, Kyra, Anna and Tommy on our travels to Marrakesh and the mountains. Sheri, Don and I may even make the pages.....

A bientot,

Kim