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Day six, October 27
Nkob to Marrakech
Plan:
We leave Nkob and drive past the edge of the Draa Valley that contains a huge palmery with over four million palm trees. Passing Ouarzazate, a short drive of 40 km takes us to the well-preserved kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, one of the most spectacular sights of the Atlas and made famous as the location of several Hollywood films. From here we make the scenic drive over the High Atlas mountains to Marrakech. The main pass (the Tizi'n 'Tichka) is spectacular and there are some wonderful views of the mountains.
The afternoon is spent in the "pink city" of Marrakech when we can soak in its atmosphere and setting, with views of the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas. The town is a maze of bustling bazaars, palaces and mosques. In the evening we can visit the Djemma el Fna, the open air central square around which Marrakech revolves. The name literally means "place of death" as it was the place where the Sultans used to display the heads of their enemies. Now, with the snake-charmers, water-sellers, travelling musicians and acrobats, the scalps are those of the tourists as they extract the Dirhams from your pocket!
We had breakfast by the pool - how lovely to be able to eat outside so often. I wish I could do the same in Toronto, but it's too cold in the mornings now!! And I don't have anyone to serve me my mint tea, bread and apricot preserves!... Actually, in Nkob, we had more than apricot preserves - we also had something that looked like creamed cheese, but I'm told it's more like thick cream, and we had a second choice of preserves.
We boarded the minibus and headed towards Ouarzazate. We stopped for lunch on the way to Ait Ben Haddou. Lunch was served outdoors on a patio overlooking a deep ravine in which we could hear yet another donkey braying! It was a beautiful day, sunny and hot, and the food was delicious. Before arriving at Ait Ben Haddou, we stopped and took pictures along the way of the amazing scenery along Tiz'n Tichka and of a kasbah in Tifoultoute.
Ait Ben Haddou is where Gladiator, the sequel to The Mummy, and other movies have been filmed. We walked around the kasbah a bit, took a few photos, but it was so full of tourists I was not interested in spending too much time there.
We hopped back onto the minibus and drove up through the High Atlas mountains on our way to Marrakech. We stopped in Taddert to shop for fossils at a merchant that comes highly recommended. His prices are fixed, so no haggling is necessary.
I didn't buy any fossils, but I stopped in another shop and haggled for two necklaces. I mentioned to the shop keepers that I was Canadian, and they told me about a Canadian who visits every year, and if it wasn't for that Canadian they would not have electricity and lights in their shop. So to encourage me to return, they gave me a gift of a piece of amethyst! We had some delicious freshly squeezed orange juice before leaving for Marrakech.
We arrived in Marrakech at about 4pm and checked into our hotel - the Hotel de Foucauld on Mohammed V, near the Jemaa el Fna. Not as impressive as the Kasbah Baha, but still it was quite comfortable. We actually had a shower curtain in our bathroom!! And toilet paper was provided, as were towels and soap. The Koutoubia is nearby as well - it's the new Koranic school in Marrakech.
After settling into our rooms, Andy took us out to the Jemaa el Fna. He gave us a few pointers, such as don't present your hands to the women with booklets as they'll slap on some hennah on your hands and it's quite messy, and don't accept someone's offer of being your guide, and stick together - enough to make me a little nervous!
There were so many people, it was incredible! We meandered across the traffic and made our way in the midst of all the brou-ha-ha. Denise, Lucy, Helen and myself stuck together and walked around the souks. There were orange juice stands, food stands, water sellers, story tellers, and lots of shops offering jewellery, musical instruments, wooden articles, spices and everything else you can think of. Everyone wanted us to stop and look "for free"! The food looked so good - what a variety after having eaten nothing but bread and tajine all week!
We headed back to the hotel after about an hour and a half and met up with the rest of the group for a buffet supper. There was quite a variety here too - grilled eggplant (or aubergine), tajine, couscous, caramelized onions, fruit, almond cookies... We adjourned to the terrasse of the hotel for drinks and relaxation before heading off to bed for the evening.
Last modified on November 9, 2000