Salam ...once again
It was to be a long day on the road but the stops compensated quite well. After a couple of hours we came to a tiny village called Tazenakht, renowned for its Berber carpets. The village was dead. There was no one in sight. Abdul knocked on one of the low blue doors and after a while an old woman welcomed us. As she prepared us tea Abdul let us into the carpet workshop, more of a house turned workshop. We sat on cushions in infront of the large loom and like apprentices waited for the lesson.
She took the teacher's stand and started making small knots in the lines, then pushing them down with a huge comb. After a few minutes, a couple of us gave it a go. Might look simple but it required loads of patience, to say the least. It could take up to anything between 2 to 3 months to finish a carpet of about 2 x 2 metres, she explained. Furthermore, due to the intricate nature of the work and the vibrancy of the colours, no woman was allowed to work more than 4 hours a day.
The wool was all naturally dyed from pure indigo, saffron and kohl amongst others. She even showed us how to turn fluffs of wool into thread, another job for the patient ones. Her son joined us and eagerly took us to the 'shop'. The huge room was decorated with carpets with piles of them all along the parameter. Our eyes gazed as they unfolded one carpet after another. It was so tempting but I had to hold on having already bought one from Turkey years ago. But I did help Tricia and Chris buy one at a good price : )
Happy with our purchases we set off, stopping for lunch on the way. The afternoon brought us to the Saffron capital, Taliouine. I never thought I'd drink saffron as tea. Loved it. I bought about 5 pots of a gram each - the most exotic spice in the world at the cheapest price. Great!
We finally got to our destination for the day, Taroudent. A crammed city one-third the size of Marrakech but like it hustling and bustling with markets and hungry Muslims. We checked into our hotel whose deco must have been untouched from the early 70's. There was even a turn-dial phone in our room, how cool is that - or not!?
Me and some of the girls decided to go for a wonder before the life got sucked out of the streets. It was fast approaching 7pm. Just round the corner from our hotel were a few late-evening vendors. The fresh orange juice was hard to resist, so I invited the girls over for a glass.
That night we chatted about our dreams by the pool and after a nice shower had a lush dinner in the terrace over-looking the narrow but still busy street below.
Next morning we started the day with walk around the heart of the city. On our way I couldn't help buying some fresh fruit from the street vendors. We went up the fortifications of the city or rather the walls of the inner city, i.e. the Medina. There weren't any spectacular views but the walls were worth a few photos. We ended in the city's chaotic covered souq. The sun streamed on us as we emerged. Abdul decorated us with fresh mint stems in preparation of our next stop. Just outside of Taroudent, is the leather co-operative and man, it stinks.
Fresh animal skins hang loosely around the stone-basins in the large courtyard. A local guide made us walk through them patiently explaining each step of the process, as we just stuck the mint right up our noses trying to look as if we were fully interested! We visited the shops around the courtyard still trying to block the stink. The finished leather products were works of art; handbags, jackets, lamps etc... I was almost intrigued into buying a pouffe but resisted hoping to find it at a better deal somewhere else
Further along our long drive we stopped at Agadir, a well-developed town. We only got to visit its huge supermarket for our picnic lunch. The rest of our drive was all along the wild coast. The sea was so inviting after the heat of the desert. We stopped and had our lunches on the sand. I ran into the water so tempted to undress and get in for a dip. Well at least I did manage to get my rolled up trousers wet.
We then kicked the ball and rolled into the sand for a while before we hit the road again.
An extraordinary sight made us stop right in the middle of a long deserted highway. Goats on the trees. Yep! Strange but true. Berber goats are renowned for climbing trees to munch the nuts. Hard to believe until you've seen it!
We were almost there when we decided to stop at the last all-female argan oil co-operative. A team of woman transformed nuts to oil. Two types of oil is produced, one is edible (and really tasty with bread!) and the other found itself in beauty products. (Believe me the moisture cream saved my skin after a bad sunburn on the beach!!)Oh, and they also made tea out of it, of course.
We finally got to Essaouira. Its long stretched beach looked like something out of Australia's east coast. Its authenticity lay in the walls of the Medina; the heart of the city. We carried our backpacks to the Riad, brushing shoulders with the locals in the narrow busy streets. Our eyes gleamed at the colourful and arty stuff on display.
Riad El Mess is one of those hidden gems in the old Medina, originally a traditional ancient nobleman's house. Its main feature is the central courtyard, beautifully designed and decorated in wonderful Moroccan style. My photo just says it all.
We made ourselves comfortable on the long pristine sofa surrounded with colourful carpets and cushions. A lovely mint tea with special Moroccan sweets later we were ushered to our rooms. We felt like the king's special concubines in those rooms!
We hit the roof literally, in time to watch sunset over the wild sea crashing against the rocky islands, known as the Mogador. The air was full of sweet summer. Sea spray mist hung loosely over a tight cluster of flat-roofed houses only to be cut by swooping shrieking seagulls.
Dressed up ready for the night (well most of us were!) we stepped into the narrow streets again, this time lit by lanterns creating a romantic scene. Abdul took us to a popular restaurant where we were entertained by a small band playing drums and the rabab (one-string fiddle). The amydaz (lead of the group) who performs improvised poems, came round our table and tried rhyming our names into some Berber versus.
Later Abdul gave us a night tour of the Medina. We were all too tired to linger out for long, but looked forward to clubbing on our final night in Essouira.
Early the following morning, Abdul dragged us out of bed for a tourist-type tour around the Medina. A bright and larky local guide, Rashida, tried in vain to kick some life into us. We followed her around like a bunch of zombies, which somehow were absorbing in the history and wonderful sites of the amazing city.
We walked in and out of the laid-back artist's town once a Portuguese trading colony and home to British and Jewish populations. Essaouira is a busy fishing port. Its filthy harbour full of colourful boats. Our morning tour took us through the old Medina, Jewish Mellah, Port and Scala.
Apparently, as we obediently followed our leader around, like students on a school outing, a man was closely following us. I did not notice him but some other people in our group did. At some point the man stopped for a pee against the wall, nice but even nicer (not!) when he just ehhhhh.. even popped it there and then! Call it gross, strange, pervert, but it happened!
After our final stop at the silver co-operative I was so ready for my one hour massage. One of the best ones ever, none of us wanted it to end. We literally felt and smelt like roses after that. Hungry, we decided to try the fresh fish stalls for our late lunch. We picked our seafood, bargained hard and enjoyed a scrumptious lunch of grilled prawns, shrimps, calamari, fresh bread and salad. Stomachs full we strolled along the beach.
That evening Abdul took us to a cosy restaurant tucked in one of the dark alleys of the Medina. The restaurant was split into 3 large rooms. The food was good but best of all was the entertainment. Young Berber musicians sang, played guitar and bet their tam tams in unison like no other. We relished the performances and couldn't help joining in the fun especially after some xixa!
It was clubbing time. Abdul took us to the last floor on top of a fancy restaurant overlooking the bastions and the moonlit sea. The Bedouin-styled club was mostly empty but the music was good so having ordered a few drinks I was on the dancefloor. But before long a classic-Arab nerdy-looking group of 80's musicians, robbed the club off its club scene. However, the whining songs and music didn't deter me from the dance floor. I belly-danced galore and bet a few Spanish blokes at that :) Finally, our group got into the groove and it was fun till the wee hours of the morning.
Next morning I woke up early, packed, checked out and checked into my new Riad for my final night in Essouira. Rather then heading to Marrakech with the rest that afternoon, I had decided to spend another day there. I never lived to regret it.
I met Arlene and the others on the beach where we stayed and sunbathed till afternoon. We exchanged goodbyes and while they headed to their coaches I continued to enjoy the lovely ocean, sand and sun. Later, I wondered back to the Medina, enjoyed an ice-cream and got myself into shopping mode.
My first win was a red pair of babouche(slippers)followed by a silver-ornate gazelle-horn bracelet.
The 'blue man' was waiting for his next catch outside his shop when he saw me curiously looking at miniature nomadic tents, wondering what they could be used for. 'Cat's house!' he replied. Oh, interesting. 'Would you like me to show you some bracelets?' he insisted. And why not, I thought. This could be interesting.
I entered Ali Baba's cave and was made to sit on a small stool. The blue man sat opposite me across the small table. From a huge chest he drew a small knotted sack.
He spilt the contents on the table - a whole knotted bunch of bracelets. I picked and put aside the gazelle ones and quickly lost interest in the rest. He packed the bracelets neatly again and pulled out another sack, this time full of necklaces. But I told him I'm not interested and they're not my style and they're too bright and colourful ...bla bla bla...and he yet pulled sack after another.... until he gave up on this tom-boy of a woman!
"Ok, how much?" I asked.
He drew his notebook, licked the top of his pencil and without looking at me asked "How would you like the price in euros...?"
"Gosh!" I exclaimed. "Dirhams, please... how much could this possibly cost?"
"400 dirhams" (GBP30)
"What??!?!? No way"
"That is silver, made by hand....etc etc.."
"My friend bought one exactly like this for 50DM."
"50DM!!!!No no impossible it was fake!"
"Oh no!"
He insisted on the price and slowly started coming down. He got down by the hundreds I only went up by tens. Finally,
"I haven't got that money on me."
"I will send someone with you to your hotel and you can get some money from ATM and give it to him.."
"Oh no, sorry I'm leaving Morocco tomorrow so I'm not getting any more money."
"Well, I guess I better go cause I'm wasting my and your time then..."
And I walked out.
He ran after me, "Wait! Wait!"
"Ok, give me what you've got then..."
And so I bought it for 110DM - not bad a deal from 400DM!
Back at the Riad I spent the evening on the terrace. The sun absorbed my energy as well as the moisture off my skin. A shower later I was ready for bed. I forced myself to walk along the narrow streets of the Medina one last time. I floated along them until I found a small pizzeria in one of the alleys. I relished the proper Italian stone-oven baked pizza and finished off with some Ramadan special sweets from a local vendor.
Next morning after a good breaky, I packed and headed off to the beach. I hired a sunbed and lazed there for the rest of the day. I asked a local woman to do me a henna tattoo on my hand. She did just as I wanted it and in black.
Back at the Riad I picked my backpack and set off to the bus station to get the bus back to Marrakech.
I got there at about 7pm. A short cab drive and I was at my original start point; Hotel de la Menera. I knocked on Chris' and Tricia's door. It felt like days not a day since we last saw each other. We arranged for dinner at 8pm.
The last supper was consumed overlooking the square of the mosque. Thousands of men answered the prayers from the Rabi who's voice was amplified by speakers. They all stood then knelt again and again in unison facing the direction of Mecca. It was quite a site as we munched our lamb and veggie tagines. We hit the big square and market for the last time late that night. Jamaa el Fnawas chockfull of people.
We scouted around the souq for last minute bargains. I got the pouffe I so wanted and at a good price.
Time for goodbyes :(
Besalama Morocco !
Hope to visit you another time
Nicky
X
It was to be a long day on the road but the stops compensated quite well. After a couple of hours we came to a tiny village called Tazenakht, renowned for its Berber carpets. The village was dead. There was no one in sight. Abdul knocked on one of the low blue doors and after a while an old woman welcomed us. As she prepared us tea Abdul let us into the carpet workshop, more of a house turned workshop. We sat on cushions in infront of the large loom and like apprentices waited for the lesson.
She took the teacher's stand and started making small knots in the lines, then pushing them down with a huge comb. After a few minutes, a couple of us gave it a go. Might look simple but it required loads of patience, to say the least. It could take up to anything between 2 to 3 months to finish a carpet of about 2 x 2 metres, she explained. Furthermore, due to the intricate nature of the work and the vibrancy of the colours, no woman was allowed to work more than 4 hours a day.
The wool was all naturally dyed from pure indigo, saffron and kohl amongst others. She even showed us how to turn fluffs of wool into thread, another job for the patient ones. Her son joined us and eagerly took us to the 'shop'. The huge room was decorated with carpets with piles of them all along the parameter. Our eyes gazed as they unfolded one carpet after another. It was so tempting but I had to hold on having already bought one from Turkey years ago. But I did help Tricia and Chris buy one at a good price : )
Happy with our purchases we set off, stopping for lunch on the way. The afternoon brought us to the Saffron capital, Taliouine. I never thought I'd drink saffron as tea. Loved it. I bought about 5 pots of a gram each - the most exotic spice in the world at the cheapest price. Great!
We finally got to our destination for the day, Taroudent. A crammed city one-third the size of Marrakech but like it hustling and bustling with markets and hungry Muslims. We checked into our hotel whose deco must have been untouched from the early 70's. There was even a turn-dial phone in our room, how cool is that - or not!?
Me and some of the girls decided to go for a wonder before the life got sucked out of the streets. It was fast approaching 7pm. Just round the corner from our hotel were a few late-evening vendors. The fresh orange juice was hard to resist, so I invited the girls over for a glass.
That night we chatted about our dreams by the pool and after a nice shower had a lush dinner in the terrace over-looking the narrow but still busy street below.
Next morning we started the day with walk around the heart of the city. On our way I couldn't help buying some fresh fruit from the street vendors. We went up the fortifications of the city or rather the walls of the inner city, i.e. the Medina. There weren't any spectacular views but the walls were worth a few photos. We ended in the city's chaotic covered souq. The sun streamed on us as we emerged. Abdul decorated us with fresh mint stems in preparation of our next stop. Just outside of Taroudent, is the leather co-operative and man, it stinks.
Fresh animal skins hang loosely around the stone-basins in the large courtyard. A local guide made us walk through them patiently explaining each step of the process, as we just stuck the mint right up our noses trying to look as if we were fully interested! We visited the shops around the courtyard still trying to block the stink. The finished leather products were works of art; handbags, jackets, lamps etc... I was almost intrigued into buying a pouffe but resisted hoping to find it at a better deal somewhere else
Further along our long drive we stopped at Agadir, a well-developed town. We only got to visit its huge supermarket for our picnic lunch. The rest of our drive was all along the wild coast. The sea was so inviting after the heat of the desert. We stopped and had our lunches on the sand. I ran into the water so tempted to undress and get in for a dip. Well at least I did manage to get my rolled up trousers wet.
We then kicked the ball and rolled into the sand for a while before we hit the road again.
An extraordinary sight made us stop right in the middle of a long deserted highway. Goats on the trees. Yep! Strange but true. Berber goats are renowned for climbing trees to munch the nuts. Hard to believe until you've seen it!
We were almost there when we decided to stop at the last all-female argan oil co-operative. A team of woman transformed nuts to oil. Two types of oil is produced, one is edible (and really tasty with bread!) and the other found itself in beauty products. (Believe me the moisture cream saved my skin after a bad sunburn on the beach!!)Oh, and they also made tea out of it, of course.
We finally got to Essaouira. Its long stretched beach looked like something out of Australia's east coast. Its authenticity lay in the walls of the Medina; the heart of the city. We carried our backpacks to the Riad, brushing shoulders with the locals in the narrow busy streets. Our eyes gleamed at the colourful and arty stuff on display.
Riad El Mess is one of those hidden gems in the old Medina, originally a traditional ancient nobleman's house. Its main feature is the central courtyard, beautifully designed and decorated in wonderful Moroccan style. My photo just says it all.
We made ourselves comfortable on the long pristine sofa surrounded with colourful carpets and cushions. A lovely mint tea with special Moroccan sweets later we were ushered to our rooms. We felt like the king's special concubines in those rooms!
We hit the roof literally, in time to watch sunset over the wild sea crashing against the rocky islands, known as the Mogador. The air was full of sweet summer. Sea spray mist hung loosely over a tight cluster of flat-roofed houses only to be cut by swooping shrieking seagulls.
Dressed up ready for the night (well most of us were!) we stepped into the narrow streets again, this time lit by lanterns creating a romantic scene. Abdul took us to a popular restaurant where we were entertained by a small band playing drums and the rabab (one-string fiddle). The amydaz (lead of the group) who performs improvised poems, came round our table and tried rhyming our names into some Berber versus.
Later Abdul gave us a night tour of the Medina. We were all too tired to linger out for long, but looked forward to clubbing on our final night in Essouira.
Early the following morning, Abdul dragged us out of bed for a tourist-type tour around the Medina. A bright and larky local guide, Rashida, tried in vain to kick some life into us. We followed her around like a bunch of zombies, which somehow were absorbing in the history and wonderful sites of the amazing city.
We walked in and out of the laid-back artist's town once a Portuguese trading colony and home to British and Jewish populations. Essaouira is a busy fishing port. Its filthy harbour full of colourful boats. Our morning tour took us through the old Medina, Jewish Mellah, Port and Scala.
Apparently, as we obediently followed our leader around, like students on a school outing, a man was closely following us. I did not notice him but some other people in our group did. At some point the man stopped for a pee against the wall, nice but even nicer (not!) when he just ehhhhh.. even popped it there and then! Call it gross, strange, pervert, but it happened!
After our final stop at the silver co-operative I was so ready for my one hour massage. One of the best ones ever, none of us wanted it to end. We literally felt and smelt like roses after that. Hungry, we decided to try the fresh fish stalls for our late lunch. We picked our seafood, bargained hard and enjoyed a scrumptious lunch of grilled prawns, shrimps, calamari, fresh bread and salad. Stomachs full we strolled along the beach.
That evening Abdul took us to a cosy restaurant tucked in one of the dark alleys of the Medina. The restaurant was split into 3 large rooms. The food was good but best of all was the entertainment. Young Berber musicians sang, played guitar and bet their tam tams in unison like no other. We relished the performances and couldn't help joining in the fun especially after some xixa!
It was clubbing time. Abdul took us to the last floor on top of a fancy restaurant overlooking the bastions and the moonlit sea. The Bedouin-styled club was mostly empty but the music was good so having ordered a few drinks I was on the dancefloor. But before long a classic-Arab nerdy-looking group of 80's musicians, robbed the club off its club scene. However, the whining songs and music didn't deter me from the dance floor. I belly-danced galore and bet a few Spanish blokes at that :) Finally, our group got into the groove and it was fun till the wee hours of the morning.
Next morning I woke up early, packed, checked out and checked into my new Riad for my final night in Essouira. Rather then heading to Marrakech with the rest that afternoon, I had decided to spend another day there. I never lived to regret it.
I met Arlene and the others on the beach where we stayed and sunbathed till afternoon. We exchanged goodbyes and while they headed to their coaches I continued to enjoy the lovely ocean, sand and sun. Later, I wondered back to the Medina, enjoyed an ice-cream and got myself into shopping mode.
My first win was a red pair of babouche(slippers)followed by a silver-ornate gazelle-horn bracelet.
The 'blue man' was waiting for his next catch outside his shop when he saw me curiously looking at miniature nomadic tents, wondering what they could be used for. 'Cat's house!' he replied. Oh, interesting. 'Would you like me to show you some bracelets?' he insisted. And why not, I thought. This could be interesting.
I entered Ali Baba's cave and was made to sit on a small stool. The blue man sat opposite me across the small table. From a huge chest he drew a small knotted sack.
He spilt the contents on the table - a whole knotted bunch of bracelets. I picked and put aside the gazelle ones and quickly lost interest in the rest. He packed the bracelets neatly again and pulled out another sack, this time full of necklaces. But I told him I'm not interested and they're not my style and they're too bright and colourful ...bla bla bla...and he yet pulled sack after another.... until he gave up on this tom-boy of a woman!
"Ok, how much?" I asked.
He drew his notebook, licked the top of his pencil and without looking at me asked "How would you like the price in euros...?"
"Gosh!" I exclaimed. "Dirhams, please... how much could this possibly cost?"
"400 dirhams" (GBP30)
"What??!?!? No way"
"That is silver, made by hand....etc etc.."
"My friend bought one exactly like this for 50DM."
"50DM!!!!No no impossible it was fake!"
"Oh no!"
He insisted on the price and slowly started coming down. He got down by the hundreds I only went up by tens. Finally,
"I haven't got that money on me."
"I will send someone with you to your hotel and you can get some money from ATM and give it to him.."
"Oh no, sorry I'm leaving Morocco tomorrow so I'm not getting any more money."
"Well, I guess I better go cause I'm wasting my and your time then..."
And I walked out.
He ran after me, "Wait! Wait!"
"Ok, give me what you've got then..."
And so I bought it for 110DM - not bad a deal from 400DM!
Back at the Riad I spent the evening on the terrace. The sun absorbed my energy as well as the moisture off my skin. A shower later I was ready for bed. I forced myself to walk along the narrow streets of the Medina one last time. I floated along them until I found a small pizzeria in one of the alleys. I relished the proper Italian stone-oven baked pizza and finished off with some Ramadan special sweets from a local vendor.
Next morning after a good breaky, I packed and headed off to the beach. I hired a sunbed and lazed there for the rest of the day. I asked a local woman to do me a henna tattoo on my hand. She did just as I wanted it and in black.
Back at the Riad I picked my backpack and set off to the bus station to get the bus back to Marrakech.
I got there at about 7pm. A short cab drive and I was at my original start point; Hotel de la Menera. I knocked on Chris' and Tricia's door. It felt like days not a day since we last saw each other. We arranged for dinner at 8pm.
The last supper was consumed overlooking the square of the mosque. Thousands of men answered the prayers from the Rabi who's voice was amplified by speakers. They all stood then knelt again and again in unison facing the direction of Mecca. It was quite a site as we munched our lamb and veggie tagines. We hit the big square and market for the last time late that night. Jamaa el Fnawas chockfull of people.
We scouted around the souq for last minute bargains. I got the pouffe I so wanted and at a good price.
Time for goodbyes :(
Besalama Morocco !
Hope to visit you another time
Nicky
X
