During a quick stop in Casablanca, we met back up with our friends Jill and Adam. I really have no pictures to show of Casablanca as the only thing we did there was visit the famous bar, Rick’s Cafe, while citing lines from the movie “Casablanca”. There wasn’t much to stay for. So, with a “Here’s looking at you kid.”, we drove off to Marrakesh and met up with a local friend, Hicham.
Hicham was actually the identical twin brother of a co-worker of Jason’s. He was super excited to meet us and show us his city. He met us at our Riad quickly after we arrived. Just like in Fes, we were greeted by the Riad owner with extreme hospitality. There was tea, wine, and olives waiting for us. Ethan loved the courtyard that came fully equipped with a small pool and a pet turtle.
He actually loved it so much that he fell into the pool, nearly giving this mama a heart attack. We both quickly recovered from the drama though, and Hicham was ready to start our tour of the Medina.
For our first stop we really wanted some food. Hicham took us to the very popular Jemaa el-Fnaa square.
The square is famous for its tourist attractions of snake charmers, story tellers, dancers, and magicians. I was terrified of the snake charmers. So, I treaded carefully keeping my distance from the cobras as much as possible. The most interesting thing we actually saw was the juice stands. There were a dozen lined up in the square, all looking exactly the same. To get your attention, the juicers would yell at you to come try their specialty. If you started walking close to one, the others would start a playful banter, “No! No! Their juice is awful, come here instead!”. They were seriously all exactly the same, but the back and forth yelling made for good afternoon entertainment. When we finally chose a stand, the juicers were so happy that they let the guys come up into the stand for a fun photo op.
Once we felt nice and refreshed from our delicious juice, Hicham walked us a traditional Moroccan restaurant for lunch. I had been wanting to try traditional tagine. It did not disappoint. Jill noticed one spice she didn’t like at all. Hicham promised to take us a spice shop in the medina to try to identify the name. Then she would know exactly what to stay clear of in the future.
After lunch, we got the full tour of the Medina. Just like in Fes, we saw the multiple different disciplines in the Medina: metal, wood, weaving, dying… it was once again quite overwhelming. However, compared to Fes, this medina was much more spacious and yet packed with tourists. Therefore, everything looked a little newer, a little brighter, and a little more progressive.
We also visited the Ben Youssef Madrasa, an old Islamic college known for the beautiful interior design which boasts a multi-sensory experience.
Hicham owns his very own antique shop inside the Medina. It was an extremely impressive shop, not filled with the typical tourist doodads. Instead, we were surrounded by extremely old pieces of ceramics and tea pots. Hicham gave each of us a gift from his shop. I got a beautiful silver teapot and Ethan got a leather camel. We also bought a few very old antiques to take home. The shop was so packed with beautiful things, that taking photos in the dark room was difficult.
As promised, Hicham also took Jill to a spice shop, where she found that the spice she didn’t like was indeed fennel. She also found some essential oils at an amazing price.
After a very busy day exploring the Medina, Hicham took us to a pool club for dinner. The club was as over the top as you would expect from a pool club, loaded with a red carpet entrance and a no camera policy. I was a little worried they wouldn’t let E in, but we were there early in the day. The place was empty and the staff was excited to have a kid to play with. The waiters kept taking E off to dip his feet in the pool. We relaxed with pizza and hookah while Ethan danced on the empty dance floor.
For the next day, Hicham took us to a resort where we walked beautiful gardens, got fresh made bread, and relaxed in gorgeous courtyards.
Afterwards, Hicham invited us to his house for lunch. He had made us a slow cooked lamb in a clay pot. It was similar to someone in Texas making their guests brisket. We felt honored. His wife had prepared a full table of sides for us. They had a son that was Ethan’s age. It was a wonderful lunch and great insight to local life.
We have been fortunate enough to have local friends show us around countries many times now. I give credit to Jason for being so friendly with everyone he meets. He is always connecting with people that are ready to show us a piece of their world. I love it. Great sites, great food, and great friends. Morocco may have been a big culture shift from what we are used to. But seeing the differences only broadened our perspective of this massive world, leaving us thirsty to see and learn so much more.
Until next time,
