DCBohemian's Photo(s) Of The Week: April 2010

If I had to choose a favorite explorer of all time I would pick Henry the Navigator. Not because of his contributions to the sea faring world or his standing as one of the great explorers of Portugal or even his considerable discoveries (founding of the Azores and Medira), also not to mention his cool depiction in the form of azjulos and his place at the top of the Monument of Discovery dedicated to all the Portuguese explorers of yesteryear. But nay, my choosing of Henry the Navigator as my favorite explorer is because of his name. How cool is that, "Yes, hello, I am Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal. Suck on that Christopher Columbus. Really who uses alliteration in their name? No offense Melissa Mapes, I love you more than anything. Founder of the 'New World' my ass. There were already people living there, they are the founders." I would love to dub myself Seth the Navigator if dubbing yourself wasn't so vain and narcissistic. But I do pride myself on my sense of direction and navigating ability. If I have been somewhere I remember it. I see maps in my head. People say it is good spacial recognition. Added to this I also consider myself a pretty good guide and map reader. I have spent enough time in large cities, out in the middle of nowhere in the woods, cavernous libraries, and giant malls, but never in my life have I been so lost, turned around, and out of sorts as I was when I stepped foot off our bus from the airport into the Median of Marrakech, Morocco.

The Median is considered the Old City of Marrakech which was founded in 1070. It was surrounded by 15 foot mud walls that were erected by a Berber King Yusuf ibn Tashfin. Outside the city walls Marrakech was a very modern city with cafés, shopping, and very modern looking glass buildings. Yet inside the walls is an entirely different story. You are practically transported back to another time. Marrakech's location is situated at the eastern most edge of the Atlas Mountains before the Sahara Desert. It can be covered in sand storms in an instant. many of the buildings inside are made of mud and mortar, when mixed with the the sand color and mud created from rains the Madina looks the same any direction you turn.

The Median is made up of different neighborhoods and areas. The Djemaa el Fna, a UNIESCO world heritage site, and the Koutoubia Mosque make up the center point of the Medina. Behind the Djemaa el Fna is the Souks or markets. In the souks you can buy anything you need or want. Everything from Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars to hand made leather goods. However, the Souks is where things really get ambiguous, it is a labyrinth of narrow streets, alleyways, and passages. Just imagine the worst most confusing area you can. Now cover it with stores that all look alike and sell the same things. Add to this dead ends, mosques, loads of people, motor bikes, donkey driven carts, tourists, and locals. Then finally take out all the signage and you have the Souks.

This is a partial map of the Medina that we used

http://www.riadelizabeth.com/i/map-large.jpg

This is the map our hotel provided us with

http://www.riadamiravictoria.com/riad-victoria-images/commun/plan-acces-riad-amira-victoria.jpg

Armed with these two maps, Mapes and I were ready to head to our hotel. It was just after 7 o'clock in the morning and we and the Median were barely welcoming the day. We had spent a restless night in the airport in Madrid, Spain trying to sleep on the floor. Our flight took off at 530 am and I did not get any sleep, while Melissa bobbed her head up and down dozing in and out of dreamland. When we stepped into the Medina passed the Djemaa el Fna and into the Souks our senses we perked up by the colors, smells, and sounds. The stall that immediately caught our attention had a wonderful aroma emanating from it enchanting our appetites. A delicious looking fry bread was cooking on an open air stove out front. We ordered two and some mint tea. We were famished since we had not eaten on the plane, thank you Ryan Air. With our stomachs filled from a tasty breakfast knosh, we now had the energy to putter around and make our way to the hotel, and we were going to need it.

Life was just starting to come alive in the Souks. Stalls were opening up and shop owners swept the fronts of their shops. Bits of color were emerging left and right as great rugs and babouches (Moroccan slippers) were hung outside in colorful mosaics and merchants and locals wearing great robes of different colors with giant hoods covering their heads, made people indistinguishable and blend in with each other. We had three hours to get to our destination, but figured we were not going to take long to arrive, we would take our time. Time is exactly what we took. Heading off in the direction we wanted we weaved our way along the paths turning our heads to an fro absorbing as much as we could. We were listing to a cacophony of languages and sounds. French, Arabic, English, Spanish, German were all heard out of the mouths of the shopkeepers, beckoning us into their stalls to look at authentic, genuine, hand made goods. Bells and clopped steps from mule drawn buggies echoed off the narrow walls warning you to move aside and out of the way. The smell of drying leather, fresh meats, spices, teas, preserved fats dotted the air and perked up our noses. The clouds rolled in and it began to drizzle. All of our senses were being stimulated and invigorated by Marrakech. It was a total body experience. We were so caught up in the experience we just kept walking and walking "following the maps" and expecting to end up where we needed to.

The rain kept coming down and we were still walking. It had been almost 45 minutes and we decided to ask for a bit of help. We were on the wrong side of the Medina all together. Turned around we assumed we were walking in the right direction. Back to the Djemaa el Fna we went and tried to start over. This time we headed off to the other side of the souks and attempted to find our way. Now by this time the Souks were full of people buying, selling, trading, and observing. We had to dodge people and get out of the way of others. Coupled with the rain we were starting to get annoyed. At every turn we made someone would come up to us and ask, "Where are you going? Come I take you." We were forewarned that this would happen. Most people you can trust, but others will take you to the wrong place and purposely get you more lost and then threaten that they will only get you to where you need to be if you pay them an exorbitant amount of money. So we were brushing people off left and right, taking lefts and rights, doubling back, going in circles, and basically having no idea where we were.

It had now been about two hours since we began wandering and we were no closer to the hotel than when we started. I asked a policeman for help in what little broken french I could muster up from childhood. Thinking that we would be on our way after his directions, yet continued to be lost. He was of no help. He could not even tell us where we were on the map. By now both Mel and I were at wits end. We were majorly tired, over stimulated, and flat out lost. All we wanted was a bed or a chair to relax in. We turned a few more corners and came upon a sign which I noticed had a neighborhood posted under it. I referenced it with the map and finally had a good idea where we were. We asked some one to point us in the direction of the neighborhood we need(Hart Es Sour) and we were off. The map began to come alive and we were finding corresponding streets and routes. We were almost there, thank god. Finally after close to three hours and countless twists and turns we had made it to our hotel, Riad Amira Victoria . Rest and relaxation here we come.

Riads are traditional open garden homes of Marrakech. From the outside they are extremely unassuming but inside is an entirely different story. As we opened the great hand carved wooden door, ornate and intricate tile work lined the narrow walls and a small fountain was in the middle of the three story hotel. The middle of the hotel was completely open and the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining in. Colorful Moroccan lamps hung from the ceiling and rich tapestries from the walls. We were immediately welcomed in and offered some mint tea (a staple of Moroccan hospitality and friendship). Now the vacation can begin, a few hours rest and then we take off to explore. First on the list a Hamam (Arabic baths) and couples massage.

Upon awaking from a quick nap Mel and I zigzagged our way back through the Medina off to our bath house. Only a little anxiety arose this time, we got lost but not to bad. The baths were amazing, rose baths and then an hour massage. Whatever tension we had, was mostly alleviated and soothed from us. While walking back we stopped at a food stall and had some delicious kebab and you know how much we love kebab. It was absolutely wonderful. This time making our way through the souks we had an idea where we were going and how to get there. This afforded us the chance to actually enjoy looking at the shops and do some purchasing. My first stop was some Chuck Taylor's. After some bargaining I managed to pay 120 dirum or about 17 dollars US for some chucks, not bad if I say so myself. Mel managed to bargain with a seller for a leather bag from 600 dirum down to 220 dirum. That is going from 80 bucks to 30. From now on she was going to do the bargaining. She said it was because she was cheap and thrifty, worked for me whatever it was. All I had to now was shop and then leave it to her. Our night ended in the Djemaa el Fna. It had transformed from and open square to an open air market with makeshift restaurants, fruit and nut stands, hagglers, hustlers, street performers, magicians, snake charmers, and thousands of other people. It was an amazing and beautiful sight to behold. We slowly meandered through it taking it all in an enjoying ourselves, making sure to spot a cafe where we were to meet a group tomorrow morning. The trip back to the hotel this time only took 30 minutes. We were much better now.

That night as we were falling to sleep a great storm approached and the heavens opened up. Intense lightning, booming thunder, and strong pervasive winds churned up outside. It seemed as if fireworks were going off out of our window. The ferocity of the storm was actually calming and we dozed off. The next morning we arose well rested and relaxed. We were treated to a roof top breakfast and took in the amazing view of the city with the Atlas Mountains in the background. Today we were to partake in a cooking class called Souks Cuisine. It was owned by a Dutch ex-pat, ran by an Aussie, and taught by Moroccans. The class was kind of a trial by fire. We met just outside the market and then they guide you around the market taking you to each location necessary - the spice market, butcher, fruit and vegetable market, and the bakery. At each place the guests have to pick the product and haggle with the seller to buy the ingredients for each recipe. The class consisted of 6 people and between us we had five recipes to buy for. This was a real opportunity to interact with the locals and shop where they were buying the ingredients for their households. The butcher was an entirely new experience for me. We got to choose the live chicken to be butchered. We picked a nice plump one. He said come back in 15 minutes and it will be ready for you. in that time he killed, plucked, and butchered the entire fowl. He handed me a bag filled with our lunch. Last time i saw it it was alive and clucking, aah fresh food.

With all ingredients in hand we headed back to their riad and got to work. At the riad we met the two Moroccan women, who were going to show us what to do. The courses were; Moroccan salad with tomatoes, parsley, onion, and cumin. Sweet Carrot salad with carrots garlic paprika, cumin, and cinnamon. Zaahlouk with aubergines (eggplant) stowed tomatoes, coriander, and chili pepper. Briouates, which we tiny vegetable samosa like things. For a main course, Tagine chicken and preserved lemon. Finally finishing off with chribas for dessert, they were little cinnamon and almond cookies. Each dish was a Moroccan specialty. The eight of us labored away and prepared an amazing meal accompanied by some delicious Moroccan wine and great company. the day was an utter success. One of the most fun and original things I have ever done on an vacation.

The next few days we decided to stay in the Madin and take in all it had to offer. We bought plenty of goods, had wonderful meals, treated ourselves to more massages, loads more street food, and gallons of mint tea. By the end of our few days their we were able to navigate the streets and alleys like a local. Our haggling was down to a science and our senses always heightened by our surroundings. We came across pictures of the Medina taken 100 years ago. It looked as if nothing had changed. The people and the places looked exactly the same. It was a unique experience that reinvigorated my attitude about travel. There is so much more out there to see and understand. I can wait to go out and explore and navigate through it as Seth the
Navigator.