Marrakech- Morocco part 7

Our final destination in Morocco was Marrakech. We got there in the afternoon, checked in, ate lunch, and then met with our local guide Mufasa. He was funny. Well, I don't know if I'd really say he was funny.... he was certainly interesting. He was very smart and had a lot of information, but sometimes he would just start laughing at himself and then we couldn't understand him, and then people would start laughing just because he was laughing so much. It was a trip.

He was a hefty guy and it was rather surprising just how fast he could move. He could weave in and out of the crowd and MOVE. We were all running just to keep up. It was very clear that he knows his way around the medina of Marrakech and all the little shop owners know him. In fact, when April and I went back to the souq the following day, a guy was trying to sell us something as we walked by and then he said, "You were with Mufasa."

I can't even remember where he took us. Some cemetery, a former palace, and then the spice shop. At one point we stopped to get cash and my wallet was missing. Talk about scary! I remembered having it at lunch so it could have only been at the hotel/hotel cafe or on the bus. The bus had left us for good at this point, but luckily our awesome tour guide called the driver, found out that it was on the bus, and then he went to get it for me. Whew!

After running through the medina and souq we had our last meal together as a group. We had such a great group! Then we took horse drawn carriages back to the hotel. The next day April and I did some shopping but it wasn't much fun. The shops just hound you so much it really becomes an unpleasant experience. :( We then just repacked and chilled.

Our flight to Kuwait was interesting. On the Casablanca to Cairo leg we had a group of tourists that had clearly never been on a plane before. There was probably about 70 or so of them, all old enough to be our grandparents, and all in white, cream, or light yellow. They all rushed the gate when it was time to board and not all of them had their own boarding pass. Then they just started sitting where ever they wanted on the plane and the flight attendants had to keep getting them to move, trying to explain where they had to sit.

At first it was annoying. Then it was so bad it was comical. I mean, April and I had to help with seat belts and headphones, but I don't think the flight attendants ever found the humor in it. Then I noticed a lady looking at a pamphlet with Mecca on it. I asked the lady next to me and confirmed they were all on their Hajj- the pilgrimage to Mecca. I used the two words I knew she'd understand- Hajj and Mecca- because she didn't speak English. (btw- here's a link to a really good National Geographic documentary on the Hadj, about 45mins: http://vimeo.com/55277431) That just made it all super sweet. I'm excited for them. They made my long journey more enjoyable.

graves of slaves- the more special ones have a little marble on top...
or something like that

I don't remember... graves of the wives... ? 

streets in the medina

former palace I think..

this was a place for the Jews to chill at the palace, thus the Star of David

the square by the souq

At the spice shop almost all of us got paint on our jackets going up the stairs.
The upside is I got this shot from the roof when I went to clean up. This is what it
looks like above the souq maze.  

Jars of spices and stuff. It was very interesting. 

The pop-up type restaurant we had our last tour group meal at.
It reminded me of Korea... I guess that's where I've been to places like this. 

The super yummy lentil soup had super cool wooden spoons. 

These guys were jerks. You have to pay to take pictures of them.
They will harass you if you don't and they want you to pay for each picture you take.
They made us cranky and we didn't want to go near them after this. 

Pretty Moroccan lanterns. I kept thinking I would get one, but I didn't.
I couldn't think what I would do with it. If I had a patio.... 

Carriage ride back to the hotel. 

The tour group going on their Hajj.