Old minaret tower now standing in the middle of a garden.
The first camels I saw in Morocco. Way bigger than what I was expecting.
Long pathway of water and gardens leading up to a minaret which stands just off the main square in Marrakesh
One of the few groups of "snake-charmers" in the main square of Marrakesh Djeema el Fna. Most of the time the guys just sat around ignoring the snakes, and the snakes just sat in one places. When someone came over they could get a snake around their neck of watch one of them annoy the cobra a bit for a show and some danger
A sidestreet in the Medina
Me trying to explore in the medina and inevitable getting horribly lost. I turned back after all these pathways were deadends
Little square within the Medina with a cool tree
A shot across the courtyard of the Ben Youssef Madrasah in the medina of Marrakesh. The rooms that I am taking this picture from and the two across are standing in is incredibly small yet housed around 7 students when this facility was being used.
More of the madrasah
Still at the Madrasah. A close of some decoration that was characteristic of many buildings in Morocco. Patterns incorporating shapes, natural themes, and writing (I am assuming from the Quran here but not certain)
Shop in the Medina... I'm guessing the cat-hides aren't real but who knows...
Larger street in one of the less-touristy areas
The tanneries in Marrakesh. These pits are either full of die or pigeon crap which the hides soak in.
The setting sun on hides of goat (I think)
Bleached and unbleached hides
Night time in the main square Djeema el Fna. The fun is about to begin :) Here you can see all of the stands selling orange/grapefruit juice. The square is so huge that they have many many many of the same type of stand (juice, fruit, snail, food) so when you buy something from a specific stand they say "remember my number" as they have a stall number which is really the only distinguising factor between their stall and others.
Another shot looking across the square. The lights signify little places to eat that just get rolled out and set up every night when it starts getting dark.
Me sitting at one of the snail booths where I had my first snails and snail soup. Thee snails were OK--nothing I would ever crave on a day-to-day basis, but the soup was nice and spicy. I sat next to a couple from New York who took this picture for me.
The huge pot from which they serve, my chef, and a stand which is exactly the same in the background
Lamb's heads. Well to be honest I am not exactly sure if I ate the head of the lamb because what I got was already part of a stew, but I think it was lambs head. The metal pot just to the left of the guy on the right is where they steam them before taking them out when they are tender/cooked enough and chopping them up right in front of you.
Delicious spiced cake and tea stand. They had the standard Moroccan Mint Tea (generally very strong, sweet, and delicious) but also had another very spicey variety which I was not too big a fan of.
A fishing type game where you have to get a ring around the mouth of a coke bottle. In the many times I passed it I never saw anyone win...
View from the rooftop of my hostel across a part of the medina
Looking from the top floor down into a courtyard of my hostel
rug-lined street in the southern medina
Beautiful ceiling in the Bahia palace built in the 19th Century by Marrakesh nobles. Ceilings and walls are often elaborately decorated while the floors are plain because people generally slept on the floor (at least thats one of the tour guides that I was eavesdropping on said :) )
Another beautiful ceiling in the same palace
and again
A courtyard in the palace
Spices and the like displayed quite nicely
Long abandoned el-Badi palace, the orange trees in the courtyards still remain
crew setting up for a concert within the palace
The palace is now also famous for turning into a stork colony (nests everywhere)
more setting up for the concert
An example of one of the small stands where I would go to get bread and soup for a quick, cheap, delicious meal.
Huge line of buggies lining up just off of Djeema al Fna
Two dried fruit stands side by side
Gathering of men around what is most likely a card game. This is a common sight later at night when they have large groups of people listening to story tellers, watching entertainers, or even boxers
I realized I never really got any pictures of the general tourist shops/medina at the end. Here is an attempt just off the main square.
Up in a cafe overlooking the square where I took a load off and had my only "fancy" meal in Morocco.
The view just to the side of the main square--another part of the Medina
Now outside of the Medina at a site of beautiful gardens and a museum. Lacking a wall to write names and years people have been here they have resorted to writing on these bamboo poles in a corner of the garden.
I found the plant that the fruit I had been seeing everywhere and ate in Rabat was coming from
The building the museum was housed in was very beautiful and a bright blue.
Still in the garden..
An example of the garden, full of cactuses
