the #soul of the 957-year-old city of #marrakesh lies in its old town, where people come together in the #continent’s largest #square #jemaa del-#fnaa the square is even more #crowded at night when #restaurants and #food stalls are set up along its #perimeter and #music and #dancing make it come alive we had #pastilla at night which is spiced #meat and #apricots wrapped in crisp #filo #pastry and finished with cinnamon sugar – a #moroccan specialty – and #mint #tea and #espresso during the day more pictures here.
walk from #marrakech’s #medina to the #kutubiyyamosque the original #kutubiyya #mosque was built in the 1100s by the #muslim #berber #almoravid dynasty, that founded marrakesh itself in 1062 the mosque was destroyed by the #almohads, who reconstructed it later in the 12th century its #minaret is 70 m or 230 ft high, the #highest structure in marrakech – local law doesn’t allow taller buildings kutubiyya means #bookseller in arabic – the mosque’s name refers to the 100s of #manuscript and #book sellers who plied their #trade in the area where the mosque was constructed books were not that commonplace in the christian world until much later more pictures here.
some #history: si moussa was the grand #vizier of sultan moulay #hassan moussa was a remarkable man who rose to this position after starting life as a #slave his son, bou ahmed, became chamberlain to moulay hassan and later after hassan’s death he appointed himself grand vizier, resided in the palace, and became the de facto ruler of #morocco until his death
as we got to #ouarzazate – the #gateway to the #sahara #desert and also #morocco’s #hollywood – hicham surprised us with a visit to his #parents’ #house. his mom made us #tea with #zafran and offered us some #zemeta made with #barley #fennel #honey #walnuts #sesame seeds and #almonds mixed together with #butter
it was such a pleasure to partake of moroccan #hospitality in a lovely home full of #warmth and grace
after chitchatting for a couple of hours we continued our drive:
-#ait #benhaddou #ksar or fortified #village along the former #caravan route between the sahara and #marrakech – the community areas of the ksar include a mosque, a public square, grain threshing areas, a loft at the top of the village, a caravanserai, two cemeteries (#muslim and #jewish) and the sanctuary of saint sidi ali
-#agadir where we bought some #gardenia infused #argan #oil for my daughter’s hair also loved the #peanutbutter-like mixture of argan oil (toasted almond scent) honey and almond paste – yum!
-the most beautiful #painterly #colors i have ever seen in a landscape in #aguelmous
