Marrakech Medina

Another medina, another riad ... "Riad Bamaga". This one was even better than the one in Essauoira! Once again we had no idea how to find it and had to pay for someone to take us to a carpark and then the riad. Luckily we left our bags in the car and didn't pay for the carpark as there was one much closer to where we were staying.
The past two days have been eventful. Day one, after arriving and settling in we used the manager's map to find our way around the medina. Not an easy task as this medina is much bigger and his map skills (maybe more his English directions) were hard to follow. The square provided a little entertainment for Tony, snake charming, while I had some henna done. Not a nice experience as she wanted 450Dh and I only had 220 in my wallet so that's all she got. I have learned that I must agree on a price before they even touch me. Four o'clock is now our official beer o'clock so after a couple of beers, and a plate of olives for me, we decided on an earlier dinner & back to the riad.
Day two I wish I had worn my pedometer. We set out after breakfast, heading towards the museum but ending up at the tannery instead. Leather goods are made from goat and sheep by the Arabs, and camel and cow by the Berber. Very interesting that the Berber only come into the medina for 3 days a week to work and the Arabs are there all week. The leather is a beautiful quality and if we weren't travelling we probably would have invested in some Berber goods. Next stop was the Jewish precinct in the south end of the medina. Unfortunately the cemetery was closed so we walked on towards the Royal Palace and Gardens. Strictly no photos were to be taken of the entrance and the guard - didn't know this at the time though. Kasbah Cafe is now officially the BEST cafe I have been to. They gave me a tall glass of hot milk and a little jug of coffee so I could pour my own - now that's service! We had a wander through the Tombeaux Saadiens, which date back to 1578, were discovered in the early 1900s and restored. There are 60 Saadien tombs in the mausoleum, including that of el Mansour, the 16th century sultan.

Did the obligatory bus tour around the outside of the medina where all the modern hotels, shops and restaurants can be found and then returned to the riad, our quiet little sanctuary. Entertainment of the day was the theft of two soda bottles from outside a kioshk we were buying water from. The teenage boys snatched the bottles and took off (walking fast because it's Ramadan). The man in the next shop took off after them, alerting others who also took chase. By the time we walked past there was a crowd providing their local justice to these boys. When I asked a woman how much the bottle was worth she said 2 Dh, was it worth all the hassle?

Which direction shall we take? Right of course!

Our room - with air con.

Wi-fi only in the lounge upsatirs - our new
4'clock office

View from the office into the garden

The snake charmer - kept my distance

Henna bling should last 3 months

Marrakech Bus Tours

Tony at the OJ stands in the square

One of the bab (gates) into the medina

The Railway Station

Plenty of baby camels - not for riding though

The old medina wall is 9km

Yes! There is a Zara in Marrakech

The tombeaux saadiens.

Sultan El mansour's tomb

A Berber shaving the leather by hand. The Arab's
use a machine.

The Berber leather is limed, pigeon pooed, and
covered in mimosa before it is shaved and dyed.
Whole process takes more than 9 months. These
hides  have been smothered in mimosa and left to
dry for 3 months to get rid of the smell.

Outside the royal palace. The guards are behind the tree.

Single shot latte in a tall glass xxx

The BEST place for latte.

Last night we decided to eat at the square and were surprised at how busy it was - found restaurant 1 and had a great meal! The medina is so different at night. Vibrant and alive after fast is broken.

Our final day in the medina started early. We walked over 10 km, enjoying most of it until we got a little lost at the end of the day. We managed to find our way home to the riad though. The sun was pretty hot today and I think we got a little burnt. The day included a bus tour around the outskirts of the city, visiting a couple of palaces, a museum and a madrasa (islamic school) which is now closed but open for the public to view. I've picked just a few photos for today. I'm looking forward to a quiet dinner tonight at the riad and an early night. 

Last nights dinner at the square - salad,
squid and beef with couscous

The obligatory photo

The square at night is empty during the day

Fireplace surround in the Palais Bahia (I think)

Un hotel du golf with a golf course attached

Camel riding opportunities were everywhere

We found MacDonalds

The architecture is wonderful - the musee was well worth the price

I found a poncho for Phonz.

I also found Tony hiding behind a pillar

and at the end of the day I found a place to put my feet :-)

Agadir or not Agadir

I thought I had booked into a hotel in Agadir but as we were driving along the coast I realized, using the GPS, that it was a little area before Agadir called Plage du Taghazout about 15 km north. Pays to enlarge Google maps when I search for hotels.
Anyway, Riad Imourane, didn't quite live up to Riad al Zahia in Essaouira. It was a little more basic but they tried hard to accommodate us. We were only there for one night thank God because the call to prayer lasted 45 minutes each time instead of the regular 5 minutes and the neighbor's dog needed shooting. It barked at anything that moved right through the night. It was not a good experience but we coped. The beach was great! We decided to walk to it for a swim (Tony not me - too cold!) and it was a great way to waste an afternoon and have some downtime before dinner and a movie (via wifi)
The drive through Agadir was like any other big city so we didn't stop as it was pretty new and we wanted to get to Marrakech by lunchtime. We followed the main highway through which turned out to be a toll road (approx $8 for 120km of beautiful 2 laned highway), twice as good and faster than the other main route.

Heading south to  Taghazout Bay

Our room at the riad. THAT is a lamp that didn't
work.

View into the garden / pool from the terrace

The sea view from the terrace

Heading to the beach.

Eat your heart out Hasselhoff!

The long walk back to the riad in the background.

Essaouira

When I first booked the stops for our Moroccan trip I had no idea what a medina was or a riad. Now I know the medina is the old city, which is usually surrounded by a wall and has many small narrow streets within it filled with shops. The khan el khalili in Cairo is one. A riad is a house/hotel with a garden in the centre.
Now that's been made clear... I managed to book us into a riad right smack in the middle of a medina in the port of Essaouira. Not the best made plan as we had to find parking for the car and pay someone to show us to our riad. Anyway once we got there we relaxed a little more, unpacked and ventured out into the alleyways of the medina. Over the 2 nights we were there we managed to find a rooftop bar, some goatskin artwork and a couple of prezzies for the kids when we see them (only small because we have to lug them around Portugal yet, Bruce and Margo). The riad we stayed in was beautiful, the medina was very old world, the port stunk of fish guts and the shops were wonderful. Being woken by seagulls and call to prayer early in the morning didn't dampen our stay at all. This place was well worth the visit.

The gulls are bigger than the NZ blackback seagulls.

Looking into the garden from our room

Our room

The safe wasn't bolted down

                                                                                               

The port was a hive of activity

Shops opened later due to Ramadan. These were on the way up
to the ramparts, which were lined with cannons used to protect the
old city. 

Tony and his friend on one of the many cannons.

I bought a beanie from this MAN who crocheted it - talent!

A herb shop - smelt wonderful.

The fish market.

Casablanca

 Casablanca can't be compared with Cairo. It has its positives - it's clean, no pollution, public transport is good, the people are very friendly and we loved speaking in a mix of English/French/Arabic with them. I have to say all those French lessons back in college have come in handy. But the city also has its negatives- it's far more expensive than Cairo (and yet the dinar is about the same as the pound), there are beggars here too, daylight saving started on the first day of Ramadan (no one told us) and the beer is very expensive!

Three days has been plenty to see the main attractions. We spent a day on the trams travelling from one end of the line to the other. Sadly there were not as many attractions along the way as we expected. We have missed the new medina and the sacre coeur cathedral because they are both off the tram track. I wouldn't trust a taxi driver to take us there after our fare from the airport cost 300 Dh to get to the hotel downtown.

Today was the day of the 11.5km walk. We decided to catch the tram to D'Ain Diab Beach and walk back to the hotel along the corniche. Not something I want to share with my physio who has been working to get my knee back in order. However, the beach, the Anfaplace Shopping Centre, the Phare D'El Hank lighthouse and the beautiful Grande Mosque all made the walk worthwhile. What was even better was the beer we had when we got back to the hotel. I'm still waiting for Tony to massage my calves though. Tomorrow we pick up the rental car and drive to a beach called Essaouira down the coast for a couple of days. Goodbye to the big city :-)

No one told us to turn our watches back an hour for daylight saving.
Waiting for McDs to open on the first day of Ramadan.

The Old Medina is much the same as the Khan but not as colourful.

Great tram system!

Tony ordered 1/2 a chicken and got 1/2 the menu. Organized
a doggy bag and gave it to a lady who was asking for money.

No this is not photoshopped. Heineken =50 Dh & Casablanca = 70 Dh

Apparently palm fronds work better in Morocco.

Caught the tram to Plage d'Ain Diab to see the Atlantic

Camel rides at the pyramids, why not horse rides at the beach?

Tony was very happy to get his feet wet.

The lines of umbrellas were mostly empty, maybe because it's Ramadan.

The walk from the beach, in the distance, to the lighthouse

The Phare D'El Hank lighthouse is surrounded by abandoned gun turrets from WW2.

The beautiful Grande Mosque Hassan ll

Summer Holidays Here We Come

Over the next 7 weeks we will cover Morocco, Portugal and Sri Lanka. So excited! Not only will we see these wonderful countries but we'll be catching up with our boys!!
Get out your maps so you can track our little adventure if you want.
Morocco - Casablanca, Essaouira, Agadir, Marrakesh, Beni Mellal, Fez, Rabat, and Tangier.
After ditching the rental car we will ferry to Tarifa (in Spain), bus to San Fernando, catch a train to Seville then cross the border into Portugal, staying at Faro where we will pick up the next car.
Portugal - Faro, Alcacer do Sal, Lisbon, Nazare, Coimbra, Aveiro and Porto where we will meet Jase and Chloe.
After our recoup in Cairo for a few days we are off again but this time to Sri Lanka to catch up with Raymond. We will fly into Colombo and stay there for a couple of days before heading to Hikkaduwa for some "beach time". We'll return to Colombo for a night to farewell Raymond then train over to Kandy to spend a couple of days in the mountains. Then it's back to Colombo and on to Cairo. Phew! I think we'll need a holiday when we get back :-)
I'll post photos as often as I can ... Another adventure begins woohoo!

Idyllic Istanbul

Would you believe I completely forgot to blog Istanbul? It's been over 6 weeks since our return from Turkey so hopefully I give the city some justice in this entry.
We planned to stay for 5 days, which was a perfect length of time to visit the typical tourist areas as well as wander around the old part of the city.
Tony was able to find a last maker among the many shoe makers and suppliers to shoe makers down the back streets opposite the Grand Bazaar. Crossing the language barrier was not easy but he spent 2 hours ducking in and out of buildings talking to the locals, who were very hospitable towards this crazy foreigner who was fascinated with their trade.
I've picked photos that I think cover most of our stay. There were so many beautiful places I couldn't take photos of them all.

Tony in line outside Hagia Sofia while I waited to buy our 3 day passes. Can you see him?

The pulpit inside Hagia Sofia. Stunning!

Outside the Hagia Sofia.

The obelisks at the Hippodrome. 

Medusa in the Cistern, an underground reservoir.

Inside the harem at the Royal Palace.

One of the many mosques in Istanbul.

The spice market was full of shops like this.

The Bosphorous is lined with many amazing buildings

The Blue Mosque

A two hour Bosphorous Tour up the West side and back along the East side.

One of the bridges which cross the Bosphorous, makes Auckland Harbour Bridge look tiny.

Alexander the Great sarcophagus in the museum - amazing marble work.
(Wasn't really his but he featured on it so much they thought it was)

View out to the Bosphorous from our hotel. We were stunned by the
number of ships we could see.

Dinner at the Cistern Restaurant came highly recommended. 

Inside the Blue Mosque. The Mohamed Ali mosque in Cairo was modeled on it.

Time for a cut-throat razor shave.

The last makers' shop.

The Istanbul Train Station - made famous by Agatha Christie

We loved Turkey. They have really got their tourism sorted - markets, transport around the city, bars and the Bosphorous. Would love to go back and do the Eastern side next time, inshallah.