Tales from Morocco | Marrakesh

Palmeraie Palace is situated in the outskirts of Marrakesh so we had to travel a little bit. It was interesting to know that from medieval times until around the beginning of the 20th century, the entire country of Morocco was known as the “Kingdom of Marrakesh”. And Morocco is still called “Marrakesh” to this day in many South Asian languages.

 

It turns out the city of Marrakesh has two spelling, both of them legit, the English one – Marrakesh and the French one – Marrakech. Plus it has a number of nicknames, including the “Red City”, the “Ochre City” and “the Daughter of the Desert”, and one specifically beautyful poetic analogy – “a drum that beats an African identity into the complex soul of Morocco.”

 

 

We did some sightseeing then we walked around the Menara gardens, which are botanical gardens near the Atlas Mountains. The name “menara” derives from the pavilion with a green pyramid-shaped roof and it means a “lighthouse”. The pavilion and the basin (an artificial lake) are surrounded by orchards and olive groves and it was build for irrigation of the surrounding gardens and orchards by means of a sophisticated system of underground channels.

 

The pavilion is also known to be portrayed in the COP22 logo. The 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference was an international meeting of political leaders and activists to discuss environmental issues. It was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 7-18 November 2016. The conference incorporated the twenty-second Conference of the Parties (COP22), the twelfth meeting of the parties for the Kyoto Protocol (CMP12), and the first meeting of the parties for the Paris Agreement (CMA1). The purpose of the conference was to discuss and implement plans about combatting climate change and to “demonstrate” to the world that the implementation of the Paris Agreement is underway”.

 

I hope I didn’t bore you too much, but it was my inner conference interpreter speaking :D.

 

 

We also managed to drop by for an hour or so at the souks in Medina of Marrakech (the old city). In general a souq/souk is synonymous with a bazaar or marketplace.

 

 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, as Europeans began to conquer parts of North Africa, an interest in Middle Eastern culture flourished and it spawned a genre of literary works and paintings known as Orientalism. And many of these works illustrated lavish every day scenes of Oriental lifestyles, including scenes of market places and market trade.

 

 

We had lunch at a traditional Moroccan restaurant, frequented by tourists, where we would enjoy some local everyday-type of dishes. And as you will undoubtedly notice, food is quite greasy, fried and usually pastry-like. But sinfully delicious nonetheless!

 

 

Our restaurant was called “Al Baraka”, and as far as I can gather, Barakah or Baraka in Islam is the beneficent force from God infusing both physical and spiritual spheres.

 

 

And this is Coca-Cola :D.

 

 

 

 

I simply hate bargaining, including bargaining in the countries that regard it as a national sport of sorts. But I was forced to so I can put my hands on this navy blue beauty, leaving all the gory details to myself :D.

 

 

 

It turned out that we had to have a special garment on for the traditional Moroccan dinner and this thing showed up mysteriously on my bed :D. I passed on the slippers, because they were too big.

 

 

Who would have imagined that I would be so scared to pet the camel a little bit :D.

 

 

And this is my lovely fellow interpreter from Romania and as he would like to call himself – your grandpa Radu. He is probably the most profoundly interesting person I have had the pleasure to work with. Very gentle and kind, a gentleman to the bone, extremely well-versed in English and a plethora of topics, with an amazing sense of humour.

 

 

End the story with Tales from Morocco | Menara Airport.

 

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Have a delicious afternoon,