Local time: April 30, 2015
Finally, Morocco travel in earnest.
A wonderful city that is both dynamic and historic.
Day 7: Full day to explore Marrakech. No driving. Marrakech was the capital of the first dynasty of the Berber people, the indigenous people of Morocco. It was called the Mourabit dynasty and the Mouawahid dynasty, which for some reason I remembered from high school as a strangely fitting name for world history.
I went back to my riad at 4:00 p.m. and took a rest. At 4:00 p.m., I went back to the riad for a rest, and went back to the square at night. I hope you had a good time in Marrakech.
Basically, Marrakech is an Arab city with brown mud houses, but there are many places where gorgeous Arab architecture remains as if it were the capital of a dynasty.
In the morning, I saw the Saadian Tombs and Bahir Palace in the historical site area. In the afternoon, I visited the Marrakech Museum and Ben Youssef Madrasa on the north side of the souk. I think the atmosphere is similar to the Alhambra Palace in Andalusia, Spain.
The most impressive and enjoyable facility was the Ben Youssef Madrasa, which was used as an Islamic seminary from the 16th century to the middle of the 20th century. The entrance fee was only 10 DH, but it was well worth the visit.
Dining in Marrakech
As for the food, we chose a café terrace a short distance from the Plaza de la Jama el Fna for lunch, and a food stall in the Plaza de la Jama el Fna for dinner.
We chose tajine for lunch and brochette and couscous for dinner. The taste is not good.
I really liked the “Moroccan Salad!” It’s tomatoes and onions finely chopped and tossed with peppers and oil and cumin, and it’s really delicious. I’m sure I’ll be having it again and again.
ちなみにモロッコ料理は、タジン、クスクス、ブロシェットくらいしかありません、これらもきっと食べ続けるのかと思います（笑）
It was the effect of the food poisoning of the previous two days, but his appetite seemed to have come back a lot. But his appetite seemed to have come back, but he still wasn’t at his best. Because of that, his physical strength was not back yet. But fortunately, we only visited Marrakech on this day, and there was a riad near the center of the city, so we had enough time for sightseeing and didn’t exhaust our strength excessively.
Marrakech was a very charming city!
I’ll try to write down my overall impression of the last city of Marrakech.
For me, Marrakech was the first place where I came into contact with authentic North African Arab culture. The density of Arab people and city, the dustiness of the city, and the friendliness of the people were certainly there in Marrakech, but I felt that they were calmer than Arabs in Jerusalem and Palestine. It may be that I just got used to Arabs a little, but I think they were not as pushy as Jerusalem and Palestine.
Even so, Marrakech is energetic because it is one of the best cities in Morocco. Tourists also come from all over the world. Certainly I saw people from various countries. Especially, I think there were many European people such as French and German.
The most attractive point of this city is that it has both Arab bustle and royal cultural assets. In particular, the beauty of the interior of the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the Marrakech Museum located on the north side of the Jamaa el Fna Square, was remarkable.
I would love to revisit Marrakech sometime.
Tomorrow is Ait Ben Haddou. The drive starts in earnest tomorrow.
