Marrakesh part 2

Some pictures: (keep checking back for more)http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124592&id=725549275&l=e1221e46b0

So, Sunday mornnig we woke up at around 8, got dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast. I had a pain au chocolat and some orange juice…mmm. We all left our backpacks and stuff in one room and went out to meet the tour guide.

We went to another palace and walked around. There wasn’t all that much to see, because they were busy setting it up for a huge cultural festival, complete with bleachers and a stage. We did get to walk around in the dungeon and climb up onto the terrace. It was fun.

Afterwards, the guide took us to the Ensemble Artisanal, which he described as a “Berber cooperative.” That’s not what I understood from The Lonely Planet, though. The idea I got was that it was a place where the government collected genuine Moroccan crafts and sold them for a fixed price. The thing about that is that you don’t have a chance to haggle for prices, so you usually end up paying more than you would just out in the souk buying from people who are just trying to sell their stuff. It did give me more ideas of stuff I want to buy, though, that I’ll buy in the souk in Rabat. Afterwards, we drove to the souk, and got out and walked to a Berber pharmacy. That really was cool. The guy explained all the products to us, ranging from the typical Moroccan mint tea to different oils and salves for aches and pains. I ended up buying quite a few things there, including some mint tea, so now I’ll have to buy a teapot before I leave… =).

After that, we walked around the different souk areas. We saw the shoemaking, the ironworking/blacksmithing, the weaving, etc etc. We stopped for a while at the places where they made scarves. The guy showed us a little about the colors, and then he put the scarves on some of us the way Berber women wear them. That was fun. I’ll put up pictures soon.

There was one guy in our group, a grad student from Duke, who insisted on buy somewhere almost everywhere we stopped. I appreciate that he wanted souvenirs, but I kept trying to tell him he can get the same stuff for cheaper in Rabat. He even wanted to buy a carpet! I’m not sure how exactly he was planning on getting it back in the bus or in a taxi back to his house…it was just kinda annoying that everywhere we went, he had to stop and try to buy stuff.

After the souks, we went back to the same place for lunch, and then got our stuff and headed back to Rabat. I slept on the bus (surprise again!), and then when we got back we caught a taxi back to the dorms. I expected to have a roommate when I got back, but I didn’t. I don’t think I’m getting one until next week, and maybe not even then. I’m not really sure.

So, that was my weekend in Marrakesh! Sorry for taking a while for the update.

Later tonight I’ll write about the last couple days, inshahallah. I’d do it now, but I’m about to head to a lecture on Islam.

Maa salaama!