Africa

Medersa Ben-Youssef

After spending my entire first day feasting and wandering around the souks, I made a lofty attempt to see all the tourist sites in one day. Of course, I missed a few things along the way, but it was so overwhelmingly beautiful and episodic, I thought I would do a photo dump here to try to recreate it.

Marrakech Museum

Kasbah Mosque

Badi Palace

Inside Mamounia Hotel

One of many Morocco city gates

Yves Saint Laurent Gardens (a.k.a. Jardin Majorelle)

Saadian Tombs

The Seven Pillars

Mamounia Hotel

The souks after close.

Special Thanks to my photographer, Oliver Marsh.

When I arrived in Marrakech, I was so overwhelmed by the souks, language difference, and sleep deprivation after our 6 AM Ryanair flight and my recent exams, I spent the majority of the day wandering aimlessly through the souks, attempting to haggle and marvelling at the low costs. One of the grandest sights in Marrakech is the Koutoubia Mosque, which dominates the skyline in several directions thanks to its height. Next to it is the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa. During the day the place is covered with orange juice salesmen (who will sell you fresh-squeezed orange juice for a standard 4 Moroccan dirham= roughly 40 cents.. unless you flirt a little). At night, the square stays open very late, dinner spots open up, storytellers attract crowds with their stories, and someone is bound to try to (if you look like a tourist) get you to take a picture with a snake. This square backs up into a spiderweb of souks (or markets), selling everything from brass to baby clothes. Among my purchases I counted: a small kettle (to make mint tea, of course), placemats, a fez (you know me), a 2 sets of Berber earrings and a ring (authenticity lacking), and Ras El Hanout (a blend of spices only to be found in Morocco). I saved the sites for the following day