Marrakech, Morocco

Awoke this morning at 5:55am to the soothing echoes of the “adhan” from the nearby Mosque. Marrakech is the most intoxicating city. I’m in love with it! I can see why Winston Churchill was a huge fan of La Mamounia hotel. The Moroccan charm and decor is just breathtaking and the service is impeccable. The aroma of orange scent permeates and soothes the senses as you walk throughout the property. There is a heavy French influence here with French, Arabic and English being the 3 main languages spoken. It is the perfect tranquil location for us to wind down from our whirlwind NG expedition. Today we toured the City of Marrakech (the “red city”) by foot. The entire city has been designated a Unesco Heritage Site. We began our walk in the older section of the Medina, the walls of which were built in 1126. We strolled through the labyrinth narrow streets through all the maze-like passageways. The labyrinthine souks of Marrakech are a bit like the hidden marketplaces in Shanghai…an assault to the senses. Because of the very narrow streets, medinas are generally free from car traffic, but there was some motorcycle and bicycle traffic. The Medina is packed with Vendors and their stalls lining up one after another. We visited a little old man who serves as the bread baker for the area. He stands within a 3 foot pit in front of a wood fire oven cooking breads all day. We passed by stalls with beef and chickens hanging on hooks. There are leather goods for sale, metal lanterns, Moroccan clothing and shoes, silver trinkets, herbs and so forth. It is a shopping Mecca. Then we toured Ben Youseff Medersa, a religious college founded in the 14th Century. From there we walked through the craftsman area of the Souk, viewing shops of leather makers and metal workers. The Souk is a cacophony of sights and sounds. There were such beautiful intricately detailed lock and key sets being made. We then toured Bahia Palace and ended with an outdoor viewing of the Koutoubia Mosque. I managed to get through the day without running into a snake charmer! Yeah! Lunch back at the hotel was an amazingly fabulous and expansive fare. The choices were endless. Enjoyed a bit of Moroccan cuisine as well as Mediterranean and American dishes. So delicious. We decided to skip the afternoon excursions and visits to the Souks opting instead to relax and rest. Heading down to the fabulous indoor pool and then the spa. I’m having the Morrocan Hammam Evasion (traditional black soap followed by Rhassoul mosh followed by an Orange Infusion). Jim is having the Pressure Point Foot Massage. Tonight was our end of trip celebration. We had a fabulous Moroccan feast with musicians singing and Belly Dancers performing. EDUCATIONAL NOTES: Morocco has a population of 32 million. 1.2 million people live in Marrakesh. Largely still an agriculture country with phosphate production being the main trade product. Mohammed IV is the leader of the country today. Very strict architectural guidelines–sll buildings have to be the same reddish earth color and building height is limited. There are no skyscrapers. Almost an Andalusian architectural style feel to the buildings. THE KOUTOUBIA MOSQUE The Koutoubia Mosque, located in Marrakesh’s Djemaa el Fna Square, is a landmark and the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. The meaning of the word ‘mosque’ is the place where one bows down in a prayer. The Koutoubia Mosque was completed under the reign of the Almohad dynasty Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199) and was used as model for the Giralda of Seville then for the Hassan Tower of Rabat. The name is derived from the Arabic al-Koutoubiyyin for librarian, since it used to be surrounded by sellers of manuscripts. Koutoubia Mosque, is often referred to in literature as the “bookseller’s mosque” and was named after the souk of koutoubiyyin, where sellers of manuscripts in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries laid out books and scripts on stalls on front of the original mosque. The minaret is subject to seven legends that symbolize Marrakesh’s seven patrons. Among the seven, the most famous according to legend, is that the balls of the minaret were originally made of pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three. The fourth was donated by the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to fashion the fourth globewhich she offered in atonement for breaking the Ramadan fast. The balance of the balls is supposed to be kept by the influence of the planets. Koutoubia Mosque is most famous for its minaret towers. Although they were originally displeasing to Muslims because they did align with Mecca and thus had to be rebuilt, their new design was so well done that many future mosque designs were modeled after the minaret by architects in the 13th and 14th century. The minaret of the Koutoubia was the model for the minaret of the Giralda mosque in Seville which in its turn has influenced thousands of church towers in Spain and Eastern Europe (the churches on the red square in Moscow), and later for many buildings throughout the United States of America (including the Manhattan Municipal Building and Russia (primarily during the Stalinist era). The minaret rises two hundred and fifty two feet in the air and is a symbol of Marrakesh. It is considered the ultimate structure of its kind. The tower is 69 m (221 ft) in height and has a lateral length of 12.8 m (41 ft). Six rooms (one above the other) constitute the interior; leading around them is a ramp by way of which the muezzin could ride up to the balcony. It is built in a traditional Almohad style. The tower is adorned with four copper globes, has pink stone walls decorated with floral motifs and other carvings visible on buildings throughout Morocco. Years ago, the top of the minaret was embellished with turquoise, blue and white colors. While Islam dictates that mosques are not to allow non-Muslim visitors, three exceptions are the mosques of Casablanca, Meknes and Fes. Traditionally, Muslims must show respect for a mosque by removing their shoes before entering. It is also common practice to wash one’s face, hands and feet at the central fountain. If you are fortunate to enter, please remember to respect these sacred traditions. In Morocco and other Muslim countries, mosques are always positioned in a square or a medina of a town. Mosques are typically characterized by minarets (often green), from the top of the muezzin. The muezzin is the Muslim call to prayer which channels out from a mosque five times a day sung by an Emam and more often today is a recorded tape and always amplified by speakerphone. Before dawn, midday, afternoon, before sunset, and nighttime you will hear the muezzin call sounding across all of Morocco in unison. The most important day of prayer is Friday at noon. The original grounds where Koutoubia Mosque stands were occupied by an Almoravid mosque. The Almoravids were conquered by the Almohads in 1147, and consequentially their mosque was destroyed and later rebuilt by the Almohads. Evidence of the Almoravids exists at the end of the mosque’s prayer hall where there is an elaborately carved pulpit. It is believed to have been donated by the Almoravid sultan Ali ben Youssef. The Koutoubia Mosque, which is one of the largest in the world, has sixteen parallel, identical naves and a larger central nave. There are one-hundred twelve columns covering a floor area of 58,000 sq. ft. Although the Koutoubia Mosque is not open to non-Muslims, centuries of Muslims have prayed within the confines of its beautiful walls. THE EL BAHIA PALACE The El Bahia Palace was built for Ahmed Ibn Moussa (or Ba Ahmed) between 1894 and 1900 in the Alawi style that was popular at the time. Craftsmen were brought from Fez to work on this monumental task which took approximately fifteen years to complete. It is said that the palace was built as a home for Ba Ahmed’s official concubines, and it has also been said that the importance or favor of each concubine increased along with the size of their bedroom. The name ‘Bahia’ means ‘palace of the beautiful’ and this would certainly seem to fit the purpose of this massive palace. There are 160 different rooms in the palace which are sprawled out in an open, rambling fashion. The reception halls and private quarters are lavishly decorated and there are several tiled courts – often complete with water features – that serve as open air areas where the women could have washed and rested themselves. Decorations take the form of subtle stucco panels, zellij decorations, tiled floors, smooth arches, carved-cedar ceilings, shiny marble (tadlak) finishes and zouak painted ceilings. As if this wasn’t enough, the palace is surrounded by an eight-hectare garden where visitors can literally lose themselves in the beauty of the place. Though the entire palace is sometimes closed when the royal family come to town, it is usually open for touring. Because of its size you may want to hire a guide who will not only ensure that you don’t get lost, but give you fascinating snippets of information to make your tour of this popular attraction in Marrakech even more worthwhile. THE BEN YOUSEFF MADRASA The Ben Youssef Madrasa was an Islamic college in Marrakesh, Morocco, named after the Almoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106–1142), who expanded the city and its influence considerably. It is the largest Medrasa in all of Morocco. The college was founded during the period of the Marinid (14th century) by the Marinid sultan Abu al-Hassan and allied to the neighbouring Ben Youssef Mosque. The building of the madrasa was re-constructed by the Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557–1574). In 1565 the works ordered by Abdallah al-Ghalib were finished, as confirmed by the inscription in the prayer room. Its 130 student dormitory cells cluster around a courtyard richly carved in cedar, marble and stucco. The carvings contain no representation of humans or animals as required by Islam, and consist entirely of inscriptions and geometric patterns. This madrasa was one of the largest theological colleges in North Africa and may have housed as many as 900 students. One of its best known teachers was Mohammed al-Ifrani (1670-1745). Closed down in 1960, the building was refurbished and reopened to the public as an historical site in 1982.