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A trip to Morocco
Part 2: Some things
never change
We
have mint tea at the Museum tearoom. We start to walk back
to Jamaa el-Fna. We leave our earlier route. We pass through
an archway marked Bijoux. We are suddenly in the Souq. The
gazelle and her mothers are enchanted. We mill about in the
Souq, not knowing where we're going. We're overwhelmed by
the crowds, by the variety of goods on sale. After an hour
or so, the Souq suddenly deposits us in Jamaa el-Fna. We are
tired from all the walking. For one euro, a taxi returns us
to our hotel.
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The
next day is sunny and hot. After the breakfast ritual ordeal,
we take a taxi. We descend at La Majorelle, a garden owned
by Yves St Laurent. Although full of people, the garden is
calm and calming. Some people we noticed at breakfast are
there.
There are giant cactuses. There is a pool with waterlilies
and goldfish. Orderly people take turns to use the same viewpoints.
Orderly people take turns to take the same pictures. There
is a blue museum of Islamic art in the garden. Some men are
painting it even bluer. We enter. It is cool in the museum.
The objects are disappointing. But it is cool. We return to
the garden. We stay till it closes for lunch.
We
take a taxi to the Hilton pastry shop in the new town. We
buy an assortment of sticky pastries and eat them outside.
Then, with damaged appetites, we eat at the Boule de Neige
next door.
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We
take a taxi to Jamaa el-Fna. We walk back to the hotel for
a siesta. At half past three we emerge. We take a taxi through
Mellah, the Jewish quarter of the medina. We arrive at the
Palace de la Bahia. It is just closing. The two couples from
our hotel arrive. They too are disappointed.
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We
walk through an arch to a narrow alley leading to the nearby
Dar Si Said museum. There is an exhibition of woodwork. At
the arch we are offered three thousand camels. The museum
is closed on Tuesdays. Our guidebook didn't mention this.
We meet the couples from our hotel again.
Finally
we go to a small museum in a riad. The house belongs to a
Dutch resident, Bert Flint. It is called the Maison Tiskiwin.
You can smell cooking. The house is built around two courtyards.
There are intricately patterned ceilings, elaborately tiled
rooms and recesses, a courtyard with a tree and a bench. The
couples from our hotel arrive.
The
texts in the first room stress the importance of having an
expensive saddle to being sexually attractive. Some things
never change. We return to the hotel.
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Another
day. After the usual breakfast routine, we return to the Palace
de la Bahia. Going in, we meet my sister-in-law who is just
leaving. She is with a tour group. They are visiting the Imperial
Cities (Fez, Meknes, Volubilis and ... Marrakesh). They have
a much faster rhythm than us. They are visiting three sites
per morning, and probably as many per afternoon. It is a cultural
marathon I am unwilling to run. There is a long shady alley
of trees leading to the Palace. In the palace there are intricately
patterned ceilings, elaborately tiled rooms and recesses,
a courtyard. I get a feeling of déjà-vu.
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From
the Palace we walk along a narrow alley. To our surprise we
reach Jamaa el-Fna. All alleys lead to Jamaa el-Fna. At Toubkal
we eat well for less than 2 euros each including drinks. We
wander around some more. On a broad pedestrian street we discover
a pastry shop. There is a quiet cafe at the back. We buy 200
grams of pastry. We drink mint tea. We take a taxi to the
hotel. My sister-in-law arrives. She has to get up early for
the marathon.
We
go to eat in a riad on the alley to Palace de la Bahia. It
is called Dar Mimoun. We walk in. There are lots of colours.
The restaurant is like a museum. The waiter wears traditional
robes and a deep red fez. We are seated in an elaborately
tiled recess with an intricately patterned ceiling. It is
like a tent in the desert. The furniture is soft. There is
a faint odour of cat's piss. We look out on the central courtyard.
There are many plants.
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