Marrakesh (day 11)

Traditionally the day started with breakfast and with a full stomach we got in the bus again. This time not to go to another city, but to drive to the medina of Marrakesh. This was tii far away to walk.

Inside the medina we first walked to a traditional pharmacist, where we had an explanation about all the (medicinal) spices, oils and crèmes which we were allowed to smell, smear or inhale. After this explanation we had the ability to buy something. Next we continued walking inside the medina towards a restaurant to have a coffee break. After the coffee break we continued to the Bahá'í palace, which once belonged to a (16 years old) sultan. In this palace there were nicely decorated ceilings of cedar wood and some nice mosaic floors. After visiting this palace we were given the choice if we first wanted to have lunch or go to the souk first. Hereby our guide also told us that one person in our group had sent a complaint to the travel agency about the guide, that he would have us under his control in the choice of restaurants, which is nonsense because the choice of restaurant is made by the travel agency and not by the guide. The guide only leads us to the restaurants and tells us what dishes we can choose from. Because of this complaint the guide is a week without a job. The rest of the group thinks the guide is really doing more than his best and this complaint is absurd. Anyway, we chose to have lunch first and after that to go to the souk. After lunch, we walked to the market square and the souk (the souk of Marrakesh is the biggest covered market of Africa), where we were yesterday as well. Though some parts we weren't there before, like all the craft work stalls where things like shoes, wood carving, metallurgy, leather painting and so on is done by hand (excluding metallurgy, that's done by modern machines like welding machines and grinder). After visiting the souk we got picked up by the bus and brought back to the hotel. In the hotel room we could relax for about an hour and after that we had dinner. At dinner, we agreed with the group that we should send an e-mail to the travel agency on behalf of the group that we distance ourselves from the complaint, that the guide is doing great work, that we are satisfied with him and that his suspension should be reversed. Tomorrow we will drive to seaside resort Essouira, along ht Atlantic Ocean. We will stay there for two nights.

Day 10

Travel overview

Day 12