السلام عليكم!
Today's going to be a long post , so I'm going to write it out so the video doesn't take forever to upload :) !
I just got back an hour ago to my home in Fez from my trip to Marrakesh. The kitties outside my house are meowing and it definitely feels like home <3.
My friends and I left to Marrakesh right after our classes on Friday and took the 1pm train down to Marrakesh. We took second class and the trains were very clean. The train had compartments that held 8 people, so 3 of us from my group sat together in one compartment along with people we didn't know. The people we met on the way there were very nice and they wanted to practice their English with us so we talked to them in a mix of English, Arabic and Dharija (the Moroccan dialect) along with sharing incredibly sweet watermelon and these Moroccan dumplings that were dipped in honey and sesame seeds. It took us seven and a half hours to get to Marrakesh. Those seven hours were incredibly scenic -- I saw the Atlantic Ocean, mountains, plains and rivers. When we arrived at the train station, we decided to walk to our hostel. We only had a map and compass and miraculously found our way there within forty-five minutes. The hostel was new, very pretty and incredibly welcoming. After settling in, we went to eat dinner at the Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء), a very busy square of the city that had a bazaar, tented restaurants, entertainers and food stands in every corner. It was an absolutely gorgeous experience with it's music, candles, lights and smells in the night. One of my favorite things about the square were the many lantern sellers who light their lanterns with candles inside. It was absolutely breath taking.
On Saturday, I got breakfast for 50 cents and it basically consisted of two scrumptious pastries. We passed by the Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء) again and there were ladies approaching us for henna, people with monkeys and snakes who wanted to let us hold them and many freshly squeezed orange juice vendors. The square was on route to our next destination, which were the palaces in the city. The first palace was closed, so we decided to visit a tomb which housed past rulers. The second palace was close by and we even saw the arena where lion fights used to take place. Needless to say, it was beautiful. We decided to wander in the many market areas, and it was such a sensual experience for my senses- the smells, sights and noises were breathtaking. There were many spice, leather, jewelry and lantern stores. In fact, Marrakesh is famous for it's jewelry and leather. The store keepers were very friendly, gave us tea and showed us their entire inventory. It was a nice experience to smell and sample the spices in a spice store. At first I got some good prices, but then when we started heading back to Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء), I started to get ripped off. However, by the end of the day, I was able to bargain my way to a great price for a lantern I got! For our dinner, we sat at a terrace overlooking Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء). The view was absolutely beautiful and the dish I ordered was delicious.
Today basically consisted of eating breakfast and getting back to Fez. We got a little lost when we tried looking for the closest taxi stand to the station, but we got back in one piece.
الحمد لله.
مع السلامة,
Naheed
Today's going to be a long post , so I'm going to write it out so the video doesn't take forever to upload :) !
I just got back an hour ago to my home in Fez from my trip to Marrakesh. The kitties outside my house are meowing and it definitely feels like home <3.
My friends and I left to Marrakesh right after our classes on Friday and took the 1pm train down to Marrakesh. We took second class and the trains were very clean. The train had compartments that held 8 people, so 3 of us from my group sat together in one compartment along with people we didn't know. The people we met on the way there were very nice and they wanted to practice their English with us so we talked to them in a mix of English, Arabic and Dharija (the Moroccan dialect) along with sharing incredibly sweet watermelon and these Moroccan dumplings that were dipped in honey and sesame seeds. It took us seven and a half hours to get to Marrakesh. Those seven hours were incredibly scenic -- I saw the Atlantic Ocean, mountains, plains and rivers. When we arrived at the train station, we decided to walk to our hostel. We only had a map and compass and miraculously found our way there within forty-five minutes. The hostel was new, very pretty and incredibly welcoming. After settling in, we went to eat dinner at the Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء), a very busy square of the city that had a bazaar, tented restaurants, entertainers and food stands in every corner. It was an absolutely gorgeous experience with it's music, candles, lights and smells in the night. One of my favorite things about the square were the many lantern sellers who light their lanterns with candles inside. It was absolutely breath taking.
On Saturday, I got breakfast for 50 cents and it basically consisted of two scrumptious pastries. We passed by the Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء) again and there were ladies approaching us for henna, people with monkeys and snakes who wanted to let us hold them and many freshly squeezed orange juice vendors. The square was on route to our next destination, which were the palaces in the city. The first palace was closed, so we decided to visit a tomb which housed past rulers. The second palace was close by and we even saw the arena where lion fights used to take place. Needless to say, it was beautiful. We decided to wander in the many market areas, and it was such a sensual experience for my senses- the smells, sights and noises were breathtaking. There were many spice, leather, jewelry and lantern stores. In fact, Marrakesh is famous for it's jewelry and leather. The store keepers were very friendly, gave us tea and showed us their entire inventory. It was a nice experience to smell and sample the spices in a spice store. At first I got some good prices, but then when we started heading back to Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء), I started to get ripped off. However, by the end of the day, I was able to bargain my way to a great price for a lantern I got! For our dinner, we sat at a terrace overlooking Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء). The view was absolutely beautiful and the dish I ordered was delicious.
Today basically consisted of eating breakfast and getting back to Fez. We got a little lost when we tried looking for the closest taxi stand to the station, but we got back in one piece.
الحمد لله.
Lantern vendor at night.
So many spices !
Jamaa al-Fnae (جامع الفناء) in the afternoon.
The lion fighting arena at the Palace.
مع السلامة,
Naheed
No comments:
Post a Comment