Marrakech Markets

We arrived in our final city of the two week long tour, Marrakech. Once again, the desolate and empty landscape still managed to create an aura that amazes the mind. It's difficult to comprehend the vastness of the dirty and dusty planes that disappear over the horizon in every direction. It is both scary and beautiful. The capacity for the ancient people to utilise the little the land provides to create a bustling and productive society is difficult to comprehend. After some hours of driving through this landscape, we arrived to ensure that we could fit in a tour that would last us a few hours. This was a great tour, and although strapped for time, allowed us to explore the world famous Marrakech Medina and experience some beautiful riads. We started, however, right smack bang in the middle of the Medina, where every direction appeared to lead you nowhere. The ancient city centre has been growing since the 12th century and, as such, does not have any sort of urban planning. Had you asked me to traverse the narrow and confusing streets, I would have forfeited instantly. Many streets are long, busy, and lead nowhere. Luckily, we had a guide who could easily lead us to the first location. This was the Bahia Palace. This was very interesting, but also a rude reawakening to the life of a tourist. We had avoided the busy crowds for the whole 2 weeks in Morocco, and even more going back to my time back in Europe nearly 3 months ago, yet this couldn't last forever. It was back to battling through crowds, avoiding "influences" cameras, and having hundreds of people in all your photos. A life I did not miss. Nonetheless, I tried my best to push this to the back of my mind and enjoy the experience. The riad was the home to a very wealthy man back in the 19th century and reflects both aspects. It is massive, occupying 2 acres in the Medina centre, reflecting the wealth of the man. And despite being old, the condition of the building is clearly a reference to the relatively young age of the structure compared to the rest of the Medina. The man who owned it, Si Moussa, was a grand vizier of the sultan. This is essentially the representative of the sultan, allowing the sultan to enjoy his life of luxury without the stresses of kingship. In other words, the second most powerful and wealthy man in Morocco, and likely North Africa at the time. His luck doesn't stop there, as the man also managed to secure himself many wives. Something only allowed in the Muslim faith if the man could prove his capacity to look after all of them. This is the only rule that had to be abided by in the olden days. Which of course Si Moussa could do. Perhaps more interestingly, polygamy is still a practice that can be exercised in the modern age of Islam. Although incredibly rare, a man is able to have many wives if he satisfies a few key criteria. First, as in the old day, he has to be able to prove his capacity to afford to maintain their lifestyles. Secondly, he has to treat each and every single one equally. This relates to the money he spends on them, the time he spends with them, and the importance he lays with their children. Additionally, the man is restricted to 4 wives at a maximum. Finally, and the reason that this is becoming acceptionally rare nowadays, the first wife has to agree to allow for her husband to marry again. Muslim men joke that although it is legal, it is illegal to the real lawmakers of society, the women. We then learnt a little bit more about Muslim culture and society before continuing through the Riad to the exit. Even throughout this incredibly important tourism artefact, the effects of the earthquake are still present throughout. Something that would repeat all throughout our experience in Marrakech. A tragedy when you see the poverty some live in already.

The next was the maze of the Marrakech markets. This was an amazing experience. The Medina has changed very little in the centuries leading up to the modern day, so we wandered around and took some cool photos of the daily lives of the locals. The hustle and bustle of the markets meant that traversing the crowds wasn't always easy, and on a couple of occasions we lost sight of our guide, but always managed to find him. He showed us around for a couple of hours before dropping us off at our restaurant where we would be having dinner. It was Kylies birthday, so her friend had booked her a table to celebrate. It was very fancy with nice cocktails and amazing food. We all had a lot of drinks and more fun. On our walk home, we headed back through the busy Medina, this time at night. It had somehow managed to get even busier and more lively. It was a little bit too much, so we didn't stick around for too long. We watched some acts and listened to some Moroccan music before heading back to the hotel for bed.Read more