Medina

Our afternoon began by entering the Medina by another gate and walking through the warren of streets and alleys to the restaurant where we would have lunch. It was a very unassuming door in an alley like many others, but the door opened into an high ceilinged alcove with many beautiful tiled halls leading in different directions. I felt a little like a genie let our of a bottle! We followed our guide down one hall, around a corner to a second hall and into a large tea room. Off of the tea room, there were entrances to three different dining rooms. Our private dining room was the first one on the right. It was a large room with a domed ceiling in the middle with different colored glass panels and a pedestal basin in the middle of the tiled floor full of water and rose petals. Couches lined the room, and a myriad of tables dotted the space. A traditional Moroccan two piece band was by the entrance. It was magical!

We found a table with some of our friends from our tour group (there were 4 groups from the Viking Sky in Marrakesh) and settled in. We were supplied with water and bottles of red wine, which, after many hours of walking in the hotter than expected weather, were extremely well received. The musicians were playing, wine and conversation was flowing...aaaahhh! Then the food started to arrive. The first course was bread and five different dishes to eat with the bread. There were spicy lentils, grilled thinly sliced eggplant, mashed carrots, and two jelly-like sauces that we had no idea what they were made of. It was all delicious, especially when mixed together. This was followed by a large platter of couscous with many types of grilled vegetables and a tangine of chicken stewed with warm spices, orange and olives. Oh my goodness! The aroma was absolutely mouth watering! Our group made a large dent in the mountain of food before a dessert of orange slices with honey. During lunch, there were two belly dancers who performed. The first had a silver tray on her head that held a candelabra with lit candles! She danced her way around the tables, stopping now and then to convince someone to dance with her, or to place the candelabra tray on someone's head. When she concluded her performance, the lights in the room turned to blue, and a dancer with blue wings came in. It was beautiful!

Bellies full and feeling a bit sleepy, we set out to wander the craftsmen area of the Medina. There was a hide auction, leather workers turning the hides into shoes, handbags, wallets, belts...metal workers welding, grinding and hammering, weavers hard at work. The crafts people did not want to be photographed, so we respected their wishes and waited until we got to the souk (marketplace) selling their goods. The craftsmanship was phenomenal! We were still following our tour guide and had no chance to shop, which is probably a blessing in disguise.

Our goal was to reach the Ben Youssef Medrassa, Ben Youssef Madrasa was an Islamic school. The Ben Youssef Madrasa was the largest Islamic college in the Maghreb at its height. Today, it is a historical site and an exquisite example of Saadian and Moroccan architecture.

The building has a single street entrance, in front of which is a sculpted square vault. From the doorway, a narrow corridor leads to a vestibule that leads to the central courtyard with a shallow reflective pool at the center. This entryway, like in many Islamic buildings, is designed to inspire awe and astonishment in the unexpected gorgeous space that is revealed. The layout of the building centers around the main courtyard, which is surrounded by east and west galleries and student dormitories on the upper and lower levels. The student dorms were very small rooms with short doors but a magnificent view. We were given 20 minutes to wander the property on our own before our tight schedule had us moving on.

Our final stop for the day was the Jemaa el-Fnaa, the main square, and the heartbeat of the historical city center on the edge of the Medina. This area was filled with fruit sellers, vendors of goods ranging from authentic spices, clothing, and metal wear, to cheap Chinese trinkets and photos with snake charmers. We were given 20 minutes to shop, and we looked for a spice called Ras el Hanougt and the all important magnet. We found the magnet!

We returned to the hotel via our trusty bus, rested for a half hour, enjoyed a beer by the pool, and set out to find a Moroccan restaurant. There was an entire block of outdoor restaurants within walking distance, and ended our evening with the tourists from around the world, eating ground lamb and vegetable tangine and chicken skewers. What a grand day!

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