Outside the Medina
Monday, November 7, 2011 (Abraham’s day)
And yes, there is life outside the medina, and what comes with it. and yes, because of our failed trip to Touradant, we planned a day trip. We are going to Essaouria
There are five call to prayers thruought the day: 5ish am, noonish, 3ish, 6ish, and 8ish or 9ish pm. All of them according to the sun position. Today the first one was at 5:18 am, and lasted well for two hours. Everyone can hear it for it’s done via loud speakers.
We wait to be picked up outside our hotel and we can see everybody all dressed up with a mat in hand walking to the mosques. We were told that after they come back from their religious services they will slaughter the lamb and eat the head first. All of them, adults and kids wear the djellabas and the babuchas and they all look very nice.
Marrakech is quiet. There is not too much traffic and most people are walking.
In a minivan we went to pick up two more people outside the medina. We went to the modern city and to a modern hotel. We were supposed to be leaving at 8 am but the two people we went to pick up outside the were not ready (they were still sleeping), so we leave at 9:15 am.
Modern buildings are outside the medina as well as restaurants and cafes. Wide avenues and at some point one can see the Atlas mountains with its snowed peaks.
Nice two hour ride to Essaouria. The country side varies from green to brown, argan trees (where argan oil is made from) and some palm trees. We see goats in the trees. These goats chew the argan tree fruit and what’s left is what is used to make the oil from. We stopped for a break and Kimmie was trap in a restroom. She called for help and one of the ladies who was late, ignored her…
Essaouria is an 17 century port town that was built by the Portugueses. They contracted a French architect to design the port and to make it more appealing than other ports by designing the town on a grid instead as a maze.
The town is quiet and we see kids grilling lamb’s heads in improvised grills in the middle od the street. Smoke is covering the town and we just walk around and head to the boat building part to get away from the smoke.
We head back and get to the hotel where we had dinner and call it a night.