Throughout this year that I've lived in Spain, I've had the opportunity to travel to a lot of amazing cities throughout Europe. Each one has had something that made it unique. However, European cities are all basically built the same. Each city has a main plaza, a central cathedral, a castle/palace, a large park, etc. I love seeing palaces/castles as much as the next--especially since there is a dearth of castles in the United States--but I've become tired of seeing the same thing everywhere I go.
As I've traveled throughout Spain, I've seen many examples of Islamic-influenced architecture and art in cities like Granada, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Córdoba, and I've found it all fascinatingly beautiful. I've been interested in traveling to northern Africa in order to see how the original compares to how this style has manifested in Spain.
This morning, I caught the bus to Valencia, met up with some American friends at the airport, and flew to Marrakesh, Morocco.
After a slightly harrowing flight, we were met at the airport by a taxi driver who took us to our riad. A riad is a combination between a bed and breakfast and a hostel. They are usually pretty small.
Our riad was located inside the medina--the historical part of the city. We were glad that we took the taxi since finding anything in the medina (at least the first time) can be extremely confusing.
In no time, we were graciously ushered into the riad and offered tea on the rooftop terrace. In Morocco, hospitality is extremely important. It's customary to offer guests tea, and it's considered rude to refuse such an offer.
On the terrace, we met 6 of the riads "pets." Six turtles wander aimlessly around the terrace--taking shelter during the worst of the heat and sniffing (?) and climbing over guests' feet the rest of the day.
As we enjoyed our tea, we also took in the view our terrace had to offer. The roof had an amazing view of the rest of the medina. We could see into the souks and the mosque in the distance.
After settling down a little, we decided to leave the riad to find a place to eat dinner and explore the city a little more.
Our first stop was the souks--the open-air market located in the center of the medina. In the souks, people haggle for clothing, spices, food, and other items. A couple of my friends stopped and haggled for lighter clothing that will be more appropriate for our ride into the desert tomorrow.
Next, we walked into the main square--which was full of activity! There were vendors selling food and fresh orange juice. There were performers with monkeys and snakes. Once the sunset, there were also circles of people playing music.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant recommended by the man in our hostel. I had chicken couscous--which was pretty delicious. Later, we returned to the hostel in order to get some sleep before leaving at 7:30 AM to travel to the desert!
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