Day 7: Marrakesh Medina

Marrakesh also is an imperial city, founded in 1062, although it has not been the capital of Morocco since the early 18th century.  It was a popular destination for hippies in the 1960s and 70s, and continues its reign as the tourism capital of Morocco. This was decidedly the most "touristy" place we visited while on our tour, particularly the medina.   It was hard to differentiate between what is authentic and what is a show put on just for tourists. There are horse-drawn carriages lined up Jamaa El Fna Square (some horses considerably malnourished) and the square itself is full of snake charmers and monkeys on leashes, all there to pose for photo- for a fee, of course.  Because you cannot take a photo without being harassed for payment, I have few.

 The square is filled mainly with tourists during the day.

 Entering into the souk (market) on our way to find the tiny Heritage Museum.

 The museum did not allow photos, but I couldn't help but take a few of my first attempt at writing in Arabic!

 The museum had a lovely rooftop patio.  Note the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque in the distance. All of the buildings in Marrakesh must be painted a red ocher color.  Marrakesh's nickname is "Alhambra" which means "red".

 You can see how tightly packed the buildings are in the medina.  And almost everyone has a satellite dish.