After several days of basically working around the clock it was just about time for everyone to head home. The last planned activity was a walking tour of Marrakesh. I had not made a point of visiting a few places over the weekend as I wasn't completely sure what would be on the tour and I didn't want any repeats. I normally don't care for tours like this, and all of the backpacker instincts in me were screaming to abort from the get go. However, Marrakesh is a place where a tour is a good idea. The Medina is a maze and everything is difficult to find. A tour can not only help you get your bearings, but also find those really hidden places that you might have never even thought about visiting.
Our tour guide, whose name I don't remember, began by leading us through a maze-like area. For some reason, it frightened me more to cross the moped filled and busy streets with a large group, than it did when I was on my own. I kept worrying that someone wasn't paying attention, or that they would get distracted and lost.
Our first stop was a pre-school, or perhaps a kindergarten. The children all seemed very happy and were waving at us and smiling for pictures. I tried to ask one little girl what her name was, she didn't understand and simply stared at my blond hair. Right next door was the communal bakery. Women made dough at home and then would bring it to the baker to use the oven. After a couple of pictures our guide mentioned that the baker would want tips. That's when I put my camera down. Don't tell me 5 pictures in that he wants money. Also, I had told my event planner that I wanted things like that taken care of on the tour.
We spent some time wandering around the back allies of the souk that many tourists never quite make it to. This gave us more of a local, and less kitchy view of the Medina. At the various shops there were many kids working. Our guide explained that the kids went to school Monday through Thursday and then on Fridays had apprenticeships. It was still odd to see 12 year old kids working with metal or selling dates. He said that we could take pictures, but that the kids wanted tips as well. Here's where I don't mind tipping. Unfortunately I didn't have any small change, but a member of our group gave the boys a rather large tip and we all snapped away.
One of our stops was at the 600 year old Caravan hotel. This is where travelers, mostly merchants, would stop for a few days. It was the Ritz of the 16th century. Most of it had been turned into small apartments and it was looking a little worse for wear. Still, the location was great and it was possible to imagine how beautiful it once was.
The Ben Youssef Medersa is a 16th century koronic school and is simply breathtaking. The detailed stucco work was amazing. I kept taking picture after picture, knowing that none of them would do it justice. The students, almost 900 during the Medersa's heyday, where housed in small prison-like cells. There were about 8 cells to a courtyard and a sky light. For fun a co-worker jumped in a cell and we “locked” him in.
We also made a stop at the Museum of Marrakesh. I would have liked to have spent more time here. We took a quick look at some Berber rugs. The wood carvings above the doors were amazing. I kept clicking away at them, but never quite taking a picture that would do them justice. One section of the museum had at one time been a haman. Now it is just a functionless example of its past use. The oven, off to the side of the hamman, had been repurposed to hang some blue torso-looking pieces of modern art.
Eventually we ended up at Djemma El Fna. The guide paid off the snake guy and our small group clicked away. The snake charmer tried to get everyone to wear a snake around their necks. Everyone declined, I'd already done it so at least I wasn't a wimp like everyone else!
Our last stop was really no surprise, it was a carpet store. I'd heard of these, but I didn't realize just how much of a show these guys put on. Over about a 15 minute time span the store owner (I think) talked about different types of Berber carpets. While he was talking his employees rolled out one rug after another. In no time there must have been about 50 unrolled rugs piled up on the floor. I think the pile came up almost to my knees. This intricate display was all for naught though, as no one wanted to buy.
After the tour my boss and I had considered getting a private tour guide to visit some other areas of Marrakesh. However, both of us were exhausted and all I really wanted to do was to take a nap.
Later that night we met up for a nice dinner. Afterwards I was left to enjoy Marrakesh on my own for one more day.
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