Another Piece of the Jigsaw: Morocco in Photos

It's been almost a week since my adventures in Morocco and I can honestly say, it was the best of my three side trips. I loved Dublin for it's familiarity and size, I love Prague for it's richness of culture and history, but I loved Morocco for it's smells, the people, the culture, the weather, the history, and so much more.

Marrakesh, Morocco was like unlike anywhere I have ever been. In many ways it reminded me of Istanbul and in other ways it reminded me of the smaller cities in Kenya. But, the winding alley ways, the markets, the square, the museums, the riads, and the mosques were totally unique (at least compared to my tiny experience).

I could probably go on forever describing every detail of our trip (ask Nathan, I talked non stop for at least a half hour before he could get a single word in) but I'll just share some photos with you instead.

We tried to find the Palmerie but ended up at the Jardin Majorelle.

I love the detail in design.

We found the Palmerie, but not the camels.

So we hailed a taxi back to the square.

And went to a museum of caftans instead!

And then to an old Koranic school.

And then hung out in the square

And watched some snake charming.

The day we went mountain climbing in the Ourika Valley...

Traditional Moroccan plant based medicine.

These bridges are everywhere across this river.

I made it!

After the bridge.

Pointing us in the right direction

The small waterfall.

Half way to our destination.

Brandon at the top of the second waterfall.

At the second waterfall.

Our camel ride in the rain!

Brandon eating snails in the market. You could still see the eyes, so I graciously declined!

Our hostel, a converted riad. Riads are the old mansions in the cities. Many of them have been converted into hotels and bed and breakfasts, but many are still owned by locals and foreign transplants.

They all look kind of grimy from the outside. Generally, wealthy Moroccans don't want people to know how much money they have, so they keep the outside of their property looking run down and then have exquisite interior design. This became a little more clear to us when we stood on the terrace of our hostel and looked around at all of the surrounding private terraces.