A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Morocco

To make a long story short, here are the last few pictures of my week in Morocco:

The process of making argan oil at a women's cooperative - they say that argan oil is a great beauty treatment for hair and skin, and argan butter is a tasty alternative to peanut butter.

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: A peek inside a typical shop

Here is a peek inside a typical shop in Marrakech:

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Marrakech

I'm notoriously bad at not finishing things, but I'm committed to getting this photographic diary done - Morocco is the last one, so I'm close to the end.

Here are a few photos around the city of Marrakech:

The main square, Djemaa el Fna

The day and night transformation is amazing. During the day, the square is empty. At night, there are so many people milling about. There are street performers, snake charmers, dancers, and storytellers. The energy is inspiring - I've never seen anything like it anywhere else.

I wish I had pictures to show you of the square at night, but I refrained from taking pictures at night because it seemed like you had to pay for any pictures you took of anyone.

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Moroccan Cuisine

One big thing I miss about Morocco? The mouthwatering breakfast at the riad. I DREAM of this breakfast. Imagine waking up to this:

Coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice (this seems to be a big thing in Morocco - they have tons of carts at the main square selling this stuff), Moroccan crepes like baghrir or msemmen (both are really delicious!), and a tray of two types of jams and chunks of butter. I'm planning to recreate this breakfast at home, so look out for a possible future post!

The night we arrived, we decided to explore Jmaa el Fna, the main square in Marrakech. There was so much going on, it was crazy busy and everyone was out. I think it was even more crazier than usual because of Ramadan. At the middle of the square, there are these open tents that serve dirt cheap food - you can get all of the below for about 100 dirhams, equivalent of about $13.

I ordered the mystery meat kabobs and my friend had vegetable couscous. She escaped unscathed, but I didn't feel great the next day. And the day after. And pretty much the entire week and a few days back at home.

I didn't learn. We came back the next day. They make a damn good pastilla (traditionally pigeon pie, but more popularly chicken)

So that's one dining option - the dirt cheap tents where you can grab a meal for two for less than $15. And risk getting sick. But mind you these tents were packed (although almost always with tourists).

Later that week, our tour guide recommended another restaurant, where we found ourselves on a rooftop surrounded by plush seating and a tent with fans (thank god, because Moroccan summers are oppressively HOT!). Check out the dishes below:

Another vegetable couscous.

Tagine with prunes. This was AMAZINGLY good.

Cookies and sweets for dessert

I think all of this, one dish, dessert, drinks and a plate of fruit, totaled 150 dirhams per person, or $20 per person.

After a few days had passed, we realized that the only Moroccan dishes we could find were kebobs, tagines, and couscous. And eating day after day of kebobs, tagines, and couscous can get pretty... tiring. So when we went to Essaouria (a beach town, day trip away from Marrakech where apparently Jimmy Hendrix and hippies would hang out during the 70's), we spotted a hole-in-the-wall Mexican cafe owned by a British couple (random!), called La Cantina, where I gluttoned on fresh OJ, a chicken dish, and homemade cheesecake! Anyway, the point is that I was really surprised at the lack of variety.

Throughout the week, we befriended a lampseller at the souks and asked him what was up with the food. He said it was because kebobs, tagines, and couscous cost the least to make and therefore make the most money. Moroccans have much more to offer foodwise, but you can't really try it without being invited to someone's home for dinner. We were told most Moroccans almost always eat at home, by food that their wife or (in his case) mother prepared. And then he said he would have invited us, but we had told him we were leaving the next day.

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: My Moroccan Riad

Originally, I never really had plans to go to Morocco. Morocco was so out of my comfort zone, it never really popped into my head when I thought about where I wanted to travel. I wanted to travel to Greece or Spain, but then my friend suggested Morocco and it seemed so random and so exotic that I agreed enthusiastically. So we bought tickets to Marrakesh and booked a riad, with plans to stay in Morocco for one week.

Flying from Lyon to Marrakesh was so stressful, figuring out how to pack and carry all those heavy bags was a nightmare! My friend and I were constantly over the weight limit and quickly learned how expensive it is to pay for overweight fees. After all that heavy lifting, you can imagine my delight when I saw....

this bed! Looks like it's made for a Moroccan princess!

The design seems modern, but in actuality modern design derives its inspiration (in part) from the traditional Moroccan style.

Yes, that's a crap load of bags. I wasn't kidding when I said "heavy lifting".

I have way too many pics and stories to tell about Morocco, so rather than tackle everything at once, I'm gonna try to break it down into small posts - so stay tuned for the next installment!