Morocco, Marrakech - Day 1

We arrived early in the afternoon so we had time to explore that first day. We thought a hop on/hop off excursion would be the best to see the lay of the land.

This was the closest we could get and there was no hopping off. There were so many horse and carriages moving around the town. They started in the early morning and were still running late into the night. It was a great tour and introduced us to several places we wanted to go see and some we didn't. There was a very rich part of town and we had no desire to be in or see that part, it wasn't true culture.

Time to join the crowds and get some lunch.

These streets and alleys are filled with shops, some only as big as a closet. This area is called Souks (Sooks) and we had a private tour the following day so we stayed close to the main street so we didn't get lost.

These pots hold lunch for the locals. They are called Tajin (Tah.jeen). In the morning, they fill them with meat (usually chicken), beans, vegetalbes, spices and let it cook in a hot fire for several hours. It's ready at lunch time. It is then poured onto a plate, covered with a ceramic top and served. At home we would call this the crock pot.

Keith chose the tajin and I stuck with my salad. Both were very good and a great introduction to good moraccon food.

Look at the top of this tower. This is a white stork couple, guarding their nest. We have seen these all throughout Portugal and now in Morocco. They are huge birds and so are their nests. We have even seen several little bird heads pop up occassionally.