Touring Marrakech

In Marrakech we've been more 'tourist' than 'student'. Instead of staying inside all day, we've gone walking throughout this fascinating and beautiful city. Usually, this has involved us getting lost...very lost. But this is half the fun. Not only are we getting to know the city much better, but we're also learning how to be independent in this world that's so different from our own and we're finding 'new' and fun things.

Some times we set out looking for particular places and experiences recommended to us by Lonely Planet (a traveling book that is a 'must-have' for first-time tourists). One time we ended up looking for one of the King's Palaces, which he rarely uses. After 3 1/2 hours of looking, we finally found this palace (it turned out to be only a 45 minute walk from where we're staying). Once we finally arrived, we walked through six or seven gates and finally found a tall door. Then, behind the tall door, there was a man behind a curtain who is the wizard of this crazy land...just kidding. Actually, we weren't allowed to see the palace, and when we tried to take a picture of the door, these guards almost arrested us!



It was a crazy and frustrating experience. We also spent some time around the Koutabia Mosque, which is the largest in Marrakech. It has a large and beautiful courtyard on the opposite side from where we took this photo.



Another day, we visited an ancient palace used in the sixteenth century. It is beautiful and ornate.







This is another palace we visited. It was used by a sultan several centuries ago, but now it's haunted by some freaky birds of prey.