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The Little Explorers' Journal
Archie's Marrakesh Journal
Intrepid Explorers Log #2
Hey,
My name is Archie, and I’m one of the Intrepid Explorers. Whenever I travel somewhere, I write about my travel experiences in a journal.
Today, we’re heading to Marrakesh in Morocco.
I just spent a few days there with my friends Violet, Ruby, Max and Alex, and so much has happened!
If you haven’t read the story of our adventure yet, you can find it here.
Our first two days in Marrakech were hectic.
When Max’s parents invited us along, we thought we'd just wander the city, try the local food, and visit a few landmarks. But, of course, things didn’t go as planned.
We had to track down the stolen Golden Dinars of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, which had been hidden all over the city. It wasn’t easy. We had to solve riddles first and escape a powerful man who was after the coins, too. But we found the coins and gave them to the authorities in two days—no big deal! ;)
On our last day, we left our riad to explore the Medina. You might not know what a riad is (I didn’t know before going to Marrakesh either).
A riad is a traditional house built around a garden or inner courtyard, with a gallery surrounding it. Some of them are used as hotels. And the Medina is the term used in North Africa for the old part of the city.
So, we left our hotel in the morning. While wandering down a street, we saw a sign pointing to the tanneries.
As we got closer, we met a man on an old motorcycle who directed us to the nearest tannery.
"He's really nice," Alex remarqued.
A few minutes later, the same man passed by again and kindly offered to introduce us to the tannery owner.
Once inside, the smell almost made us vomit! I had read in my guide that animal hides in the tanneries are turned into leather using bird droppings and cow urine. But because the hides soak in mixtures of water and manure in open-air vats, I wasn't expecting that smell!
"Ugh, I’m outta here!" Violet said, scrunching her nose. Max followed, as did the man who had taken us there.
Apparently, he wanted to show Violet and Max another place they were going to love!
The tannery owner laughed and gave us a sprig of mint to smell to "survive the tour."
But even though the place stank, we learned a lot.
The tanning process in Marrakesh has been the same since 1062. The hides are first cleaned in clay basins and then dipped into vats where they’re dyed with natural colours. The red comes from poppies, the orange from henna, and the blue from indigo. Afterwards, artisans add olive oil to make the leather shiny, and the vats are covered to prevent the sun from ruining the process.
As soon as we finished the tour, the man who had left with Violet and Max came back to find us. He took us to a shop across the street. Inside, colourful rugs with different geometric patterns were spread across the floor, hung on the walls, and even the ceiling.
Before I could tell the man we wanted to keep exploring the city, Alex said,
"These rugs are so beautiful. This would make a great surprise for my mum!"
We left the shop half an hour later, with Alex carrying a heavy Berber rug in his arms. He had spent $500. This is important because, in Marrakech, everything is negotiable.
Alex didn’t know that…
Anyway, I really enjoyed this experience because we got to immerse ourselves fully in Moroccan culture.
Next, we went to the Bahia Palace.
It was on Alex's and my list because it’s one of the most beautiful landmarks in Morocco.
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When we got there, we met Mohammed, a wonderful guide.
"The palace was built by the Grand Vizier Si Moussa in the 1860s and served as a royal residence throughout the country's history. The rooms of the building are all arranged around courtyards and gardens." he first explained.
"How many rooms are in the palace?" Alex asked.
"150!" Mohammed replied proudly. "You see, Vizier Bou Ahmed, who expanded the palace, needed a lot of space to house his four wives and 24 concubines!"
"He must never have been able to get a word in!" Max said sarcastically.
Anyway, what I loved the most about the palace was the Court of Honor. It’s a large courtyard made of Italian Carrara marble. It’s surrounded by a gallery with bright blue and yellow plaster and woodwork. There’s a little fountain in the middle, and the floor is covered with green and blue zellige mosaics.
We ran into some other Australian tourists there.
"Oh, you bought rugs too?" one of them said. He was looking at the rug Alex was practically sweating under.
"Yeah, it's for my mum, she’ll love it," Alex replied. "Well, I hope so because I spent the rest of my budget on it."
"How much did you pay?" one of the Australians asked.
"500 dollars."
The man pretended to choke, and then they both burst into laughter.
"You didn’t negotiate well," the second one said.
"Negotiate what?"
"Well, your rug," the first one replied.
"Oh, I should have negotiated?"
"Of course! They first give you a random price. Then, you negotiate your way down until you’re both happy with the price. We paid 150 dollars for ours after negotiating a lot."
See? As I was saying, in Marrakech, everything is negotiable.
See you soon for more adventures!
Archie
The Intrepid Explorer
Now that you've discovered the wonders of Marrakesh, why not take the adventure home with you? Grab your apron and check out the awesome recipe for Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives Violet cooked with Chef Amina! It’s like bringing a little taste of Morocco straight to your kitchen.
Ready to cook like an explorer? Let’s get started!
