Alhamdulillah... I finally got the chance to visit Marrakech - one of the places in my wishlist! :)) Anyway, we left Barcelona on 2nd Dec using Vueling Airlines... our first experience using this Spain airlines company. Was so excited to step my feet in Morocco for the first time ever! :))
View from my flight.... SubanaAllah... cantik nya permandangan padang pasir ni....
At Marrakech Airport
Excited face to finally experiencing a warmer weather :) Weather in Marrakech was awesome! Like being in an air-conditioned room :) A man representing Riad Misria welcomed for us at the airport. So we got a ride to Riad Misria - the place where we were staying during our stays in Marrakech.
Riad Misria is located in the heart of the Marrakech's ancient Medina. And as the streets are so narrow inside Medina (only bicycle and motorbikes are allowed), our transport stopped at one space and we had to walk through the seeming chaos of a souk, turn into a quiet seemingly run down alley to a door in the wall. Behind the door is suprisingly a charming and most inviting Riad :)
Walking in between buildings to reach Riad Misria.
We were welcomed by Riad Misria's owner, Michelle (standing in blue shirt) who was very helpful and gave us lots of tips on the area and made us feel right at home.
Sitting at the patio, filling up forms and studying the map with help from the riad's owner and staffs.
His staffs, especially Hamzah (standing beside Hubby) was also very helpful. Anything that we asked they were more than helpful to and keen to comply!
Orange trees in the middle of the patio... our room or rather apartment is on the 2nd floor in this pic.
The living room in Riad Misria
Behind Izzat is a heated swimming pool....
The pool is not so big... but the kids would have enjoyed it I think! Too bad my kids didn't get the chance to try it.... didn't bring their swimming suit plus we were too busy exploring the city :))
Fascinating view from roof top of our Riad. You can see the owner of Riad Misria having tea with some of his guests at top of his Riad. When we were here, we could hear azan from the nearby mosque... Subhanallah!
Our Apartment...
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| We have our own patio in this apartment... awesome! |
The master bedroom for the parents...
The kids room on the top floor.
Stairs to the kids room. The stairs are accessible from the apartment toilet (lawak tak? huhu!). Why? because the toilet is like 'so open' -_-
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THE area that we should take shower is so open... no door! When I first saw it, I was like "how lar to mandi like this??" Hahaha! So I ended up taking my bath early in the morning before everyone else is awake! LOL! :D
After performing solah and refreshed ourselves, off we go to explore the Marrakech’s souks ;)
The entrance of Riad Misria...really excited to explore Marrakech! :)
So yeahh.... let's enjoy the Marrakech souk!! :))
I was expecting something like Istanbul or Damascus' Souks... oh boy... how wrong I was!
Marrakech's Souk is more overwhelming! There is nothing that isn’t sold here - perfumes, spices, bags, clothes, baskets, shawls, argan oils, carpets, shoes, souvenirs ect, ect! It is a genuine labyrinth filled with numerous alleys, stairways and dead-end street! Visitors will undoubtedly lose their way in Marrakech Souk as they find
their way past all of the stalls and alleys.... well, we sure did! We could not
find our way back to Riad Misria for 2 days in a row! :))
Olives
Lots of colourful pashminas... lovely! :))
I love this colourful pics of spices! But don't ask me what kind of spices those are... *blur* hehe :D
Jemma El Fna - a very dynamic square with lots and lots of activities going on around here.There are snake-charmers, magicians, fortune tellers,
folk-singers/dancers, ect. There are also tanneries on pavements,
street artists in every corner, and vegetable vendors popping out of
alleys - so yeah, overwhelming eh? :)
In this pic, you can see people busy setting up canopies to prepare for night food stall
Fresh orange juice, anyone? Drinking orange juice while feasting our eyes on activities at Jemma El Fna. There was a man doing belly dancing in front of us... and the kids thought he was funny :D
Buying slippers in Marrakech :)
These are all leather slippers... cheap price and quite comfy :) We bought a few for ourselves and our mothers.
Barcelona FC and Real Madrid slippers oso got! :))
The canopies all ready... the food stall are ready for business! :)
Jemma El Fna by night is just as happening as daylight.. .probably even more happening! :) There are rows of canopies built up for open air food-stalls. Visitors will be approached by smiling waiters of stall looking to entice them to eat at their stall. Rows of tables were set up and delicious smells begun filling the air... yumm yummm!! :))
Oh yes... we were 'charmed' by one of those waiters and here we were having dinner at stall no 30 :D
Menu at Stall No 30
Stall no 30 chef busy preparing dinner for his customers
Kenyang after dinner... *burp!*
After dinner, we continued exploring Jemaa El Fna and the souk...
It's like pasar malam here in Jemma El Fna by night
Argan oils sold here at a very cheap price.
The argan nuts.
This lamp shops certainly look more lively at night time :)
Looking for a leather pouch for FIL.
Okay, price wise... Honestly, some sellers here are nice... But mostly, so the putar belit:P So if they gave you a ridiculous price... Just walk away. If you are lucky, they would call you back and lowered the price... and let's see how low they could give you... ;)
Did not buy one of these glasses in Marrakech as we already bought one in Egypt. In fact, we did not buy much this time... bagus la ek? jimat duit... huhu!
Finding our way back to Riad Misria is a real challenge. It was dark and there were so many narrow streets around! So yeah... we were lost!
Smile! No matter how tired we were trying to find our way back to our Riad :))
Some tricks if you guys got lost in Marrakech : If anyone (esp young men or teenagers) approached you to show you the way around, please be wary cause they usually would ask for tips or money in return -_-. The trick is to ask old people or women - they are more sincere in helping tourists, insyaAllah.
Browsing around while finding our way back to our Riad :D *sempat lagi tu :P *
These cushions are quite nice ;)
We finally managed to find our way back in Riad Misria after getting help from a man at a nearby Madrasah.... alhamdulillah... An interesting day indeed ;)
Special Note : The old town of Marrakesh (which covered Medina - the souk, Jemaa El Fna Square the the area around it) was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, raising international awareness of the cultural heritage of the city... hebat kan? ;)
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