After our late night, we took our time getting out today. We had a traditional Morrocan riad breakfast in a 2nd floor alcove overlooking the courtyard. Breakfast consists of yoghurt, bread, and "buthbuth" (a traditional Morrocan crepe) with jam and butter. Drinks are fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee and tea. It's not too heavy, but it's good.
Today, we explored the souks and hit a few of the monuments. This medina is a bit different from Fes in that the streets have mopeds and bikes zooming through. There is even the occassional car!
The Marrakesh Museum was a well-restored palace. Within were arts and crafts from the 16th to early 20th Century as well as a modern art exhibit. There was a neat 1200kg brass ceiling light.
Bin-Youssef Medresa was a old dormitory that had 132 rooms though they looked more like cells, particularly the ones without windows.
The Quoba was one of the only surviving Almoravid ruins. The Almoravids were one of the earliest Moroccan ruling dynasties, back in the 11th Century. They were the ones that invaded Spain.
Next we walked through Djemna El Dna to the Koutibia Mosque. We couldn't go in, but as you can see it has an Almohad minaret like the Giralda in Spain.
Wandering around we were diverted from cordoned off areas by police and we saw a gathering crowd. Apparently, the King was going to pass by. Someone passed out small Moroccan flags and a picture of the King. We waited for a while but got tired and left.
Our last site was the Bahai Palace. This building was built by the Grand Vizier just before the turn of the 20th century. It hasn't been kept up too well. Although some architectural elements do still remain, it also served as an exhibition space for some modern art.
We had a coffee overlooking the main square. There was a fairly good view of the activities there. But it quickly got chilly. Marrakesh was warm enough that I was down to short sleeves. But I guess since it's perched on a desert, it quickly gets cold.
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