Medina tagged posts

In Africa, Traveled places, Morocco On  23/02/2015  No comments

Casablanca was the last stop of our Moroccan trip. The name brings images of romance and adventure but today is the biggest city in the Maghreb region and the economical capital of Morocco. We got to Casa Voyagers station late at night on a train from Marrakech and headed to our hotel straight away. It was near the port, on the entrance of the Medina and I though it certainly had known better times, it had a certain colonial charm.

The next morning we went to the Hassan II mosque. Built on a structure half on land and half on sea, the mosque is the biggest in Africa. Its minaret is 210 meters tall, the tallest religious building in the world. It’s an impressive sight, standing against the sea. Since we couldn’t make it to the visiting hours so we decided to go for a walk along the shoreline. The day was gray and rainy, so we stopped for a snack and afterwards we went to Rick’s Café.

The movie “Casablanca” was filmed entirely in studios, so Rick’s Café is not where Sam played “As...

In Africa, Morocco On  19/02/2015  No comments

We started our second day in Marrakech visiting the Bahia Palace. Built at the end of the 19th century, the palace is inside the Medina and it’s one of the few of its kind. Bahia means “Brilliance” in Arabic and any visitor can see why it was given that name: rooms upon room are filled with beautiful mosaics, intricate ceilings and lamps… It is not very well conserved but it is a photographer’s paradise, with its thousand colorful details.

The surrounding area used to be the Jew Quarter. Not so long ago, Morocco had a big Jew community; now what remains are a few brick houses with a slightly different decoration. It’s a busy neighborhood, full of artisans and markets.

Nearby are the Saadian Tombs. Dating from the late 16th century, the tombs were built upon and hidden by the next ruling dynasty and discovered in 1917. Like most Marrakech treasures, they are at the end of a narrow alley and hit you with their unexpected beauty.

With cultural needs satisfied but empty stomach...

In Africa, Morocco On  18/02/2015  No comments

We arrived in the busy Medina late afternoon. All the roads looked the same, there were hundreds of people moving around, and we got a little lost… After some people trying to trick us and other trying to help us, we finally arrived at Riad Karmela. The first impression when we got inside was very strong: you just left chaos and got into peace, we could sit and relax. And that was exactly what we did, in a gorgeous patio, by a fountain, with mint tea and sweet pastries. Our host, Joel, greeted us and gave us a quick explanation on how to move around, what to see and how much to pay for stuff. He also gave us a simplified map of the city. We got to our room, named Layla, rested for a while and decided to have dinner in Jemaa El Fna.

Jemaa El Fna is one of the most famous places on the world for street food. There’s row upon row of stalls selling meat on a stick, snails, sheep’s head, sweets… Unfortunately, waiters are a little too pushy and that can ruin your experience...