Jemaa el Fna and the Medina

Lit up at night

Jemaa el Fna, the city square, is something else.  It is a UNESCO heritage site (although in my opinion much of what makes it unique is the activity - the bustling of snake charmers, merchants, orange juice vendors, dried fruit sellers and everyone walking/running/driving in every which direction). 

Bright and bustling during the day

We went up to the top of the "panoramique terrase" at Cafe France for these stunning views:

I had to try something adventurous, so against my better judgment I flung sanitary concerns aside and had a bowl of snails in the market stalls for 10 Moroccan dirhams.

My bowl halfway finished.

On one of the nights in Marrakech, we opted to eat at Al Fassia, a famous restaurant.  We chose the Moroccan salads to start, which is an appetizer of approximately 20 small dishes of various vegetables and meats (and usually one of the plates contains something a bit unusual, like lamb brain or kidneys),

followed by a tagine of chicken braised with preserved lemons and olives, served with a side of cous cous:

On another night, we opted to eat dinner at Chez Chegrouni, a casual diner / restaurant where only cash was accepted and you had to write your own orders down.  Service was gruff and brusque and casual.  But it is a popular institution in town, and given the view at sunset, we could understand why!

We tried harira, Moroccan soup:

and had some kefta and beef kebabs with rice, olives and french fries (interesting accompaniments).  Olives grow in abundance in Morocco (literally lining the trees on the sidewalks) and the fine art of preserving and marinating olives of all sizes, shapes and flavors has not been lost on the good citizens of Marrakech.

The flat bread in Morocco is really tasty and served hot:

We ended with hot mint tea (served really hot and really sweet) and a fruit plate that contained cherries, apricots, nectarines, peaches, berries and a really big orange! 

Michael demonstrates how tea is poured in Marrakech:

At one point on one of our mornings shopping / wandering the souks (the covered shopping stalls in the medina), Michael and I got completely, utterly, helplessly lost.  We kept following signs that indicated we were heading back to Jemaa el Fna, but in reality we just kept circling the square.  Under the hot sun and dust, it began to seem hopeless.  After a stubborn fifteen minutes, we finally conceded defeat and asked a local to guide us back.  He seemed to be dodging in and out of alleyways without any rhyme or reason, but within minutes we were back amongst the tourists and the hustle and bustle.