Exploring Marrakesh 1

After the fiasco of yesterday, things could only get better. Both of us were tired but managed to get up for breakfast but by 0900 if was already uncomfortably hot and dusty so we spent the morning in our room, pottering and snoozing. Then we we to the main square and had a salad before looking for cooler clothes as it is just too hot  for our western garb.

My salad.....

Nads' salad.....

We also watched the tumblers doing their tumbling.

Nadine went the whole hog and got the pants, top and slippers, and a bag, whilst I was a bit more modest and found a baggy Jalabah shirt that fits where it touches but is much cooler than any tee shirt. And still looks a bit respectable. But there are so many tourists here dressed in next to nothing. That nobody would probably notice anyway.

The button fell off my shorts yesterday so whilst in the market I looked for safety pins. That proved to be even more difficult than anticipated but the man in the button shop was very sweet and insisted on fitting a stud type button instead. This involved him shoving his hand down the front of my shorts while I was still wearing them and without warning, pushing a metal spike through the material and then closing the fastening with a pair of pliers.

It worked but then all of a sudden he found some safety pins..... maybe he does that to every tourist. But funny to think he did all of that without batting an eyelid yet he may well have been offended by the sight if my uncovered ankles.

More wandering after that and we ended up at the tanneries which were marginally less stinky than those in Fes. And this time we got to wander through them rather than look at the from above.

We didn't mean to go there but were coerced and had a bit of an argument with a man who demanded 20 quid from us. He didn't get it but the cornering and exploitation of tourists is quite aggressive in Marrakesh, far more so than in any of the cities we've visited, even Fes. These are not poor people - they are well dressed and well fed and have visible signs of disposable income such as motorbikes, which are everywhere. Everybody has a decent phone and a computer, yet the same people will openly demand money from you as you pass, just because you're a tourist and I suppose fair game. I suspect too that there is a guilt element on the part of some tourists too, guilt over being able to take a holiday while others have to work. But really? I'll bet that every one of those tourists worked to get the money to travel; it didn't just fall out of the sky and into their bank account.

We were then accosted by two young lads on the way back who wanted money to guide us out of the Medina. But we weren't lost. They didn't get any money either and they didn't do any guiding; they just walked alongside us and tried to chat to us even though we told them we didn't want any help from them They were persistent little blokes but enough is enough.

We found a vegetarian restaurant just round the corner tonight and ate there. The food was excellent and hand prepared by two young local women in a tiny kitchen which we had to squeeze past as we went in.