Skins, Souks, Snails, Snakes, and Smells

 

 

We spent a crazy day in Marrakech. We started of with a stinky tannery tour where leather was being made from sheep, cow, and camel skins. We walked all throughout the wall medina and its many maze-like pathways lined with souks, or shops.

The Jeema El Fna, or the main square in Marrakech, is where we found snake charmers, ate sheep head and snails, shopped for spices and other wares, and watched the sunset over the city and its beautiful madness with a cold beverage.

 

Steve goes bandit-style to hold back the smell of the leather tannery. The place was a gross mess, but we saw the lengthy process by which the many leqther goods in Morocco are made.

 

When we toured the tanneries, the guide gave us handfuls of mint leaves to use as “gas masks” to cover the stench of the process.

 

 

The vats are filled with colors, chemicals, and natural amonia made from collected pigeon droppings.

 

 

 

Many of the shops sell fragrant spices; some good, some bad, some new.

 

 

The light and colors of the Morocco make for a photographer’s paradise.

 

Kurt and Brian enjoy the haggling, smells, colors, light, and wares of the medina in Marrakech.

 

 

Colorful pottery in the souks of the medina in Marrakech.

 

 

The crazy snake charmers with their crazier music got dangerously close to the large black cobras and fat vipers.

 

One of the snake charmers ran up to Brian, threw a water snake on him and demanded 20 bucks before he could say no. Brian made him settle for 2.

 

The same ploy was tried on Kurt. We were able to avoid the monkey trainers successfully.

 

 

Brian senses some liability issues with letter venomous snakes roam in a crowded public gathering place…

 

 

The Mosque Koutoubia dominates the skyline in Marrakech at over 200 feet tall. It was built in the 12th century and stands tall today.

 

Mosque Koutoubia in Marrakesh.

 

 

The amazing stonework of the Saiidian tombs, done in the 16th and 17th centuries.

 

 

 

 
Jeema El Fna, the main square in Marrakech, is a lively place of entertainment, shopping, and food.

 

Sunset over the mosque in Marrakech.

 

Jeema El Fna, the main square in Marrakech, has the most delicious orange juice for 50 cents a glass.