Morocco - Wednesday 9th May

Lou had a pretty bad night and was feeling pretty rubbish on our last full day in Marrakech. Hamish sorted out breakfast from the hotel, bread and jam (but this time it was French bread, what a treat). We decided to take it easy and top up our non-existent tans on the terrace which was a nice break.

Mid-morning Lou was feeling better so we decided to do some sightseeing. First stop was the Saadian tombs. These date back to the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered in 1917 and were restored. The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. The monuments to the dead are made of finely worked cedar wood, stucco work and Italian Carrara marble.

Compared to tourist attractions we had been to in Europe, it was very obvious that Marrakech was still in its tourist infancy. There were no information signs or anything, we just wandered around amongst the wild cats that lived in the tombs. Next on the list was lunch.

Again the markets seemed like the best option, but man oh man it was hot, close to 40 in the bright sunshine. So we broke a cardinal travel rule and went into the ridiculously overpriced air conditioned restaurants on the fringe of the square, where we bucked the Moroccan food trend and had an omelete and spag bol (and bread).

Next was tackling the maze of the souks to find our next destination. Maybe cos it was hot, or maybe cos it was Lou was feeling a bit fragile but that walk seemed to never end. The comments from all the stall owners were getting really old as well. Apparently Hamish is a very lucky man, and if I had any sisters I could marry them off in Marrakech with no problems.

We eventually found the Ben Youssef Madrasa which was an Islamic college and the largest Medrasa in all of Morocco. The college was founded during the period of the Marinid (14th century). The building of the madrasa was re-constructed by the Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557–1574). Its 130 student dormitory cells cluster around a courtyard richly carved in cedar, marble and stucco. The carvings contain no representation of humans or animals as required by Islam, and consist entirely of inscriptions and geometric patterns. Closed down in 1960, the building was refurbished and reopened to the public as an historical site in 1982.

It was beautiful in a peaceful sense, and the carvings and mosaics were gorgeous. Lou was fast running out of steam so it was back to the rooftop terrace for some more chilling out in the sun.

Our last night in Marrakech and we wanted one last bit of the square. Our third dinner was a mish mash of all the things we had tried and liked over the last 5 days. Including caramelized honey peanuts with sesame seeds – amazing! But Lou won't be in a rush to make a tagine at home any time soon. As the sun was setting we popped up to one of the roof top bars looking down on the square for some night shots before wandering home.

Highlight: Probably chilling out in the sun! We never get to do that on holiday and it was a nice break.
Lowlight: Dodgy tummies! And annoying little Moroccan men... no I dont want to buy your junk and if you keeping yelling out to my fiancée you will meet thunder and lightening!
Interesting Fact: The Ben Youssef Madrasa housed 900 students at a time and had only one bathroom.