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| The open gate to the “fortress” of the Medina. Notice the cannon’s on the side. |
While having breakfast this morning we heard some Church bells which was really nice when you feel like you are the only christian here. The church is next door to us and we thought it was abandoned. From what I found there are Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious groups here.
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| The main entrance to the Medina. This part is more hotel and businesses such as Moroccan Airlines |
We decided to walk through the Medina (old town) today. It is huge. We wanted to find a couple of thin throw’s to use on the beach. The landlord doesn’t provide beach towels and not much of anything for that matter. I’ll get to that later.
I also wanted a scarf to cover my head and face when we go to see Petra in Jordan, when we visit during our cruise of the Suez Canal next month. They recommend it due to so much dust and heat. Anyway, the Medina, formerly named Mogador, meaning “small fortress”, is a fortified town of the mid-eighteenth century, surrounded by a huge wall.
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| Another alleyway. Wasn’t too busy today. |
The inside of the Medina is decorated in the European style since the Europeans built it. Lots of blue and white. And let me tell you, it’s not small. There are many shops with clothes, jewelry, food, spices and restaurants, hotels and any type of services such as massages and haircuts inside the Medina.
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| Nice small eateries |
Each shop is set up and designed with the goods they want to sell. You find what you want and then you can haggle for the price. We found two of the throws and 1 scarf. Chuck’s final number was 140 dirham/$14 USD. We didn’t want to spend too much because we will leave the two throws here or in Marrakech. We just don’t have the room to take them.
The scarf is really pretty. I’m glad I at least have enough room for it. Something we noticed every turn we made or every other shop we saw was a cat. They are all strays. The majority of them look healthy but they were so dirty. They are friendly and seem to be a big part of the area. The shop owners let them lay anywhere they want.
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| The “old town” started with these types of businesses. This is where I bought my scarf. |
Now, the food places, they may be on the outside looking in. One tried to get into the grocery market and the guy was chasing it down to take it back out.
Being a fishing port, I can understand why the cats want to be here. I heard there was a non-profit organization that started over 5 years ago because the animals here were in such bad shape. We saw some horses in that condition over the last week.
Not sure whats on our agenda this week. We do need to have our laundry done. We don’t have a washer and dryer so we’ll take to the “pressers” here, like a wash and fold.
The cost is 30 dirhams for 1 kilo of clothes. Thats about $1.55 a pound. I think we’ll get our clothes done there weekly until we leave for Marrakech. They have really good reviews. Same day turnaround which is really nice.
May God bless you always!
Chuck & Lea Ann
WorldTravelReynolds 