Marrakesh

Marrakesh is another one of the four imperial cities (meaning it has been a capital city of Morocco at some point – the current capital is Rabat)

The medina is a walled and densely packed city dating back to the Berber Empire.

Stayed in a lovely Riad, the Moroccan House.

The Koutoubia Mosque was erected in the 12th century and is the largest mosque in Marrakesh. None Muslims are not allowed in the mosque.

Berber mosques have Square towers while Middle Eastern mosques have domed minarets. There are no stairs inside the minaret, only a ramp that the muezzin (man making the call to prayer) would have once ridden up on horseback to give the call to prayer.

The minaret is topped by a spire of brass balls, which were once made from gold. Today, the balls are filled with special mineral salt from the High Atlas Mountains, which includes nitrate and magnesium that prevents the spire from oxidizing. The salt is changed once a year, during Ramadan, to maintain the golden glint.

Scenes from the medina.

It’s official, I’m all” medinaed” out! Over the crowds, dodging bikes, motorbikes and hand carts. 😄

Next stop the High Atlas Mountains……