[Friday, February 13]
This morning we toured the old section of Marrakech –
the Medina. Marrakech was established in the 1100s and the whole city is designated as a UNESCO heritage site.
We saw the oldest building in Marrakech, La Qoubba Almoravid, which ironically is only 1000 years old. That seems young when compared to what we have seen in Europe or just saw in Jordan.
We visited Ben Youssef Medersa, a religious college from the 14th century, the largest medersa in all of Morocco. The college had about 900 students living in 130 dormitory cells at one time. The student dormitory cells cluster around a courtyard 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. The college was closed down in 1960, but has been open as a tourist site in recent years.
Next was the Bahia Palace, build at the end of the 1800s by a grand vizier/regent, of an underage Sultan. It's name means "brilliance". The vizier lived there with his 4 wives and 24 concubines. Our guide joked that he was a very busy man....
After the Palace, we drove to the Koutoubia Mosque – whose minaret serves as the icon of the city of Marrakech. No building is allowed to be taller than 6 stories so that it doesn’t compete with the mosque.
In the afternoon, we travelled to the Jardin Majorelle in a horse drawn carriage – yet another interesting mode of transportation. The gardens were created a couple hundred years ago, but restored recently by Yves St. Laurent. There is a rainforest/bamboo section and a cactus/succulent section. The main building houses a tiny, but impressive Berber museum. The building is painted cobalt blue, which contrasts nicely with the gardens and the pink color of all the buildings in the city.
We saw the oldest building in Marrakech, La Qoubba Almoravid, which ironically is only 1000 years old. That seems young when compared to what we have seen in Europe or just saw in Jordan.
We visited Ben Youssef Medersa, a religious college from the 14th century, the largest medersa in all of Morocco. The college had about 900 students living in 130 dormitory cells at one time. The student dormitory cells cluster around a courtyard 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. The college was closed down in 1960, but has been open as a tourist site in recent years.
Next was the Bahia Palace, build at the end of the 1800s by a grand vizier/regent, of an underage Sultan. It's name means "brilliance". The vizier lived there with his 4 wives and 24 concubines. Our guide joked that he was a very busy man....
After the Palace, we drove to the Koutoubia Mosque – whose minaret serves as the icon of the city of Marrakech. No building is allowed to be taller than 6 stories so that it doesn’t compete with the mosque.
In the afternoon, we travelled to the Jardin Majorelle in a horse drawn carriage – yet another interesting mode of transportation. The gardens were created a couple hundred years ago, but restored recently by Yves St. Laurent. There is a rainforest/bamboo section and a cactus/succulent section. The main building houses a tiny, but impressive Berber museum. The building is painted cobalt blue, which contrasts nicely with the gardens and the pink color of all the buildings in the city.
 |
| We traveled to the gardens via horse carriage, racing the local busses. |
 |
| Small, but very interesting museum on the Berber people and culture |
No comments:
Post a Comment