Orientation to Marrakesh Cobras

 Local tour guide, Zachariah, (friend and colleague of Mostafa) was our tour guide for much of the day. The first stop was a walk through the Yves St. Laurent-developed garden, La Majorelle. In 1980, partners Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, who first arrived in Morocco in 1966, purchased Jardin Majorelle to save it from destruction at the hands of hotel developers. They decided to live in Jacques Majorelle's villa, which they renamed the Villa Oasis. There are a lot of colorful accents in lapis lazuli blue and yellow. With gratitude, we're there very early, before the huge cruise ship tours descend on the garden.

Koutoubia, a 12th century Mosque and minaret, still topped with four copper globes, is our next stop. The person who charmed me was the gentleman trying to sell cups of tea to us. My heart goes out to someone trying to eke out a living this way. Maybe they need to buy diabetes or heart medicine. The things we might take for granted in the US (not all people, of course, can have this benefit) are a matter of life and death in Morocco. It is sad that he has to work and scrabble so hard for so little. His face says it all.

.

Koutoubia, a 12th century Mosque and minaret, is still topped with four copper globes.

The Saadian Tombs (1578-1603) lie across the street. The complex is regarded by many art historians as the high point of Moroccan architecture due to its luxurious decoration and careful interior design. Crossing the street means yielding to interesting traffic.

One of our group is a professional photographer and took our photo.

The Bahia Palace, where 360 rooms were once adorned with Italian marble and Sudanese gold, has both original and restored art. Jackie Kennedy Onassis stayed here and several famous people have hosted their birthday party in the large square including David Beckham, Stella McCartney, and those who are known for body "beautification" work.

Zach explains the history of the complex before setting us free to wander on our own.

There's a serene and green interior oasis.

I've always been drawn to colorful, intricate patterns and the palace was full of it, especially on the ceilings. It's difficult to combine colors and patterns, and make it all work.

The famed Jeumaa el Fna square is filled with a dazzling display of acrobats, fortune tellers, henna artists, and snake charmers and it is where we ended our guided morning tour.

Except for one, we all kept our distance from these cobra snakes. The music being played to keep them tame and hypnotized, drove me nuts.

The youngest member of our gang of 12 travelers, was the only one game enough to pet a snake (this is a harmless one).

After the snake demo, we were let loose for the afternoon to absorb more of the vibrant kaleidoscope of culture torn from the pages of Ali Baba.

It looks like the guy with all the greenery on his bike is using those rubber tire buckets that were mentioned in an earlier post.

Mama cat and two of her babies sleeping in the middle of the floor.

The rest of the kittens were tucked cozily into a shelf.

Our day wasn't over and we went off to have dinner with a charming local lady. An artist, who was an event planner before the pandemic, served us a spectacular dinner full of a variety of flavors and textures.

Dessert was an assortment of fruit, the perfect end to a sumptuous meal.