oued ourika

It has become a tradition to make a stop at the Ourika river when we are on our way to the Atlas Mountains.

To take a foot bath in the icy meltwater from the mountains for enthusiasts. Our brave friend Jeroen even walked to the middle of the river.
Also a visit to the dear old merchant, where I once bought my first moroccan tajine and some plastic laundry baskets, for the large terracotta pots in our garden. This time I found a beautiful brightly colored flat berber basket.
There's always a lot of activity in the town along the Ourika river. It is the last place to buy 'whatever' before you go into the mountains.

After a short stop (for a foot bath, some shopping and a mother-son portrait), we all got back in the minibus for a bumpy ride to our final destination Kasbah Bab Ourika, in the mountains.

modern marrakech

After a slow Sunday in the desert, we took a taxi ride in an old yellow Mercedes to Guéliz on Monday morning and started with an espresso on a bamboo sofa at the popular Grand café de la Poste.

We walked back to the Medina through the Cyber Park. You might not associate 'cyber park' with a park from the mid eighteenth century. The park is a fascinating experiment in mixing old and new and re-opened in 2005 as a public park. The name Cyber Park is only about the deal that Maroc Telecom would pay for the refurbishment and upkeep of the park, in exchange for the commercial right to exploit part of the site as a multi-media and cyber-space exhibition area and theatre. It's one of the many urban gardens in Marrakech and part of the Green Gardens workshop.

Once we returned within the ancient walls of the medina, we had lunch at the enchanting Hotel El Fenn. (which deserves its own blog post, shortly...)

a day in the desert

The second day we went on a roadtrip to the Agafay desert.

We had an amazing day; with a fabulous moroccan lunch in the berber tent, served with Gris and Casablanca, the guys climbed the highest hill, we had a swim in the freezing pool, enjoyed the wonderful views and at the end of the day we watched the sunset on top of the hill.

In the evening we drove back to the hectic city life of magical Marrakech, there is no bigger contrast...

happy easter

Happy Easter to you all!
...an egg anyone?

in the medina

A photo report of our first day in the medina. No words needed...