We’re getting a lot more familiar with the streets and when and where the best times are to visit the food markets for the best fruit, veg and fish, there’s quite a few to choose from, but our host has been great at sharing her local knowledge. As our maid comes early on Thursday, I’ve been getting out into the city early and this week I headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art. I wasn’t a big fan of the art on display but there was an interesting photo exhibition depicting social gatherings, taken between 1960’s-1990’s by a Congolese photographer. The weekends tend to start on Friday, “couscous Friday” It’s a long standing tradition here, families get together from Friday lunchtime over this traditional Moroccan dish, with the celebrations spilling out onto the streets, but it’s all good humoured. Saturday we decided to visit the “Hassan Tower” which is about a 45 minute walk. The building work was commissioned by Sultan Almohad Youssouf, towards the end of the 12th century. The tower which when built, would of been the largest minaret in the world, and the mosque, when finished, would have been the largest in the western Muslim world, alas the Sultan died not long after the work started and it was never finished. All that remains are the columns, the half built tower and a few walls, but the proposed area gives you a good idea of what would have been, if it had been completed. We had a late lunch at a very good Palestinian restaurant, before dropping into the Medina to get some fresh nuts. We have been there a few times and each time we go it’s incredible, with its sounds, smells and sellers and buyers all going about their business. Sunday was a quiet day chilling on the terrace and a walk around one of the botanical gardens, before taking a stroll along a boulevard lined with artists displaying their work.
Dream Chasers 