Marrakesh: An Open Letter to Sammy and Alex Recipe
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Hi Alex and Sammy,
This is Daddy writing, because Mommy was sick most of the time we were in the city called Marrakesh. We made it through the Sahara intact, without being buried by a sand storm or eaten by a camel. But Mommy really did not feel well, and by the time we got to Marrakesh she was not up to leaving the hotel room. So I walked around by myself to see the city. This was more difficult without her, because she has studied French. In Tangier many people spoke either English or Spanish, and in Fez Mommy could communicate with them for me. I had to communicate with a lot of hand gestures a lot of the time.
This picture is in the middle of the city, the Koutoubia Minaret, which was built over 900 years ago (and…
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.%20%20I%20was%20not%20allowed%20to%20go%20into%20it,%20but%20because%20it%20was%20taller%20than%20most%20buildings%20I%20could%20frequently%20see%20it%20when%20I%20got%20lost%20%E2%80%93%20so%20it%20helped%20me%20find%20my%20way%20around.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3Ewhile%20others%20were%20lined%20with%20shops:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EYou%20probably%20notice%20that%20in%20this%20picture%20the%20people%20are%20fuzzy%20and%20out-of-focus.%20%20%20I%20think%20they%20are%20seeing%20a%20doctor%20about%20this.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESince%20Mommy%20was%20sick,%20I%20went%20spice%20shopping%20for%20her.%20%20Here%20is%20where%20I%20bought%20some%20ras%20el%20hanout%20that%20I%20am%20sure%20we%20will%20get%20to%20try%20soon.%20%20We%20also%20bought%20a%20lot%20of%20saffron%20because%20it%20was%20so%20cheap%20($2/gram).%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOne%20place%20I%20really%20wanted%20to%20see%20was%20ruins%20of%20the%20%E2%80%9Cstork%20palace%E2%80%9D,%20the%20Palace%20el-Badi.%20%20About%20450%20years%20ago%20a%20Sultan%20built%20this%20palace%20to%20be%20a%20marvel:%20he%20spent%20amazing%20amounts%20of%20money%20on%20it,%20and%20it%20took%2025%20years%20to%20build.%20%20And%20then,%20less%20than%20100%20years%20later,%20another%20Sultan%20took%20everything%20valuable%20from%20it%20%E2%80%94%20which%20took%20him%2012%20years%20to%20do.%20%20Now%20only%20storks%20live%20in%20it.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20not%20it.%20%20In%20fact,%20I%20am%20not%20sure%20what%20this%20is.%20%20I%20thought%20this%20was%20the%20Palace%20el-Badi,%20but%20it%20turned%20out%20not%20to%20be.%20%20The%20palace%20was%20impossible%20to%20find;%20I%20spent%20a%20lot%20of%20time%20wandering%20around%20and%20finally%20asked%20someone%20for%20directions.%20%20He%20very%20nicely%20walked%20me%20to%20the%20palace,%20%20but%20then,%20before%20I%20had%20a%20chance%20to%20look,%20he%20said%20%E2%80%9CCome%20see%20this%E2%80%9D%20he%20walked%20me%20to%20another%20palace.%20%20And%20then%20another.%20%20I%20just%20went%20with%20it,%20and%20before%20I%20knew%20it,%20I%20was%20walking%20all%20around%20the%20city.%20%20I%20didn%E2%80%99t%20have%20my%20camera,%20so%20I%20have%20no%20pictures.%20%20But%20I%20saw,%20what%20he%20said%20in%20his%20broken%20English,%20was%20the%20%E2%80%9CArab%20section%E2%80%9D,%20the%20%E2%80%9CBerber%20section%E2%80%9D,%20and%20the%20%E2%80%9CNomad%20section%E2%80%9D.%20%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20understand%20why%20%E2%80%9CNomads%E2%80%9D%20have%20houses,%20but%20he%20said%20they%20were%20the%20richest%20of%20everyone,%20because%20they%20own%20so%20many%20camels,%20and%20camels%20are%20so%20expensive.%20%20%20He%20was%20very%20excited%20to%20point%20out%20a%20door%20at%20one%20house,%20and%20claimed%20the%20door%20was%20over%20800%20years%20old.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EFinally%20I%20got%20back%20to%20Jmaa%20el-Fnaa%20%E2%80%93%20the%20big%20square%20where%20Mommy%20later%20held%20the%20monkeys.%20%20%20Its%20a%20pretty%20exciting%20place,%20with%20people%20dancing%20and%20the%20lots%20of%20orange%20juice%20stands%20and%20the%20monkeys.%20%20There%20were%20also%20snake%20charmers:%20men%20who%20played%20musical%20instruments%20that%20a%20cobra%20would%20%E2%80%9Cdance%E2%80%9D%20to.%20%20Then%20one%20of%20them%20came%20and%20put%20a%20snake%20around%20my%20neck,%20took%20some%20pictures,%20and%20wouldn%E2%80%99t%20take%20it%20off%20until%20I%20tipped%20him!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3Ev%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20think%20that%20is%20enough%20about%20Marrakesh.%20%20By%20the%20last%20day%20Mommy%20was%20feeling%20better%20(which%20is%20when%20we%20saw%20the%20Monkeys),%20and%20we%20took%20an%20overnight%20train%20back%20to%20Tangier.%20%20Then%20we%20immediately%20went%20to%20the%20ferry,%20and%20by%20mid-afternoon%20we%20were%20in%20M%C3%A1laga,%20Spain.%20%20And%20Mommy%20will%20tell%20you%20about%20it%20in%20her%20next%20posting.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}