A series of anecdotes with or without any connection to the running of a restaurant.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

More from Marrakesh...

Menara gardens are located at the west of Marrakech, Morocco at the gates of the Atlas mountains. They were built in the 12th century (c. 1130) by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu'min.

The name menara term derives from the pavillon with it small green, pyramid roof (menzeh). The pavilion was built by the 16th century Saadi dynasty and renovated in 1869 by sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco who used to stay here in summertime.




































One of the many walled palm groves.








Kids cooling themselves in the canals that feed the Menara pool.






















The Atlantic Ocean at Essaouira...















All the places I visited, modern or traditional, were delightfully decorated.






















Le Grand Café de La Poste. Totally Parisian splendour.

















New houses on a golf complex.





















































The Médina's alleyways are out of fairytales.
























































Towards the Atlas Mountains...
































A cool Sunday lunch break...






























































A magical evening Chez Ali...

















Grabbed by traditional dancing Berber girls...


Shattered....

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26 Comments:

Blogger Merisi said...

What wonderful landscapes! Love those beads the boy is holding in his hand (I walk miles for great beads *g*). Lucky the boy who got to cool off, feel so sorry for that poor mule. He looks so skinny anyway. My heart goes out to that poor animal.

2/8/07 2:11 PM  
Blogger Hayden said...

Fabulous. Just fabulous. the colors, the shapes, the alleys, the valley....thanks for posting these. Pure eye candy.

2/8/07 3:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The photos are extraordinary !! superb !! 10 on 10...
Sixty-seven years before?The Forty

2/8/07 4:10 PM  
Blogger Cream said...

Thanks, Merisi. I got a couple of those. Very cheap!
It was so hot, I was jealous of those splashing kids.

Glad you like the photos, Hayden. Four days seemed like an eternity in heaven!

Mais, qui c'est le Monsieur en uniforme, Dip-Dop?
Ten out of ten? Thanks!

2/8/07 5:46 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Un aviateur ami d' Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger de Saint-Exupéry " Mon Père..."
Le disparu si l'on vénère sa mémoire est plus présent et plus puissant que le vivant.

J'ai toujours aimé le désert. On s'assoit sur une dune de sable. On ne voit rien. On n'entend rien. Et cependant quelque chose rayonne en silence...
Ce qui embellit le désert c'est qu'il cache un puits quelque part...(Saint exupery)

2/8/07 6:08 PM  
Blogger Mary said...

What a treat you have given us! I love these photos. The tables in the water are very appealing. Cool your feet while you eat. And the donkey and cart! More, more, more.

2/8/07 6:28 PM  
Blogger Cream said...

Je savais que cet homme-là et sa mémoire vous étaient très importants.
Un poême que je n'ai jamais oublié...
"Eau, tu n'as ni goût, ni couleur, ni arôme, on ne peut pas te définir,
On te goûte, sans te connaître.
Tu n'est pas nécessaire à la vie: tu es la vie.

Water! Water, you have neither taste, nor color, nor scent. You cannot be defined.
You are savoured, but you remain unknown.
You are not a necessity of life: you are life.


Mary, I was absolutely amazed to see those tables in the stream. And the tagines came faster than a Big Mac!! They had been slowly ccoking on charcoal for hours. (Photo with the big Coca Cola sign in Arabic)

2/8/07 6:46 PM  
Blogger Daphne Wayne-Bough said...

Great pics vieux! I can taste that mint tea ... great pic of you being fondled by Berber gels, they don't look like they have tattooed faces like my former yema in law? !!

2/8/07 9:26 PM  
Blogger la bellina mammina said...

WOW! These photos are stunning ! Such vivid colors! Thanks for sharing them. Poor mule, he looks like he's about ready to kick the bucket.

Btw, is alcohol allowed there?

3/8/07 5:40 AM  
Blogger Romeo Morningwood said...

Lord Byron's "Yells, Bells and Smells" comes to mind...how very exotic! I kept expecting to see Indiana Jones running down those narrow alleys.

Please rescue that tired little Ass resting against the wall..he broke my heart.

Incredible photos..man you get around!

3/8/07 7:08 AM  
Blogger Dizzy said...

What a wonderful selection of photos, thanks Cream, looks like you had such a good time.

I guess you came back in a similar condition to the poor donkey, kna**ered!

3/8/07 10:25 AM  
Blogger Cream said...

Merci, Daphnée! Those dancing girls didn't have any tattoos on their faces like our old yemas and a gentleman doesn't ask whether they had any elsewhere. They only posed with me to relieve me of my loose change.

Bella, yes alcohol is served but mainly in European and touristy restaurants and clubs.

HE, I get away whenever my arm is twisted and my cousin is quite persuasive. That poor donkey was so, so sad!

Yes, Dizzy, when I came back I was ready for the knackers yard just that sad little donkey.

3/8/07 10:38 AM  
Blogger Akelamalu said...

I see you're camera earned it's keep!

Fantastic photos m'dear but oh that poor donkey!

Is that you with the dancing girls?

3/8/07 11:59 AM  
Blogger Cream said...

The poor thing clocked over 400 photos! I kept forgetting to charge the battery otherwise there would have been even more.
Yes, that's me being tickled by the dancing girls.

3/8/07 12:06 PM  
Blogger The Aunt said...

Your photos make me feel like I need a holiday there! Take me with you next time!

3/8/07 7:50 PM  
Blogger Gretchen said...

Thanks for sharing your visit. I've never been there and probably never will, but through your blog, I've been able to "experience" it.

3/8/07 11:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Avec toi rentrent en nous tous les pouvoirs auxquels nous avions renoncé.

Et je reviens faire une promenade ,A TRUE HAPPINESS FOR THE EYES !!

4/8/07 1:12 AM  
Blogger Hayden said...

in some of your photos the buildings have a pinkish tone... is that the true color, or is a trick of light?

4/8/07 1:30 AM  
Blogger valerie walsh said...

To bad it had to end but this is a very charming ending! Loved every moment! Thank You!!!

4/8/07 1:45 AM  
Blogger Cream said...

Auntie, you're welcome to join the caravan....

Gretchen, never say never...

Promenez-vous, Monsieur, promenez-vous...

Hayden, the colour is original. In days past, most houses were built out of red mud. In fact out of town, there are still many mud walls standing. Mud mixed with straw.

Glad you liked it, Val.

4/8/07 9:48 AM  
Blogger Akelamalu said...

It's nice to see the rest of your handsome face. Love the jazzy shirt Cream. :)

4/8/07 10:01 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is told that the garden of Ménara was the place of the amorous meetings of the Sultans.

4/8/07 11:15 AM  
Blogger Cream said...

Thanks, Akela. That's my cool (Temperature) shirt...

Yes, I heard that it was a Sultan who built it for his beloved.

4/8/07 11:28 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I imagine it must be incredibly difficult to summon the will to come back to boring old england after a trip like that, no?

5/8/07 12:47 PM  
Blogger Mélanie said...

I love the picture with the " Menara pool " with children ...
and the lasr one with the poor tired rmal is very poetic such as the childrens one . I love the way you share your life with others bloggers.
I will be back soon.
Mélanie

20/8/07 2:46 PM  
Blogger Cream said...

Marcos, I am sure you know exactly how I feel.

Bienvenue, Mélanie. Thank you for your comments.

23/8/07 5:46 PM  

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