Day 240: Marrakesh to Casablanca
Date: 29 April 2009
The guy whom I shared a room with is heading in a different direction today.
Had this for breakfast.... does it not look like prata? Taste like it too! but got no curry to go with. They have it like a plain pancake.
Spring in africa is DAMN HOT!! I cant imgaine how it will be like in summer. It has been months since I last sweat!
Paid a visit to the Saadian Tombs.
The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The tombs have, because of the beauty of their decoration, been a major attraction for visitors of Marrakech.
The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. Among the graves are those of Ahmad al-Mansur and his family. The building is composed of three rooms. The most famous is the room with the twelve columns. This room contains the grave of the son of the sultan's son Ahmad al-Mansur. The stele is in finely worked cedar wood and stucco work. The monuments are made of Italian Carrara marble.
Outside the building is a garden and the graves of soldiers and servants.
Back on the streets.
This is a tradition Morrocian wear. I was joking with fellow travellers. Does it not looks like KKK? hahaha.... oops.... hopefully I did not offend anyone.
Dont know what is KKK? See this.... heehee...
Up next, Bahia Palace.
The Bahia Palace is a palace and a set of gardens located in Marrakech, Morocco. It was built in the late 19th century, intended to be the greatest palace of its time. The name means 'brilliance'. As in other buildings of the period in other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. There is a 2 acre (8,000 m²) garden with rooms opening onto courtyards.
Set up at the end of XIXth century by Si Moussa, grand vizier of the sultan, for his personal use, this palace would bear the name of one of his wives. Here, the harem, which includes a vast court decorated with a central basin and surrounded by rooms intended for the concubines. As the black slave Abu Ahmed rose to power and wealth towards the end of the 19th century, he had the Bahia palace built by bringing in craftsmen from Fez. The structures tell a lot about the taste of the nouveau-riche of its time, and can appear vulgar to modern tastes. It was intended to become the greatest palace of its time, but it is really dominated by hasty planning as well as uninspired detail work. This doesn't make the palace less worth visiting, it is a monument of its time, and served even as the residence of the French resident general, Lyautey.
It was really very hot here.
I think this donkey is getting heat stroke soon!! Somebody save him!!!
Enough of old Marrakesh. Its time to show you the modern side of it.
A park just for internet.
I am taking the train from the new train station to Casablanca today.
Tried my luck and YES, they have got wifi here!! So there I was, sitting on the stairs blogging.
Here comes my train....
Vast plains with lots of cactus!!
I missed taking trains though I must say that the trains here arre not as advance as compared with europe, I still enjoying meeting people. Got hungry along the way and managed to dug out a packet of this from my bag.
No announcement was made whenever we pulled into a station. Good thing was that I was in the same cabin as the train conductor!! Otherwise I would not know where to alight.
After getting off the train, I stood by the road side to wait for a local bus number 30.
Sonn after, I arrived at the old town of Casablanca.
Found a hostel to stay. (Missed staying in hostel where I can meet lots of other travellers) After dropping off my stuff, I went to the back lanes of the old town snapping away!!
Impression of old town Casablanca = A very toned down version of old town Marrakesh.
Wanted to find a pub to relax. Took a very long time to find a decent one. As gussed, only foreigners were there.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
The guy whom I shared a room with is heading in a different direction today.
Had this for breakfast.... does it not look like prata? Taste like it too! but got no curry to go with. They have it like a plain pancake.
Spring in africa is DAMN HOT!! I cant imgaine how it will be like in summer. It has been months since I last sweat!
Paid a visit to the Saadian Tombs.
The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The tombs have, because of the beauty of their decoration, been a major attraction for visitors of Marrakech.
The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty that originated in the valley of the Draa River. Among the graves are those of Ahmad al-Mansur and his family. The building is composed of three rooms. The most famous is the room with the twelve columns. This room contains the grave of the son of the sultan's son Ahmad al-Mansur. The stele is in finely worked cedar wood and stucco work. The monuments are made of Italian Carrara marble.
Outside the building is a garden and the graves of soldiers and servants.
Back on the streets.
This is a tradition Morrocian wear. I was joking with fellow travellers. Does it not looks like KKK? hahaha.... oops.... hopefully I did not offend anyone.
Dont know what is KKK? See this.... heehee...
Up next, Bahia Palace.
The Bahia Palace is a palace and a set of gardens located in Marrakech, Morocco. It was built in the late 19th century, intended to be the greatest palace of its time. The name means 'brilliance'. As in other buildings of the period in other countries, it was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. There is a 2 acre (8,000 m²) garden with rooms opening onto courtyards.
Set up at the end of XIXth century by Si Moussa, grand vizier of the sultan, for his personal use, this palace would bear the name of one of his wives. Here, the harem, which includes a vast court decorated with a central basin and surrounded by rooms intended for the concubines. As the black slave Abu Ahmed rose to power and wealth towards the end of the 19th century, he had the Bahia palace built by bringing in craftsmen from Fez. The structures tell a lot about the taste of the nouveau-riche of its time, and can appear vulgar to modern tastes. It was intended to become the greatest palace of its time, but it is really dominated by hasty planning as well as uninspired detail work. This doesn't make the palace less worth visiting, it is a monument of its time, and served even as the residence of the French resident general, Lyautey.
It was really very hot here.
I think this donkey is getting heat stroke soon!! Somebody save him!!!
Enough of old Marrakesh. Its time to show you the modern side of it.
A park just for internet.
I am taking the train from the new train station to Casablanca today.
Tried my luck and YES, they have got wifi here!! So there I was, sitting on the stairs blogging.
Here comes my train....
Vast plains with lots of cactus!!
I missed taking trains though I must say that the trains here arre not as advance as compared with europe, I still enjoying meeting people. Got hungry along the way and managed to dug out a packet of this from my bag.
No announcement was made whenever we pulled into a station. Good thing was that I was in the same cabin as the train conductor!! Otherwise I would not know where to alight.
After getting off the train, I stood by the road side to wait for a local bus number 30.
Sonn after, I arrived at the old town of Casablanca.
Found a hostel to stay. (Missed staying in hostel where I can meet lots of other travellers) After dropping off my stuff, I went to the back lanes of the old town snapping away!!
Impression of old town Casablanca = A very toned down version of old town Marrakesh.
Wanted to find a pub to relax. Took a very long time to find a decent one. As gussed, only foreigners were there.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
posted by ZeeVinCeZ at 10:12 AM
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