Marrakesh

What a culture shock.
We have just left tranquil Transylvania with not a bear, wolf or even fellow walker in site and we have landed in a bustling Arabic city.
Weaving motor bikes, scurrying pedestrians and swerving cars are everywhere. The contrast is complete.
Clare outside the Royal Mausoleum

Everything in this city is the same colour and you cannot tell if a building is really old or just built.
Clare looks pretty new though.
Not a dry city but during Ramadan alcohol is prohibited for Moroccans. We walked miles to get my fix of beer for the trek. We have seven precious cans for the cool off at the end of each day. To gain entry to the bottle shop (the only one within 5kms of the old city) we had to show our foreign passports.
Walls and ceiling of PM's offices built c1895
The city during Ramadan is a study in human nature. The dates move every year and so some years it (dawn to dusk) is a much shorter. This year the fasting is from about 5am till 7.30pm (a longgg fast). So, the daytimes are quiet.around 4 gets busy as food is bought. about seven the roads get dangerous as young men on motorbikes get to their eating spots and then at 7.30 the call to prayer starts and soon after everyone is quietly eating wherever they happen to be.
Night view of the big square
Tomorrow we start our seven day trek. Internet may be scarce. Ill post when I can. We will climb North Africa's highest mountain at about 4000m (Allah permitting).

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