Moroccan Food, Marrakesh

There are many things to be seen in Marrakesh, No 1 is the souk – the local market. You need a guide in order not to get lost and also to keep you away from the beggars.

Streets are very narrow and there are a lot of colours and smells. The interesting thing is that everything at souk is manufactured at the very place. The craftsmen are very skilled and at a reasonable price you could get a wonderful carpet, handmade wooden chess or silver tea pot.

Marrakesh Morocco

Local cuisine is very delicious. Ask someone about Moroccan cuisine and you will hear about Tagine. They have in the menus various types of Tagine and whichever you choose, you will be satisfied. In fact, Tagine is called the clay pot in which the dish is cooked. It has a very extraordinary form which I think contributes to the quality of the dish.

Moroccan Tagine

Spices widely used in Moroccan cuisine are cumin, saffron, coriander, ginger and many others. You will also taste many types of couscous.

One can’t help but notice that there are many cats in Marrakesh and it is not because the cat is a sacred animal. Cats are considered clean and people leave them go wherever they want – in the houses, in the restaurants, practically everywhere and feed them with milk. It is forbidden to have a dog in Marrakesh. You can have a dog if you live in the suburbs but outside the house.

The usual attractions in Marrakesh included in a tourist program is a dinner in the desert in barber tents, desert rally, belly dancers’ show or dinner in luxurious local style restaurants. And though on your way out of the country you will see the police system functioning again, you will be satisfied you had the chance to take a glimpse at something exotic and exciting.

Tutenkhamun Museum Cairo

More interesting is the visit to the Archaeology museum where you will see Tutankhamen and his treasures as well as many other things found in different tombs during the centuries. You can buy real souvenirs and books.

The Museum of Cairo

Close to the museum there is a papyrus factory where they make papyrus the way the ancient Egyptians used to make it. After that they print pictures on it and sell it to tourists. I recommend you to by something from there – those works of art are really valuable. Do not make the mistake to buy papyruses from the street-vendors; their price is low as the papyruses they offer are made of banana leaves and when you fold them they break and the paint cracks.

The trip will most likely include a visit to a perfume shop where you will be offered a show and will walk out smelling at 10 different and strong perfumes.

When it comes to convincing clients to buy something, Arabs are the best. Of course you will have a boat trip on the Nile too with the challenges of the excellent Arabian cuisine and the charm of belly dancers.

If you want to see more you have to go deeper inside the country and far from Cairo – there are ships that can take you down the Nile and than you could really admire the wonders of the ancient Egypt such as the temples at el Amarna and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Discoveries at that ancient land continue, so be sure to include a cheap deal to Egypt in your “Must see” list.

Marrakesh, Morocco

They say Marrakesh is the most civilized city in Morocco. As I haven’t seen any other, I cannot argue. Like most people of my age though, I have watched “Casablanca” and I had completely different idea of Morocco.

After booking my cheap flights to Marrakeshthe first thing that struck me was when we were approaching it by air; we were given very detailed forms to fill in. Later on I understood that there was a kind of police system that kept record on every person coming in or going out of the country.

It reminded me a little of the ex-communist countries but to me Africa was quite different reality so I was surprised.

Marrakesh City in Morocco

Marrakesh is a beautiful city full of hotels and villas. You can’t see many people on the streets during the day. It is just as if the city is empty.

Actually, there are more than one million people living in Marrakesh. Among them there are many Europeans. Some of them have come after they had retired and others simply work there.

Marrakesh is called “the red city” because of the colour they use for the façades of the buildings. We were told that this colour is obligatory.

There are many restaurants in Marrakesh but you have to be aware that you will not be offered any alcohol inside, unless the restaurant is part of a big international hotel, as the religion forbids it.

It is always useful to respect the laws and traditions when you are visiting a foreign country, as this way you will avoid a lot of troubles.

Cairo Egyption History

To most of us Egypt is an exotic country connected with the ancient civilization of the pharaohs. When planning to visit it, we make a list of places of interest such as the pyramids and the Sphinx, temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the tombs in the Valley of Kings and the gold of Tutankhamen pharaoh.

Pyramids of Giza

Usually we go not further with our information quest. Well, in that case you have to know that if these are things you’ve planned, you’ll need a tailor-made tour and more than 10 days in order to do it as all of these places are located at great distance from each other.

The travel agencies will offer you in most cases a trip to Cairo and visit to Giza; you will see several pyramids and the Sphinx. They are impressive at all times. When taking off the busses, you will be surrounded by Arabs offering camels to ride or souvenirs. You have to know two things – first – Arabs could be very persuasive in bargaining and second – camels do smell!!

Usually you will be offered to enter one of the pyramids. A very narrow tunnel goes deep inside the pyramid and there is only a place for the two lines of people – one that goes in and another that goes out. You might feel a little depressed because of the thousands of tones of stone that are above you. At the end you will enter a small chamber and see a stone sarcophagus. The guide will tell you the story of the pharaohs and that will be all.