My Inspiration

I find that the really good part of being "trapped" in Planet Earth, and the one that makes me want to jump!, is that we get the chance to explore the many wonders and awe striking phenomena of nature -which can sometimes really bring tears to my eyes and move me in very special transcendental ways- plus, we have the benefit of having at our disposal an immense array of human production, from architecture to gastronomy, from design to literature, every aesthetic manifestation of our great creative potential; art in its different forms can occasionally have that divine little thing that makes me feel flabbergasted, touched or even changed. I hope to share some of the "God on Earth" practical experiences that I've collected during my travels through this humble blog.

2 abr 2011

Marrakesh, Morocco


Now we have come to the renowned exotic city of Marrakesh. This is where you'll experience the whole Moroccan adventure to the extreme: you will admire the traditional Moroccan architecture of the old city; you will be captivated by the sublime beauty of the immense catalogue of Moroccan arts & crafts; you will enjoy the street food culture in the famous square of Djemaa el-Fna; you will enjoy the mint tea specialty at its many cafés; and above all, you will have intense contact with Marrakesh's inhabitants. As a tourist, no matter your ideology or where you come from, you are likely to spend a big amount of time at Marrakesh's famous markets buying all kinds of alluring items, the degree of fun you'll have while doing so depends on your charming skills. We really made the effort to communicate with the locals in a nonchalant way, doing our best to articulate a few words in Moroccan Arabic, making fools of ourselves, just joking around and trying to charm up the people so that they could feel at ease with us; we learned the basic questions, statements and numbers and used them to enhance our bargaining skills. It turned out that this was the perfect attitude to acquire and resulted in very good laughs and enjoyable times. I am sure you have heard about the harassment some people suffer while dealing with traders in Morocco (and specially in Marrakesh), I do not say we didn't sometimes feel very uncomfortable, but everything changed when our attitude toward our different encounters changed, and this interested attitude as a visitor was a good addition to the antidote against negative stuff.

Here is the fourth article of the Moroccan series related to the sophisticated, intriguing, multi layered city of Marrakesh: http://hubpages.com/hub/Marrakesh-a-Most-in-Morocco