Today we got to witness the incredible médina of Marrakech. We began by visiting a herbalist pharmacy, where we learned about how the famous Argan oil is made and tested many of the herbal products on our arms. Many of the students, including two of the bloggers for today, got a relaxing massage. By the time we bought all of our favorite products and moved on to the next shop, our arms smelled amazing!
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We then window shopped at numerous other textile and jewelry shops, and ended our excursion in the medina by visiting a rug shop where we had some Moroccan mint tea. The shop was styled like a traditional Moroccan house, and the man who showed us around explained to us that the profit made by selling the rugs goes back to the community that created the rug. Each rug had its own style that reflected the community who made it; the two most common communities were the Arabs and the Berbers — one of the most populous groups in Marrakech — and one could tell immediately which community created which rug.
After we exited the medina, we visited the Jemaa el-Fna — a huge public square bustling with shops and excitement — where we got to split up into numerous groups to explore and potentially buy souvenirs. Most of us ate lunch at a cafe that overlooked the square and mountains, but some of us also ventured out to other restaurants as well. We spent 2.5 hours in the square, and then went back to our hotel to swim and get ready for the belly dancing dinner.
