Gobble, gobble

You may be surprised to see a Turkey for my blip today but he was in the courtyard of the Berber house we visited this morning at the head of the Ourika Valley in the foot hills of the High Atlas Mountains. The house was a little staged but nonetheless interesting. Couldn't resist him.
The Berber are from the mountains and are the original peoples of Morocco and still constitute 70% of the population. Just before we left, of course, they opened up their shop. Think I got a bargain!

On the way back down we stopped at the Ourika Kasbah restaurant which was beautifully furnished and decorated. It is often used for weddings and has great views of the valley and the snow capped High Atlas. The snow arrived 4-5 days before we did and we have seen them everyday as they form the backdrop to Marrakesh. The sun rises over them in the morning and as they are in the south they are pretty much looking into the sun all day so hard to photograph. The extra shows Chris chatting to some ladies and causing some amusement with his photographs as they were waiting for coffee on the Kasbah terrace. The head of the valley and mountains are the back drop.

We were dropped off back in Jemaa el Fna square at lunchtime and found another cafe with a view to watch the comings and goings in this frenetic place. Think it was busier than Friday afternoon when we did the same.
We walked back to the hotel via the Artisanat de Maroc cooperative. A selection of craft workshops showing artisans at work and selling their wares at good prices. The items are priced and there is no bargaining. It was very pleasant, as were the people working there. Much more my kind of shopping than haggling but it is an experience not to be missed here. I didn't buy much but a marble toilet complete with fossils caught Chris's eye - didn't think it would fit in the suit case.

A little cloudier today but still warm and the predicted rain didn't happen so a drink by the pool before blip and our final dinner.

(Hope this pic doesn't put anyone off their forthcoming seasonal dinners!)