member of the human race

Cont.. Day 1 - Ourika Valley/Djamaa El Fna

so we left marrakech and headed towards the Ourika Valley which is about an hours drive from marrakech an dth drive there was really picturesque, we saw loads of fruit trees and agricultural fields and there was these really cute kids with mini baskets collecting fruits from the trees and selling them to people on the road and it amazing they all had these enormous smiles on there faces and would wave at everyone going past, could you imagine if my brother was in there place, he would be complaining about every single thing 'its too hot, its heavy, my hands hurt, I feel dizzy, I'm hungry blah blah blah'.. subhannallah these kids really deserved our money, more so than the beggars who pester you around the markets...

it was cooler than marrakech and a lot less noise as well, I was surprised to see how green it was, it really was breathtaking and you cant but help ponder over Allah's creation, purpose of life etc... That's why I truly believe that travelling really does open ones eyes and that with the right intention can be a form of worship cause when seeing such wonderous sights you cant help but say ' subhannallah, mashallah, allah akbar and be continuously reminded of Allah swt and his power and might.

Islam is an ecological religion that respects nature and living forms that are God's Creation, we gotta be conscious as to what's happening to the earth, we gotta be aware of global warming and we should do all we can to prevent it from getting worse, earth is not ours to destroy and neglect we have to look after it...

this is a view from the restraunt where we ate lunch imagine waking up to this view...

after lunch we came down to the stream and dipped our feet into the running stream, so refreshing, I got the chance to wash my feet, basically wearing sandal's in a hot country where dust seems to be every were does not do wonder to my feet,

after the splashing and trying to skid the pebbles on the water and failing miserably we made our way back to the coach to go back to marrakech, most people slept during the hour back to the hotel, every so often you would catch some one trying to take photos of others whilst sleeping which is why I always sleep with my scarf covering my face, I don't want no one to black mail me with photos of my mouth wide open and saliva dribbling down my chin, hmmm not a nice sight.

so anyway we get to the hotel and freshen up and what have you and then meet in the lobby to be taken to the famous Djamaa El Fna which was proclaimed "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity" by UNESCO. Here you can find story tellers, snake charmers, acrobats, dancers and sellers, you can drink some freshly made orange juice, have your hands decorated with henna ornaments, I had seen it 2 years ago and wondered whether it had changed or whether it was still the same, I kinda warned the group that they where gonna see weird stuff but I they still didn't expect what they saw, very weird place you gotta see it to understand, I managed to pose with a monkey and snake, my dad being his usual self bless him , when he saw the pic said 'which one is white African and which one is the monkey?'...

the snakes where kinda drugged outa there minds poor things..

it wasn't really nice to be honest, it was actually really sad that these poor animals are used for money purposes, and they are not treated well at all, put into extremely small cages, and pulled at and chained and all sorts, like I said the snakes where drugged so as not to harm anyone, there where other animals like hedgehogs and turtles. lizards etc...

it really is a weird square filled with weird people. At one point there was a massive circle of people and curiosity got hold of me, so I wnet over ans squeezed myslef through the crowds, I have to say the majority of the people where men and I knew why as soon as I saw the sight infront of me which was a man dressed up as a belly dancer he even had a noqab thing over his face and his eyes where done up the eye make up and he knew how to shake and every one was watching him and enjoying it (eugh I shudder every time) I quickly escaped.

there are a lot of fortune tellers, and black magic stalls and stalls that remove black magic etc... Its a big business over there in Morocco here's a typical stall...

its very common to see hanging snake skin, fox fur, dried lizard etc...

it was really funny to watch the groups reaction to all this, it was a very quite coach ride on the way back, every one was still in shock as to what they saw lol...

the first day was over and again I went to bed that night thanking Allah for the success of the first day and praying that the second would run as smoothly....