A Glimpse of Marrakech, the Heart of Morocco !

Morocco is the ‘Land of Contrasts’, they say

Let me show it to you my way:-

It has the vibrant red Sahara to the East with its sand dunes and ergs,

And to the West, is the Great Atlantic where many ships have submerged.

Turquoise Strait of Gibraltar to the North

Separates it with Spain’s Tarifa port

And to the South, Toubkal - Atlas’ highest peak

Which many are trying to conquer as we speak!

Despite of these variations, this place makes me feel at home

May be because it’s like the country where I have grown.

The inhabitants being Arabs, Berbers, Africans and Europeans

All of whom are ruled by the King

Casablanca, Rabat and Fes are it's most important cities

But Marrakech, a place very close to my heart

Is the one about which I would like to, today, sing

Marrakech, the Land of Gods, with city walls all in pink

Reminds of the glory of the bygone era and surely makes you think.

Standing near Koutoubia Mosque, the inspiration behind Giralda tower in Seville, Spain

The guide explains us about the once misaligned mihrab, the pink stone minarets walls

The floral motifs and the folklore, all cut short by the muezzin’s afternoon calls.

Koutoubia Mosque

On hearing the call for adhan, like others, I too take-off my shoes to step into the mosque,

To be told non-Muslims not allowed by law, even when there is only one God.

This statement certainly makes some noises in my head

But not to question the State law, I slowly drift away and start walking ahead.

After walking for a little while I reached a crossroad crowded with vehicles,  

To one side, drove a young couple in high speed in their black Mercedes new

And to the other, an old pair leisurely in their royal horse carriage drew.

While both paused for the traffic light,

 I crossed the street followed by the parking lot of horse drawn carriage fleet

Jamaa-el-Fna, Marrakech’s soul is the square where now I reach.

Jamaa-el-Fna, the heart of Marrakesh

Water sellers

It’s one in the afternoon, the place jam packed

With orange juice stalls, snake charmers, magicians,

Water sellers in traditional red costumes with brass cups and leather water-bags

Charging anything between five to ten dirham for their single photograph

Large green garden umbrellas dotted the square

Below which sat men wearing djellaba selling everything from fresh fruits to clothes to plates

While beautiful women in colorful kaftans and belghas, waited with henna cones to decorate.

Beside them sat an old palm reader, with his hair as white as snow

Holding loosely Misbaha (string of prayer beads), in his wrinkled hands

And waiting eagerly to reveal the fate of your entire clan

He tells me, “You are one of those lucky few, who follow the heart,

And I can assure that you’ll fall in love with this place before you part”.

In order to get a panoramic view of this majestic square, I climb up the stairs

Pulled out a corner chair at Café de France, overlooking this giant fair

And quietly listened the concoction of Chaabi and Gnawa music

And felt the happiness that filled the air.

Deep down inside I wished, if somebody could translate and explain me the verse

But then they say, music is the universal language of love that touches the soul and need no words.

The more I looked at this place, the more mesmerized I became.

While I was still lost in my thoughts,

A man in his thirties walked up to me and exclaimed, “You seem to be new,

Why don’t you come and join us for a bowl of stew”.

They narrated folklores of both hills and plains

About which I’ll surely write sometime later, cause there is too much to explain.

With the sun turning dark red and the night slowly crawling out,

The square became even more crowded, noisier and merrier now  

With the food stall owners calling out

“Come try and taste our famous beef, mutton, rabit and chicken breast

If you don’t like them at all, we’ll serve you some fresh camel’s chest”.

My newly found friends treated me with Couscous, Pastilla and Tajine

Each of which had some seven different kind of meats.

Here in a country that’s thousands of miles away from home

Their warmth and hospitality, makes me feel that I am a part of their own.

Once strangers, now friends

Warn me not to walk in this crowded square alone

“Coz in the shadows, you don’t know who’s your own.

In these hours of darkness you’ll lose your way

And in the end blame us that we didn’t say”.

“Fine, I’ll do as you say”

 Only condition being, “you all will, with me, some more time stay”.

I wandered there throughout the night with my recently found friends

Admiring the magnificence of hundreds of beautifully lit stalls,

Enjoying the musician’s tunes and the seller’s calls

And even this rainbow of chaos,

Managed to touch my heart’s right cords.

And with the muezzins final call of the day sounding across all Marrakech in unison

The noisy square for the first time became composed,

And with a heavy heart, we too called it a day.

Though I part today,

 Memories of Marrakech, the soul of Morocco, would in my heart always stay.

And finally, the swarm started leaving the hive

With a promise to assemble again tomorrow, with some more nectar for the soul!

Cafe de France, is one of the finest cafe located on the main sqaure of Jemaa-el-Fna

Colorful Belghas or "Balgha" are leather slippers worn by both men & women alike

     Dozens of fresh orange juice stalls dotted the square throughout the day

Food stalls are set up only at night when there is less heat, to prevent the food from getting spoilt 

Choose your meat  

Tourist throng food stalls to get a bite of Moroccan delicacies

                      
 All images and writing in this document © Pooja Kumar. email: poojakumar06@gmail.com

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