The Red City

December 19, 2018

Boys up and out the door with Karim who took them to the local hammam.  Which is a local bath house. The one they went to was used by pacsha's hundreds of years ago. It is open to men in the morning and to women in the afternoons.  The cost was 150 dirhams ($15 UDS) for both of them. The host/practioner lead them into the super heated bathhouse. He dumped some water on the marble floor and then in french told Hudson and Andy to lie down.  After a sweltering 10 minutes he came back to give them their baths.  First step was a vigorous rub with a pad that we would clean pots with.  A layer of skin was likely removed which was painful to say the least and made your skin tingle.  He then latherd them up with soap and provided a deep massage.  To finish it off they were rinsed with multiple buckets of hot water and finally some cold water.  A great experience, not really relaxing. They are probably cleaner than they have ever been.

I also had my experience and went to Heritage Spa.  A definite step up from the boys I think though.  I had a 60 minute massage ($45 USD). It was nice to be pampered a bit and to have a bit of quiet. It is so confusing to me that in public places the women are fully covered (only showing their eyes) yet in the environment of the spa I am anything but. 

After weeks on the go we had an afternoon of relaxation.  We sat on the rooftop patio, enjoyed tea, got some homework done and took advantage of good wifi.

We eventually made our way out of our riad to explore Marrakech at night.  The square is transformed at night.  The snakes and live animals are put away and the  market has a totally different feel with food stalls, performers and vendors. We bought a couple of beautiful lanterns, which we have no idea how we are going to get home.  The performers were set up in circles with music, games of chance, henna artists and even a monkey with a diaper.  Walking through the food stalls was a gauntlet to navigate.  Menus thrust into your face and being pulled into restaurants.  Kids got a lesson in hard selling. 

Some of the food were things we have seen before, but goat heads, plates of brains,  and mounds of snails were new.  We did not indulge.  Even Andy has a threshold.

Look at all of the snails!!

After the market we had a reservation at a swanky restaurant, Lotus Privilege.  We were guided in through some building that were not much more than rubble.  There is a consistency here where building are not much on the outside but behind the walls they are peaceful and beautiful.   At the entry a gentlemen poured water from a large silver "I Dream of Genie" pot to wash our hands. 

  One of the performers from the band put a fez on Hudson and had him join in. 

An exciting evening in the Red City.