Marrakesh, Morocco

I woke up today around 11:00, showered, dressed, and prepared myself to see Marrakesh. I exited the hotel and walked through a covered souk before arriving at my first destination: El Bahia Palace. Upon reaching the palace, I paid for my entrance ticket and began touring the estate. I walked through the different rooms and courtyards, looking at the Islamic architecture and tile/woodwork designs. It was a barren palace (no furniture was left inside) and rather plain looking, but it was nice to see how well-to-do Moroccan merchants lived back in the nineteenth-century AD. After touring the palace, I walked southward to try and locate the entrance to the El Badi Palace, which is nothing but ruins now (although they are supposed to be interesting ruins), but had no luck – I did pass by the Moulay el Yazid Mosque and some other nice buildings. I then decided to visit the Saadian Tombs, which is a collection of ornate mausoleums and tombs with many Moroccan tiles (there are also some Jewish and Christian gravestones preserved alongside the Islamic tombs). The tombs date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603 AD) and were not discovered until 1917 AD. I paid for my entrance ticket and walked around inside the compound, looking at the different tombs. Once done looking around, I exited the Saadian Tombs and walked through more of Marrakesh. Next, I made my way to the Koutoubia Mosque and viewed the minaret and admired the outside of the structure (as with all mosques in Morocco, non-Muslims are not allowed to enter inside – this is strange to me since I think every other Muslim country I have visited has welcomed infidels in to their mosques (even if only at certain hours)). The Koutoubia Mosque was completed under the reign of the Berber Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199 AD) and has inspired other buildings that I have seen recently during my travels (such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat). After having visited Koutoubia Mosque, I was fairly tired and I decided to quit for the day. So, I returned to my hotel room, relaxed, and worked on the website. Later on, after 17:00, I left the hotel and walked northward to the local Pizza Hut (a trustworthy franchise that ought to not get me sick). Once at the Pizza Hut, I sat down and had a feast (it had been nearly 48 hours since I last ate food and I was pretty hungry). I had a Pepsi, garlic bread, a small, sliced cheesy-pepperoni calzone, and pasta with chicken. After stuffing myself with all that food (far too much for one man), I stopped at the nearby Carrefour Express and bought some Moroccan beer (three bottles) and water. I then walked back to my hotel room and got to work updating the website. I also watched ‘The Social Network’ (which happened to be on one of the two channels the television in my room received) whilst drinking the Moroccan beer I had bought (it sucked). Eventually, around 03:00, I went to sleep.