*Warning*....this mammoth post is not for the faint hearted....read only if you have insomnia...or stamina It’s 4 days since ‘the layabouts’ returned from Seville, Marrakech and the delightful town of Ronda. A trip booked by my lover as a birthday present for me. Seville wasn’t complete without a visit to Real Alcazar, one of the oldest European Royal Palaces still in use and the birthplace of Maria Antonietta (1729-1785). We immersed ourselves in the beautiful palace gardens and amused ourselves in the palace maze….just big kids at heart! This was followed by a visit to the awesome Plaza de Espana built in 1928 to host Ibero-American exhibition in 1929. It is located in Maria Luisa Park and is a landmark example of the Renaissance revival style of Spanish architecture, it’s a huge half circle with buildings continually running around the edge and accessible over a moat by numerous bridges representing the 4 ancient kingdoms of Spain. In the centre is the Vicente Traver fountain and by the walls of the plaza are many tiled coves, each representing a different province of Spain. The Plaza has been used as filming locations for Lawrence of Arabia, Star wars and more recently in the 2012 film The Dictator. Our time was well spent in the typical narrow Spanish streets of Barrio Santa Cruz area viewing the historical sights of Seville Cathedral and the Giralda Tower. A short flight to Marrakech, Morocco took us into another world, also known as ‘the Daughter of the Desert’ or ‘Red City’ and likened to ‘a drum that beats an African identity into the complex soul of Morocco’..… We spent 5 nights in a gorgeous Moorish Riad right in the heart of the Medina. A short walk from taxi to Riad via dark alleyways had us believing there could be danger.... we quickly realised we were far safer there than some places in the UK!! Jemaa el-Fna, world famous square and market place in Marrakechs medina quarter (old city) has a myriad of narrow winding streets leading off to smaller market areas and described as a honeycomb of intricately connected alleyways with the old city being a micro-medina in itself. A total of 18 Souks (markets) selling a diverse range of leather, jewellery, carpets, clothing, shoes, lanterns, ceramics, wood, meta, paintings, and so much more… Walking along the alleyways, constantly dodging vans, mopeds (often 2 or 3 on board), cyclists and donkey & carts not to mention hoards of pedestrians with vendors offering a ‘free look’ at merchandise hopeful once inside their shop that irresistible urge to purchase after friendly haggling would take its natural course. Mere words cannot describe the experience that is the culture of Marrakech…the square is populated by beggars, snake charmers, acrobats, magicians, mystics, musicians, monkey trainers, herb sellers, story-tellers and entertainers in medieval garb. By definition, Marrakech is a 3rd world country, the majority of the city’s inhabitants are poor and as of 2010 some 20,000 households still don’t have access to water or electricity. On route back to Mojacar we stopped off in the breath taking Spanish city of Ronda. A city perched over 100 meters on top of the El Tajo canyon and home to the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 19:43:12 +0000
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