Back home in North Carolina after 14 days in Morocco, the quintessential shopping bazaar, with a 2-day stopover in beautiful Madrid, Spain. Now, I prepare to return to Oaxaca, but not before a final set of Morocco recommendations to share with you.
Tisnet tagines photo copyright Norma Hawthorne
- Riad Bahia Salam, Marrakech, a restored mid-range guesthouse situated within easy walking distance between the Mellah, Jemaa el Fna, and the souqs. Great food. Serene spa with best massage. Excellent service. English, French, Arabic spoken. Tell Omar at the front desk I said hello.
- English-speaking Marrakech taxi driver Abdellatif will drive you anywhere for a reasonable price. He has a university education in linguistics and can’t find professional work! Very nice, honest man. Tel (00212) (0) 6 60 47 98 42
- For incredible Marrakech hand-woven cotton and agave silk scarves see artisan Ahmed El Baroudi, Souk Serrajine, No. 69, Tel 06 58 37 19 80
Spice market, photo by Norma Hawthorne
- Chez Laarabi is in the Mellah, down the street from the spice market and the old Jewish synagogue no longer in use. It is a mini-bazaar with a fine selection of rugs, leather bags, clothing, old and new Berber and Tuareg jewelry, tea sets, babouche (pointy-toed slippers), and all things Moroccan. Arset El Maach, Rue de la Radeema No. 41 (upstairs). Tel 06 66 09 11 59 email: simolarrabi@hotmail.com Say Hi to Mohamed for me.
- Stay outside the city in the Palmerie at Mosaic Palais Aziz & Spa for deluxe, grand luxury experience. The two swimming pools and spa offer a retreat from the hubbub of being in the souq.
- Chez Chegrouni for the BEST tagine and people watching on Jemaa el Fna. I had both the vegetarian and the chicken tagine on two different nights. Cheap and delicious! Recommended by locals in the know.
- Don’t get kidnapped by the henna artists on Jemaa el Fna. They are con artists who grabbed my wrist, started painting my hand in motion, and dragged me to their chair before I could protest! Cost 100 dh to get out of jail. Evidently they are famous. First price she asked me to pay to be bailed out = 800 dirham. Don’t fall for it 🙂
They saw a live one coming!
Essaouira, Morocco photo copyright Norma Hawthorne
- Taros Restaurant, Essaouira, consistently the best food, views, Atlantic Ocean breezes, great wine.
- Buy your tagine in the fish market square. Don’t pay more than 30 dirham! I bought one made in Tisnet which is just south of Agadir on the Atlantic coast. It has a beautiful green/brown glaze.
- Eat dinner at L’Heure Bleue, the luxury Chateaux et Relais hotel at the Bab Marrakech (the Marrakech Gate) if you want to spend $100 per person for superb food and house label wine.
L’Heure Bleue patio, photo by Norma Hawthorne
- See Abraham Touarez for great authentic, old Berber and Twareg jewelry at very reasonable prices. Avenue Sidi Mohamed Be Abdellah on the left side closer to the end of the shopping as you walk toward the old Mellah. There’s a pool hall directly across the avenue. Tel 06 70 95 404 He says the best way to clean Berber silver (a metal/silver mix) is to use salt and lemon juice! Map.
Argan oil, nuts photo by Norma Hawthorne
- Best lunches are at teeny tiny Vague Bleu on a side street to the left off Avenue Mohamed El Quon as you walk toward the Bab Marrakech after crossing the BIG main shopping avenue. Seats 8-10 people. Get there early. Daily specials. Terrific. Went there 4 days in a row. Not boring. French ex-pat hang-out.
- For rugs from a trusted merchant go to Maroc Art, 8 Bis Rue Laalouj, next to the museum. Ask for Abdel Mounaim Bendahhane or his colleague Abdoul Gnaoui. Tel. 05 24 47 50 50 or email maroc_art@live.fr
- Bring home Moroccan spices, dates, argan cooking oil and argan nut spread (be sure you buy the authentic kind made with almonds not peanuts) from a young man in a stall on the left side of Ave. Mohamed Zerktouni close to the Bab Doukala. Very fresh. Keep your empty water bottles and pour the oil into them. Then wrap in bubble for safe travels.
- Azur Spa & Hammam for great deep tissue massage. 1-1/2 hours for 500 dirham — an incredible bargain!
- Visit the Essaouira Synagogue and discover Jewish Moroccan history — deeply embedded in the town’s identity as a trading center.
Abraham Touarez, photo copyright Norma Hawthorne
How to get from Marrakech to Essaouira? It’s a two to four hour bus ride depending upon which company you choose. SupraTours and CTM offer first class direct service and have their own stations. Any bus that you take from the Gare Routiere will stop in every hamlet and crossroads along the way. Avoid El Mahabba Voyages, second class, shabby. Prices are about the same. You choose. And, don’t get swindled by somebody who wants a tip to reserve a seat for you! Bags are extra 5-10 dh each depending on which service you choose.
Below, dinner at L’Heure Bleue. C’est magnifique.
Why Visit Girona, Spain?
It has the best preserved medieval Jewish neighborhood in Europe dating from the 8th century with an outstanding museum atop an archeological dig that contains a mikvah. There is an investment by the Spanish government now in historical Jewish tourism. Spain is offering dual citizenship to Sefardim who want to reclaim their past.
Until the pogroms of 1391, Girona was a center of Jewish intellectual life in Spain where Kabbalah Jewish spirituality fully developed from its roots in southern France.
By 1492, with the Expulsion Decree and the start of the official Inquisition, Jews had either converted to Catholicism or left for France, Amsterdam, Turkey, North Africa, towns along the Adriatic Sea and the New World. No Jews remained in Spain.
According to our expert Barcelona guide Dominique of Urban Cultours, the Spanish Jewish community there was mostly decimated in 1391. Surviving in Girona are tombstone fragments from Montjuic cemetery and artifacts of Jewish ritual and daily life. In Barcelona, cemetery stones were used for foundation construction of 15th century church and government buildings.
Girona boasts an amazing gothic cathedral dating from 1038 A.D. with an impressive, wide nave, second only to Saint Peter’s in Rome.
The stained glass windows spill colored light into an otherwise dark, stony and austere interior. It speaks of early European Catholicism where the so-called chair of Charlemagne commands attention.
From the top of the cathedral steps, you look down onto a lovely square, perfect for resting, sipping a glass of Estrella beer with tapas appetizers.
During the Spanish civil war, 1936-1939, the figures of the twelve apostles that flanked the side entrance to the cathedral were destroyed. Their intricate crowns are still intact, and one can imagine …
Girona’s old town flanks both sides of the beautiful Onyar River, connected by bridges. It is walkable, accessible, filled with narrow alleyways, hillside steps, ancient porticos, smart shops filled with designer clothes and accessories, excellent patio cafes and Catalunya flags flying everywhere.
The sentiment for an independent Catalan state is strong. It feels and smells old world.
Two days here are not long enough!
Compared with Barcelona there is not the crush of tourists although there are plenty of European visitors. We heard French, Italian, Czech, German and Russian, plenty of Catalan and Spanish. Not much English!
We had an amazing dinner at Massana, a one-star Michelin restaurant, our best in Spain. We saw the restaurant sign and rang the doorbell to what we discovered was a private dining room. Chef-owner Pere Massana emerged in his kitchen whites to personally guide us to the actual entrance.
Our welcome was warm, service outstanding and engaging. Food spectacular. We opted out of the tasting menu — too much food late at night (most restaurants don’t open until 8:30 p.m.) and instead ordered an entree and dessert. Otherwise, we would have lingered until well beyond midnight!
The meal was preceded by three taste treats to whet our appetite: fresh goat cheese topped with rosemary, mussels marinated in orange vinaigrette and a fois gras yogurt topped with crunchy flashed dried ground corn. This sure beat the chocolate coated fois gras popsicle we had in Granada at overrated La Fabula that was part of an over-the-top tasting menu.
We were astounded that Chef Massana followed us out to the street to personally thank us for coming, asking how we enjoyed the meal! Memorable. Sincere.
After a good night’s rest at Hotel Nord 1901 we took the afternoon train to Figueres, rented a car and drove to a 15th century village where we stayed overnight in a converted farmhouse. Then, on to the Dali Museum where I will post about his surrealist jewelry designs next.
Today, we are resting in the Mediterranean seacoast town of Cadaques, Spain. But, I can’t get magical Girona off my mind.
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Posted in Cultural Commentary, Photography, Travel & Tourism
Tagged archeology, Catalonia, Catalunya, Cathedral, diaspora, dining, dispersion, eat, expulsion, food, Girona, history, Inquisition, Jewish, Jewish quarter, Kabbalah, Massana, Michelin, restaurant, Spain, The Call