Re: [Leica] OT Venice Hotels / Marrakesh

[doug kim <yup@pacbell.net>]

outstanding stuff, jim.

i also am looking at booking a late spring trip there. i couldn't decide
between turkey and morocco and i think you just tipped the scales!

thanks!
doug

On 1/26/04 11:20 PM, "Tim Atherton" <tim@KairosPhoto.com> wrote:

> Hey Jim - amazing stuff.
> 
> My wife's father is/was an exploration geologist and she spent a good part
> of her very early formative years from the age of 6 months living in those
> desert and mountain regions being brought up by the Berbers who acted as her
> Dad's guides.
> 
> She was peering over my shoulder looking at your pix, seeing what I was
> ooing and aahing about. Now she's on her laptop busy looking up holidays in
> Morocco...!
> 
> tim
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Jim Laurel
>> Sent: Monday, January 26, 2004 11:01 PM
>> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] OT Venice Hotels / Marrakesh
>> 
>> 
>> Howard,
>> I just got back from North Africa doing one of my favorite things
>> - roaming
>> around deserts in Land Rovers!  We were in Marrakech for Christmas and in
>> the Draa Valley for New Years.  ;-)
>> 
>> Without a doubt, the best place to stay in Marrakech is in a traditional
>> house ("Riad") right in the old city ("Medina").  We have done this twice
>> now, and each time it has been outstanding.  You and your family
>> could rent
>> a small one and I guarantee you that it will be cheaper and a better
>> experience than any hotel.  These are generally 3 stories high,
>> with a small
>> courtyard open to the sky.  Around this courtyard on each level are the
>> bedrooms.  This Christmas, we had a large one, as we had 5 other friends
>> along.  We had our own housekeeper and cook as well.  Even when
>> we rented a
>> small one just for our family (4), we had a cook/housekeeper with us.
>> 
>> Contact Marrakech Medina for details.  The URL is below.  Talk to
>> Nora.  She
>> speaks a little English.  You will have to pay in advance, but trust me,
>> they are a good outfit with the best riads.
>> http://www.marrakech-medina.com
>> 
>> Looking down into our small riad during the '00 trip
>> http://www.spectare.com/dispatches/LondonBombayCebu/d05-Morocco/im
>> age15.html
>> 
>> Whatever you do, avoid the Grand Hotel du Tazi near the city centre, which
>> is recommended by some guide books - an older edition of the Lonely Planet
>> in particular.  It is awful.  Hair and stains on the pillows, pubic hairs
>> all over the linens, glass broken out of the windows, centipedes in the
>> bathrooms...  Horrible.
>> 
>> I'd also avoid the much vaunted "La Mamounia".  We stayed there
>> once to see
>> what it was like and we found it a real turn off.  Snobby staff, equally
>> snobby guests, and we all became very ill from eating club
>> sandwiches there.
>> On top of that, thier prices are just insane.  La Mamounia is not
>> the place
>> to have an authentic Marrakech experience.  You must stay in a riad inside
>> the medina.
>> 
>> The Medina at night - a safe and secure place...
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0465.htm
>> 
>> That brings us to food.  Many of the restaurants that surround
>> the Djemaa el
>> Fna are a rip off with lousy food to boot.  My advice is to have your cook
>> prepare a good solid breakfast at your riad, then just grab a small snack
>> for lunch.  Then, at around 6-7pm, eat at one of the many food stalls that
>> are set up in the Djemaa el Fna in the evening.  We have done this many
>> times and have never been sick.  Some people find it a turn-off that the
>> food (particularly meats) are on open display uncovered, but they are all
>> cooked well and very very tasty.
>> 
>> Tip: One of the best of these stalls is #41.  Great every time.  Ask for
>> Ahmed.  He will take good care of you.  Come back a few times in a row and
>> you will get the royal treatment.  His grilled aubergine is great, as well
>> as the kefta.
>> 
>> Photo: the guy on the far left is Ahmed at stall #41.  My son is
>> just to his
>> right taking a photo.  If you go there, could you print out a
>> copy and give
>> it to him for me?  I can provide a high res original.
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0452.htm
>> 
>> Cooking mussels at Djemaa el Fna:
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0443.htm
>> 
>> As far as photography goes, it is tough in any Moroccan city.
>> People often
>> want a tip for a photo, but people with whom you have engaged in a
>> transaction already are always happy to pose for you.  But candids are
>> tough.  It gets better in the desert.  Down toward Zagora and
>> Mhamid in the
>> Draa valley, people are a little more mellow about it.  Women
>> will generally
>> not appreciate thier photo being taken by a stranger.  Take some
>> time to get
>> to know people and it gets a little easier.
>> 
>> These shots of Omar was taken at dawn near Merzouga:
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0902.htm
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0900.htm
>> 
>> One of our campsites near Merzouga
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0893.htm
>> 
>> My wife, Karin near Mhamid
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw1348.htm
>> 
>> Thing is, it can be hard to get access to these people unless you have
>> wheels.  We had driven our own Land Rovers down from the UK.  But
>> there are
>> many agencies in Marrakech with the white Land Rover Defender
>> 110s that can
>> take you out for a few days.  It is well worth the trouble to do so.
>> 
>> Cool Land Rovers
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw1228.htm
>> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/discoj
> ump1024.htm
> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0845.htm
> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw1550.htm
> 
> One of the white tourist D110s near Mouzouga
> http://www.spectare.com/gallery/Maroc%2003%20Gallery/source/20cw0865.htm
> 
> Email me off list if there is anything else you want to know.
> 
> --Jim Laurel
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Howard Cummer" <cummer@netvigator.com>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004 8:03 PM
> Subject: [Leica] OT Venice Hotels / Marrakesh
> 
> 
> Also, after Venice we are going to Marrakesh for a
>> conference and travel tips for that area of the world would also be
>> appreciated. I expect I will take my Canon digital SLR and Leica R
>> lenses on this trip - just to stray back on topic.
>> Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year!)
>> Howard in Hong Kong
> 
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doug kim
http://www.ricecracker.net/

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