Marrekech, Morocco, Part 1

Koutoubia Mosque Tower

Originally uploaded by Joyz Life.

During our travels in France, Don and I met a group of women from the Marrakech Soroptimist Club at a Soroptimist Conference. They were great fun to talk to and very proud of their club project, a boarding house for girls from the poor, rural areas. Their objective is to offer a chance for these girls to attend school in Marrakech. The Club bought the land and built the boarding house, which will ultimately hold 200 girls. At present, they have funds to support 55.

They invited us to come see the project and with a personal invitation from Leila Binebine to stay at her home, we decided to make Marrakech one of the stops on our Grand Tour.

Morocco was a French Protectorate until the 1920s and the French influence is very evident. Most of the residents speak both French and Arabic and the street signs are in the two languages. Marrakech is the third largest city in Morocco and primarily a tourist destination. Huge hotels line the streets in the “Hotel Zone” which features beautifully landscaped wide boulevards.

The medina – the old walled city – is where a great deal of the city life goes on. The Koutoubia Mosque and Tower occupy one corner of the medina. The Tower is a major landmark, at 230 feet in height the tallest building in the City. It was constructed of pink gueliz stone in the 11th Century and locals are justifiably very proud of it.