One last bit of fun before we leave Marrakech

Nothing like a food tour to get you into the swing of a new culture. That’s what we decided to do for one of our last nights here in Morocco, try some local cuisine. We booked a tour through Trip Advisor for around $70.00. The tour includes appetizers, main course and desert while sampling goodies throughout the Medina.

At 4pm, every day, there is a large portion of the Medina square that becomes a food court. Approximately 200 vendors set up their booths for the locals and tourists (brave) alike to feed on some original Moroccan cuisine.  Everything you can imagine is available here, from snails, cow hoofs to open-pit baked sheep’s heads.

Medina food court

Our Guide, Yaya, selected a nice place that serves hot soup for our starter. Harira, a traditional soup people eat at the end of Ramadan. Made with saffron, lentils, tomatoes, chickpeas, onions, celery, olive oil, cumin, turmeric, paprika, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, etc. Really very good! The only part that became uncomfortable was when a local beggar decided I was his best friend and wanted to share my soup. The owner quickly asked the man to leave (I think that’s what he said) and things went back to normal. A quick stop at the snail vendor for a bowl of boiled snails then off for more adventure. (Yes, Collette had to have a bowl. She even conned me into eating one of those little rubbery creatures!)

“Yaya” our food tour guide holding spiced olives

Lady selling coconut macaroons

Harira soup

Yum! Snail soup. Just like Mom used to make!

We next went into the Medina to try a couple of pastries. These shops are open all the time as pastries are an all-day treat. Many Moroccans enjoy a quick taste of something sweet throughout the day. Surprisingly, these were quite tasty, not too sweet and filled with fruits or jellies.

Pastries!

As we walked through the Median, Yaya told us about the spice traders, the bread bakers and the olive & nut vendors. Stopping to try a taste of some dried fruits and spiced up nuts occasionally.

Olive vendor

Olives

Olives

Aphrodisiac is empty but the energy jar is full?

One happy nut vendor

Next on our tour was a quick stop to have a glass of mint tea, an all time favorite in Morocco. Yaya mentioned this was to help with our digestion so we could eat all of our dinner that was yet to come. Personally, all of us were getting a bit full by this time and hoped that dinner would be small portions.

No such luck? Our dinners were traditional tagines of chicken or beef, with salad and desert. A full meal in itself! Unfortunately, no one could finish their meal. We did taste everything but quite a bit of food went to waste. After this tour I think I need to visit Omar the tent maker for a new pair of pants.

Wrapped up the evening with a short walk and said our goodbyes to Yaya and the rest of the group. Fun evening, lots of food and a great way to experience the local culture. Time to waddle back to the Riad and hit the sack. Tomorrow we scout for flights back home, once again.