Palaces, pictures, pastries and pastille in Marrakesh

Our last full day in Morocco was one of feverish activity. After dining in the hotel as a group on Wednesday night (and waiting an eternity for our meals to turn up), we headed off fairly early Thursday morning for our last ride on the tour bus to Bahia Palace, completed in 1900 and still used by the king on his frequent visits to Marrakesh. Then to the Saadian Tombs where royals from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries are buried; very ornate stucco and carved cedar ceilings (as we have come to expect in Morocco) and marble cenotaphs over the tombs – but no inscriptions. Our guide Said explained that when Muslims are buried they are lain on the right side so that they are facing Mecca.

Then to the Photography Museum, which contains photographs of people and places taken between 1880 and 1950 – striking black and white photographs of the old and the young, the rich and the poor, taken by leading photographers of the age. Then back into the souks, dodging motor bikes and mules again, seeing the artisans at work creating metal, silver, wood and leather objects of all shapes and sizes. Most importantly, we bought a box of delicious honey and almond pastries, enough to see us through to Seville. Then a walk back through the main square, the Jemaq el Fna, which translates to “Assembly of the Dead’ to acknowledge that this was the place where public executions took place well into the nineteenth century, with severed heads left on display to deter potential wrongdoers (it doesn’t seem to have worked; pickpocketing is rife in the square, especially at night).

Back to our hotel to freshen up, then off to the Restaurant Le Marakchi, overlooking the square, which was now a blaze of light, colour, activity and smells as the food stalls swing into action, for our last meal together as a group. We dined on a tajine of chicken and almonds, a chicken pastille and an array of different, delicious salads served up in small bowls. We escaped with two people who we have taken a particular shine to, Helen and John from Tamworth, for a quiet farewell drink in the Grand Hotel Tazi, not far from our riad.

Up this morning, farewells to all, then off to the airport (where I write this) for our flight to Seville via Madrid. It is with great sadness that we leave Morocco, a beautiful, hospitable country chock-full of amazing sights and contrasts. It has been a remarkable experience and will stay in our memories for the rest of our lives.

Tomorrow: another country, another culture as we explore Seville.