Atlas is the name of the room we stayed a night at the Riad of Rubis in Marrakesh.

We came to Casablanca for William’s Halloween break because Morocco was the closet destination out of the Schengen Visa area. We hoped a new visa stamp will reset William’s 90 days clock for visa-less stay in Portugal. We had never heard of Marrakesh until our Fulbrighter friend Dr. Biswas reminded us of it. Having completed our Morocco trip, we realized how lucky we were. Had we not gone to Marrakesh, it would be like not having been to Morocco at all.

The morning

We were again woken up by the call to prayers and this time we could hear from tens if not more minarets all at the same time. The one closet to us lasted about 3 minutes but many other continued for much longer. The music from the market continued throughout the entire night.

We went downstairs for breakfast. The dining area have three small tables. The owner was still there busy working. The woman we saw yesterday came back early morning. She presented us with dishes and dishes of food. I think we had a best breakfast at the riad.

The riad also has a dinner menu with everything priced in euros. They also collect city tax in euros. Accepting euros is actually good for tourists because the exchange rate can be very unfavorable.

William took a picture at the entrance of our room.

Penetrate deep into the medina

Based on the time we had before our returning train to Casablanca, we set our morning destination as the palace which was 30 minutes away. We need to get some cash first. Google Map shows an ATM on our way. I saw an ATM at the market, but it was not marked by the Google Map so we skipped it.

At the place marked on Google Map, we found two instead of one ATMs belonging to two banks sitting side-by-side. I couldn’t tell which one is more legitimate so used the one that seems to be busy. It could be a mistake. Anyway, it’s the same as you would see at the airport.

We passed many souks that look interesting and exotic.

The souks spread along narrow alleys with two tall stone walls on the side and a roof that guards against rain and shine. You would walk a long while without seeing an open sky.

At one intersection this cafe stood out tall. Later I learned that the blue is a patented color of Marrakesh.

The son of Joseph School was closed for renovation for the entire year.

We opted for the Museum of Marrakech right next door. The museum looks small from outside, but have a wide range of exhibitions from modern art to tradition craftsmanship, historic artifacts, and architectural styles.

In the gift shop, I bought a graph book of Marrakesh. I tried to bargain on the price, which made the staff laugh. “You should always bargain hard in the souks, but not here,” he told me.

Back to Casablancce

The Marrakesh train station was a true beauty. On the front, it has the majestic grandeur and simplicity of Moroccan style, while on the other side, the platform merged into the surroundings.

Passengers waiting for their train may enjoy a mint tea at the rooftop patio with a view of the platform embedded in palm trees.

Unlike what I saw an endless earth surface on my trips to the northwest China, Morocco’s farmers seems to be living a good life. Looking down from the flight when we came two days before, the plain was dotted with small villas with walls. Close observation from my train windows is the same.

The plain looks flat but is actually not. Our train cut through many slowly rolling hills like this all the way between Marrakesh and Casablanca.

I saw a site which looked like a plant for construction materials.

I took a picture when our train crossed the river. Inland Morocco has been under a negative influence of the climate change. I read that 80% of their oasis has disappeared in the last few decades and palm tree have become endangered.

The Mall

After checking in our hotel, my plan was to go to the Rick’s Cafe, whose name was a reference to movie Casablanca. Looking up on Google Map, the popular restaurant wouldn’t open until one hour later at 6:30, and we have had difficulties calling taxis with the Careem App. We decided to go to a Chinese restaurant shown on the map not too far away from us.

The Chinese restaurant turned out to be at the food court of a huge modern mall. The chefs were local people. It was actually a noodles place with Japanese dishes. It took them 15 minutes to cook my noodles. The noodle had a lot of room for improvement and the tempura I order for William was totally charred. We noticed the price at the mall were on par, if not higher than that of an urban US mall. We bought a bluetooth headphone at a Japanese store with cash we had left. This would turn out to be smart. We would learn that shops at the airport do not accept only currency in the next morning on our way back.

Crossing the street is tricky. It could be dangerous if you follow the pedestrian lights. It seemed at least some were not synced with the main traffic lights for motor vehicles. Sometimes a crossing line could lead to a fence in the middle of a busy highway with no way out. After a few times, William and I decided to cross like a local.