Au revoir, Morocco
Last night we had a simple final dinner in the ‘Magic Carpet Room’ on the roof of Riad Anayela.
The ‘room’ is actually a 10×20 foot enclosure of knee-height concrete, filled with red cushions and pillows. Dark red curtains hang and billow from a pipe frame, creating movable fabric walls and ceiling. The space is open to the sky, and open to the night air and to the sounds of Marrakech. It is the highest non-minaret structure for several hundred yards in all directions.
The only reason for this long description of the Magic Carpet Room is that while we were in Marrakech, we spent a huge number of our evening hours alone up there as a family. It will be our abiding memory of our time in the city.
Last night we listened to the final call to prayer from the mosques all around us, watched the full moon rise, and ate our french fries and kebabs. The streets were alive with sounds of families breaking the fast, especially festive because it was the mid-point of the Ramadan month.
After dinner, Zola persuaded the night staff, Badr and Sandra, to join him in playing the drums. We were the only guests in the Riad, so we all sat in the open lounge above the courtyard, and made a tremendous racket.
Before bedtime, we tromped back to the roof, en famille
, to “say goodnight to the moon.” Of course, we all fell asleep, and had to stumble back downstairs to our room much later.
Just before the first call to prayer this morning, at 4am, we gathered our bags, and walked through the deserted streets of the medina. Riad Anayela’s indispensable man, Mehdi, met us with the hotel’s Land Cruiser, and drove us to the airport for our 6:15am flight.
We have a short hop to Casablanca, then a connection to Tunis, Tunisia. By early afternoon, we hope to be on the beach in the small village of Sidi Bou Said.
Au revoir, Morocco.