Treasure Trove

Koutoubia Mosque in the morning...

After a deep sleep, we woke bright and early to embrace bright, sunny, heated Marrakech.

My parents, founders and suppliers of Al-Kahf Moroccan Imports Inc., were in Marrakech to shop for their store. Us kids were, of course, happy to delve into Marrakech's glorious souq along with them. It was an Aladdin's cave of wonders: just as full of treasure and spice and anything you could possibly want or need and more that you couldn't have ever wanted or needed, and just as labyrinthine. I'm certain you could get lost for weeks if you weren't careful.

My favourite thing about the maze-like souq is that its avenues are sometimes tight paths where you brush against people from all over the world, and sometimes broad highways wide enough for donkey-pulled carts and innumerable mopeds, and sometimes just a crack between stalls for cats and small children to dart through.

And beyond products, Marrakech's souq houses incredible artisans and craftsmen, hard at work at their crafts, using both traditional, ancient methods and more contemporary methods interchangeably. Marrakech is truly a city that marries the past and the present without difficulty or complaint.

The video below is of a man hand--er, foot​-carving prayer beads.