More from Marrakech

Here are a few more of my favorite photos from Morocco.

Gala Dinner at an old Moroccan mansion:

Evening entertainment

Candle fountain

One of many beautiful doorways. One thing that struck me was how beautiful and colorful they alwasy seemed to be. In a country where all the buildings are the color of the earth, the doorways were often bright blues and yellows, striking bursts of color.

Look at those amazing tile patterns on the wall!

Palmeraie Golf Palace:

Tea service

Outdoor Excursions:

Escape from the sun

Beautiful craftwork

Enjoying dinner, served in beautiful tents, under the stars:

It was the most incredible experience - to be under a pitch black sky, stars shining bright, palm trees illuminated, warmed by the heat of fires like this one. It felt like we were so very far away from the rest of the world.

And finally, one last trip to the Souks before heading home:

Mosque at night

Little black cobra. Doesn't it look harmless? I'm not so sure it was.

Incredible footwork. The cedar skewers on the table are the final result, which I HAD to buy to bring home to Mark

I love that there were six of us - plus the driver- squeezed into an old Mercedes cab as we headed back to the hotel to call it an early night on our last evening there. Yes, we were all very tired at this point.

To the Top of the World

The meeting theme in Marrakech was "Climbing to Success", so it was only appropriate that our teambuilding activity took us on a climbing adventure to the nearby Atlas mountains.

Although the majority of our day was spent driving Land Rovers up steep winding paths, paved wide enough for only one vehicle (and yes, the traffic definitely flew by in both directions), we did get a few opportunities to stop and take in the sights.

A perfect day, wouldn't you say? Look at that blue sky!

First rest stop.

Mid-morning tea break.

A boy and his donkey.

Camel rides on the side of the road.

Baby sheep and goats.

You almost couldn't see some of the villages we passed. They were often well hidden in the hills, always the same color as the earth.

Mountains majesty.

Restaurant Typiquement Marocain

After our trip to the souks on day 1 in Marrakech, the group I traveled with enjoyed our first of many traditional Moroccan meals at the lovely Palais Chahramane.

Immediately, we were enthralled by the restaurant's beauty and elegance, by the detail in each tile making up the intricate patterns on the floors, walls and ceilings, by the music and dancing that greeted us as we entered and then entertained us during our meal, and most certainly by the wonderful tastes and aromas that we experienced in the food.

John, Alex, Paul, Julie and I - the "Achieving Service Excellence" training team - as we entered the restaurant. Each tile in this entryway was laid by hand, the stairs themselves taking a week to complete.

Our introduction to traditional fare was quite delicious, and we soon found that the format of each meal is always the same. To begin, we always sampled a variety of hot and cold salads - in this case, there were 15! - served with bread. Beef, chicken, fish and lamb main dishes were quite common, prepared with a variety of spices including karfa (cinnamon), kamoun (cumin), kharkoum (turmeric), skingbir (ginger), libzar (pepper) , tahmira (paprika), anis seed, sesame seed, kasbour (coriander), maadnous (parsley), zaafrane beldi (saffron) and mint.

My favorite tajines were those that combined sweet and savory flavors in combinations like dried prunes and beef, or cinnamon and chicken with vegetables. Cous cous was never absent, nor were wonderfully prepared vegetables. Fresh fruit always followed the meal, along with hot mint tea.

My favorites in this starter combination were the lentils and the eggplant.

Lamb infused with mint, which we were instructed to eat with our hands.

Musicians greeting us as we entered...

...then serenading us at our table.

And what meal is complete without a candle dancer....

...and a belly dancer?!?

Djemaa el Fna - جامع الفناء

Marrakech boasts the largest souk market in Morroco, in the city's المدينة العتيقة (medina quarter).

Our experience visiting this area of the old city was certainly heightened by the darkness that surrounded us. The streets were pitch black, the air was filled with the scents of food cooking and incense burning, the crowd was thick and at times overwhelming, and the poverty and begging were unmistakable. There were monkeys on leashes, dancers and musicians enticing you into taking a photo (for which a payment is demanded - nearly causing a fight to ensue between the local who suggested it, and one of my colleagues), women and children tugging at your sleeves in an effort to provide henna decorations, artisans drawing you into their shops and bartering with animation and persistence.

I could add so much more, but my internet connection prohibits, so instead I leave you with a few photos of the sights we saw.

And I can truly say that I am thankful that we shared this adventure with a colleague of mine from Saudi Arabia, who was able to translate effectively on behalf of the entire group. Bless him for taking care of us.

meat cooking in the square

oh, what i'd give to be able to bring home some of these spices.

handcrafted lamps

my colleagues Issa (pronounced ah-EE-sah), Paul and I, dressed in traditional Moroccan attire

(And I must mention that blogger automatically displays all site information in Arabic, when logged in in Morocco. It was certainly a challenge to try to remember which buttons are in what location, and to realize that because the language is read from right to left, the "sign in" and "password" boxes are not only on the other side of the page, but also in reverse order!)

countdown to adventure...24 hours

that's right, folks!

tomorrow i'm off on another business trip, this time taking me far outside of my normal United States and Canada territory to MOROCCO!

i'm headed for the city of marrakech - comprised of both an old fortified city (the médina) and an adjacent modern city (called gueliz).

while i know that i'll be busy working for the majority of the time i'm there, i am hoping to have some time to enjoy the rich culture, unique foods and amazing scenery that this country has to offer.

to give you a taste of what i have to look forward to, here are a few picture of the palace & resort (so much more fun a title than hotel!) that i'll be staying at, and its surroundings.

hotel lobby

spice market

rug shopgate to the marrakech medina