Today we transferred from Ouarzazate to Marrakech, crossing the central High Atlas Mountains. Issam warned us that the road is a little twisty turny and we soon found out he was right. We stopped at an overlook to view our route. The photo to the left is probably best viewed by clicking on it to see a larger version.
We are now operating on standard time instead of daylight saving time. Morocco puts the clocks back an hour for Ramadan (which starts May 16th) so that sunset, when good Muslims can break their fast, comes earlier in the evening. After Ramadan, Morocco will return to daylight saving time.
Issam has shared with us some interesting contradictions. He says Morocco still has a little way to go to get everything straightened out. For example,
- there is no drinking age in Morocco since Muslims are not allowed to drink. However, you have to be 18 to purchase alcohol in “bottle stores” – what we call liquor stores.
- Morocco professes to believe in religious tolerance, but a Muslim can be arrested if s/he is seen eating in public during the day in Ramadan.
But Morocco is making fine progress on some environmental matters. We drove past El Khorbat, the site of a large solar energy plant. I missed a few of the details, but I did get that the energy produced by the sun is being stored during the day in molton salt which cools at night releasing energy that powers turbines. (Someone help me here if I am totally confused.) Morocco has set ambitious renewable energy goals: 32% renewable throughout the country by 2020, and 52% by 2030.
We arrived in Marrakech in later afternoon and settled into our lovely riad. The bedrooms are a snug fit but the appointments and the riad itself provide a calm and elegant refuge in an otherwise bustling medina.
Issam took us on an introductory orientation to the souk. It appears utterly confusing and I am sure I will get lost easily. Fortunately most of the people I am travelling with seem to have gotten well oriented! I am excited to see more of Marrakech tomorrow.
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