Taroudant - Grandmother of Marrakech
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In a fairly new trend, many cruise ships have begun to visit the port of Agadir, Morocco. The mere name is both exotic and curious. It evokes what you would imagine the 1930’s Casablanca to be like today.
But it’s not anything like that at all. After an earthquake leveled the town in 1960, most of the city was destroyed, leaving only one fortress, the Kasbah. The Kasbah, built in the 1500’s and perched high on a hill, is still standing. Everything else has been rebuilt. Today’s Morocco is a popular destination for the luxury hotel and beach destination crowd.
Because of the limited historic appeal in Agadir, we headed to Taroudant, about an hour’s drive away. Taroudant is called the “Grandmother of Marrakech”. The town is surrounded by fortress walls. Climbing the ramparts of the fortress offers a beautiful scenic view of the surrounding countryside, but not much else.
Taroudant has a small souk, or market, offering local goods such as pottery, spices, clothing, fruits and vegetables. Many of the vendors offer the traditional local garb for sale which is an interesting experience. If you venture to buy something, be sure you want the item, as the haggling will be relentless. Bargaining is a way of life in Morocco and if you are not up to the task, I wouldn’t recommend it. Treat this stop as a photo opportunity.
When you exit the souk, you will enter the centre of town the local gathering place, the town square. This is where the old world meets the new. There are a couple of small cafes where you can sit and have a mint tea, the local drink. Women still wear the traditional blue veils and are covered head to foot. Many of the men wear long caftan type garb. It’s interesting to see, but you may feel uncomfortable as you are clearly a visitor. And, even half a world away, you will find local musicians playing for you and hoping for spare change.
Many cruise ship tours will take you to a small storefront where creams and lotions are made from the fruit of a local tree, the Arganier tree. The fruit is harvested by local women and is promoted as helping support the widows in the area, but that remains to be seen whether it’s true or not. The lotions and creams promise that they will cure a host of ailments, which include everything form insomnia to dry skin. We were skeptical and felt it wasn’t something we needed or wanted.
On the way back to the ship, keep your eyes out for the aforementioned Arganier trees, which grow wild along the sides of the roads. If you are lucky enough, you will be able to see the local goats climbing the trees to get to the fruit the tree offers. Goats in trees, who knew?
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