We arrived at Marrakesh airport on Thursday morning and found our taxi driver whom was arranged to pick us up by the riad (traditional Moroccan home with an interior garden). I found Riad Jonan online which was overwhelmingly recommended by previous guests (http://www.riadjonan.com/). It is definitely a unique experience to stay in a riad in Morocco. We were greeted by the management with mint tea (yum) and desserts (too sweet). We wanted to take it easy the first day so we went to a hamman (a traditional Moroccan spa) suggested by the riad. The hamman was beautifully decorated, super clean, and yes, much more expensive than the local public hammans (but still cheaper than US: ~$65) because it is targeted to foreigners. However, we don't have any complaints since Syd and I had an entire steam room to ourselves so we could experience Moroccan bath together.
I had been looking forward to the famous Moroccan bath for a long time. We were first asked to strip down to underpants in separate changing rooms and come out with bath robes. Then we were led to a steam room, took off robes, and lied down on a pad on each side of the room. The tiled floor was burning my feet that I had to hop a bit to the pad. A Moroccan lady poured hot water on our bodies and we started to sweat. The purpose is to sweat out the toxins in the body. After 15 minutes, the lady came back to check if we had sweated enough, then she put on a 'sandy' glove and started scrubbing our entire body, from neck to toes, from front to back. The scrubbing experience can be a bit painful because the glove is pretty rough and the lady used some muscle power. But I like deep and shiatsu massages so it was okay for me. Pouring more hot water on my skin and it felt sizzling and refreshing. The lady put black soap (made from olive extract) on us and we lied down for more sweating. After another 15 minutes or so, she came back and pour more hot water on us then it was time for showering. Afterward, we went to lay down with robes and drank mint tea in the courtyard while waiting for our massages. Syd chose a relaxing massage while I went for traditional Moroccan hot towel massage. Ahhhh, all I can say is what a way to relaxing because I fell asleep.
Since we were supposed to be lazy, we ate a traditional meal at the riad. The food at the hotel is usually tasteless but not at this riad. Many previous guests noted that it was one of the best meals they had in Marrakesh so we had to try it. The appetizer dish of Steamed Vegetables with Spices impressed our taste buds so much that we almost clean out the entire plate. The following-up delicious couscous and tajine simply took our words away... we only have one mouth and it was busy eating.
So what was inside the tajine? Slow-cooked tender Lamb with Sweet Prunes! Yummy yummy yum!
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