(Apparently this is where they put up posters of political candidates - each spot is about 3 feet tall.)At the tanneries I believe I smelled the worst smell I have ever smelled in my entire life. Wait, no, I take that back - I think that beached whale in Oceanside still takes the cake. But this was second. Of course, the people who worked there had no problem with it, but we were given each several sprigs of mint leaves to smell as we overlooked the tannery.
It was incredible to see so many animal hides hung up in one place. It was a very large space, and the workers looked so tiny down there. Of course, since it was Labor Day, there were only a few people working, but we were informed that on a regular day there can be as many as 250 hide-stompers (apparently that's one of the primary tasks). We were able to see one or two, though, as well as someone stripping the hair off a hide (Donkey? Goat? Sheep? The un-trained eye may never know...).
After we left the tannery, we visited several artisan shops - a weaver, a potter, an apothecary... We ate a delicious Moroccan lunch, similar to dinner the night before, and continued with our sight-seeing.
This included a stop at the largest mosque in Africa, supposedly built by a woman named Fatima in something like the 14th century (though I'm still quite fuzzy on the details). We were not allowed to enter. There were pieces of paper posted all over the entrances stating in several languages, "Non-Muslims not permitted." While I understand, I confess that I would have loved to see the interior. We saw a couple famous fountains (I'm not sure why they were famous - I'll have to find out) that were very beautiful, with incredibly complex mosaics, and ultimately returned to the riad for (some more) sweet mint tea before heading back out for dinner. Our guide was very, very concerned about our safety, and must have repeated his plan for us at least seven times: "We go back to riad, I talk to woman and ask her to call a taxi for you. This taxi will take you to eat, and you tell him when you want come back and he come meet you then." Seven times. "You are like my daughters, I worry for you." (And then the plan again...and so on and so forth.)We got the taxi to come take us to dinner just inside the Blue Gate, at a terraced restaurant called La Kasbah. INCREDIBLE food. Did I already talk about this? That's okay, I'll do it again. I had a chicken tagine with dried (yet so juicy!) plums, toasted almonds, cinnamon, caramelized onions... And wonderful music. Which I now have on cd! It was a wonderful night, which ended, once again, with cinnamon dusted orange slices and sweet mint tea...
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