Today's excursion into Marrakech began with a visit to Menara Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site...
Driving to the Menara Gardens, the streets are full of flags of Morocco and displays welcoming delegations to the COP22 as well at African summit...
The palms here look impressive...
These palms line up the road sides making for an idyllic feel...
Walking up to the Menara Gardens...
On the opposite end, 3 kilometers along the Avenue Prince Moulay Rachid lies the iconic symbol of Marrakech, the Koutoubia mosque...
The Menara Gardens are home to an orchard and an olive grove...
These olives will one day grace your plate...
The Moroccan flags adorn the central pathway...
Rows of olive trees...
The gardens were established in the 12th century by the Almohad Caliphate ruler Abd al-Mu'min, who planted the area with over a 1000 olive trees. At the centre of garden is a basin, 200 metres by 150 metres, filled in with water from the Atlas mountains through a series of elaborate channels...
The basin is home to carp, and it is customary for locals to feed them bread...
It is said that the pond was also used to train the medieval armies to swim before crossing to Andalusia, to invade Spain...
The famous pavilion of the Menara Gardens. On a clear day, they say, you can get a view of the Atlas mountains behind...
A fountain not being used anymore...
Local vendors...
Lovely hats...
I left the Menara Gardens amazed with the ingenuity of the medieval architects who designed the elaborate channel system to irrigate the the olive groves here, and indeed olive trees mean a lot in this region...
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