Finding Morocco In Glastonbury

Three and a half hours flight to Marrakech from Bristol and just a step outside of Europe, Morocco is one of those countries I’ve been hankering to

visit for some time now and myself, my partner and daughter went a few weeks ago for eleven days. We booked flights with Ryanair and arranged accommodation

seperately over the internet, meaning we had the freedom to move around and choose our own

destinations with three different types of accomodation. We had two nights in Marrakech before travelling to the coast to

Essaouira for six days and then back to Marrakech for the final three. We stayed in a grand Riad, an old Jewish tea merchants house, and a 4 star hotel. all very different, all very enjoyable. It was hot, 49 degrees on our last day, and we also went during Ramadan. Probably the best news our livers have had for a while, that's for sure.

Marrakech was just as I imagined, and a completely sensory

experience in the main square of Djemaa el Fnar– from the fragrance of mint

which fills the air (Moroccans are big on mint tea, made from fresh mint

leaves), the smell of spices, incense and perfumes, food markets, the sound of

the call to prayer in the nearby Koutoubia Mosque, the persistent beckoning from street

traders to look at their stalls, fresh orange juice pressed in front of you,

snake charmers, medicine men, acrobats, the stifling heat, the dazzling displays of

lanterns, vast rugs, vibrant textiles, gleaming silver ware, leather,

decorative babouche slippers in all sizes and colours, coloured tassels, tea

glasses, tagines and other earthen cooking pots, brightly painted ceramics….it

was glorious.

Unfortunately I didn’t bring

half as much in the way of keepsakes as I had intended (I blame Ryan Air’s

stingy baggage allowance, hmph) and I did want a few pieces to put into my

home, which I sadly didn’t bring back. What I can do, however, to recreate my

Moroccan experience and bring a touch of the vibrancy of their crafts into my

home, is use some of our local Glastonbury shops!

Dilliway and Dilliway on the

High Street deal in artefacts, furnishings and decorative pieces which are

mainly imported from Asia. However, there is some distinct similarity between

the beautiful and intricate metal lanterns, glorious textiles, jewel coloured

glass wear and heavy, solid wood furniture that would make it easy to recreate

a Moroccan environment. Down the road is Art of Africa, which specialises

mostly in crafts from the southern countries, but there are still some north

African influenced pieces to be found too.

Starchild, in the

Glastonbury Experience is one place to go to find some amazing jars of incense.

In Essaouira, we happened upon a small shop selling all manner of resins,

incense, rock incense and flowers for creating your own blend of ingredients to

burn. The lovely man helped us choose our favoured fragrances, weighed it by

the gram, didn’t rip us off and even gave us a lovely bowl for burning our

incense in. We went back a second time and bought perfume cubes, spices and

more incense. The smell of it now, when we burn it here, transports us

instantly back to our riad which was home for the week. Starchild blend their

own incense using resins, bark, flowers and have a range of many different

variations to be used for bring in ritual, ceremony, celebration or just to

make your home smell good!

Earthfare at the top of the

High Street sell a huge range of herbs and spices by the ounce. Here you

can get your tastebuds tingling and challenge yourself to a culinary concoction

of spices to create your own tagine – cumin, saffron, ginger, cinnamon,

paprika, pepper – throw it all together and have a go! If you haven’t got a

traditional earthenware tagine dish (with conical lid), then use a casserole.

Or you could always sign up to a pottery class at Strode college and have a go

at literally making your own!

Mint tea is undoubtedly best

using fresh mint leaves. If you can find some, maybe in your garden, take a

good few handfuls, place in a small teapot with a couple of teaspoons of sugar

and boiling water. Leave to steep for five minutes before serving. It is a

lovely, refreshing drink, smells divine and is excellent for the digestive

system. Why not visit Oaklands Nursery on the roundabout on the way to Street

or Sweet Acre Nursery near Godney and get yourself a plant or two, the spearmint variety is the best one for

drinking in my opinion.

Sigh. It’s enough to satisfy

my yearnings to return, for now anyway! Have you ever been to Morocco? What is your favourite holiday destination and what evokes memories of your travels abroad? Share your experiences with us here!