Marrakesh, Day 1: Hottest walking tour ever

It was a gazillion degrees outside, but I convinced Amanda that we needed to (a) get something to eat, and (b) not waste time lounging about in pretty rooms while there was a city to explore.  So we slathered on the sunscreen, donned our hats, and headed out into the heat.

Lacking breadcrumbs, we decided to take photos of key points along
the way so as to find our way home again

We started with the Djemaa el-Fna, the central square of the old city of Marrakesh, which is at the heart of the souqs (markets).  There were snake charmers playing oboes to lazy-looking cobras.  Women offering henna tattoos.  Men with monkeys posing for photos.  And lots of fresh orange-juice-makers.

In the distance we saw the 12th-century minaret of the Koutoubia mosque.

The mosque itself is closed to non-muslims, but the gardens were open to everyone.

After the mosque, we dove into the warren of streets and alleys known as "souqs".  Full of shops and (almos) hopelessly bewildering, the souqs were everything I'd hoped they would be.  (I'll write and show more of them later, since we plan to spend a whole day shopping there.)