Marrakesh, Day 1: What we ate

We ate our first Moroccan meal at a place called Aqua on the Djemaa.  We chose it because it advertised having air conditioning.  There was an air conditioner, but we learned to our chagrin that an air conditioner is not the same as having air conditioning.  So we sweated through a thoroughly mediocre plate of food.

Chicken brochettes

Midway through our souq excursion we took a break on the rooftop at the Terrace des Epices.  They thoughtfully provided constant misting and a menu that included giant bottles of water and ice cold Coke.  (Ever since consuming vast quantities of chilled Coke in the sweltering jungles of Guatemala, I've had a fondness for the beverage's thirt-quenching qualities and the sugar/caffeine high that follows.)

Later in the evening we successfully navigated the labyrinth to find Mama Tilee, a restaurant with top ratings in our guidebooks.  The staff anxiously asked if we had a reservation -- then took us through a completely empty restaurant up to the rooftop terrace.  As far as we could tell, we were the only ones in the entire restaurant the whole evening.  The service was pleasant and the food generally good, although the sauce on the chicken was really a misfire.

Melon juice

Cold cream of carrot soup with ginger

Chicken with spicy sauce and basmati rice

Date crumble with lemon creme