Tuesday June 10 was our last day in Marrakech. We walked to the Koutoubia Mosque for the last time and sat in the gardens. Then we paid our last visit to Djemaa el Fna square and wandered a bit in the souks. We grabbed a late bite to eat at our hotel and Mohamed picked us up to take us to the airport which was just five minutes from the hotel (the ride to the airport was part of our tour package).
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| Marrakech airport (2008 modern terminal) |
Our flight to Marseille was uneventful on Air France, except for the exorbitant 30 euros each they charged us for our one checked bag each. We had not known this in advance, though subsequently discovered that fees are charged according to the price of one's ticket. Because this leg of our trip was less expensive, we had to pay the fee. We won't be charged for our checked bags on the flight home from Paris!
We arrived at the airport in Marseille at about 10:50 p.m. and then took an airport shuttle to the train station (the airport is very far away from the city). We then took a cab to my cousin's studio apartment in an area of Marseilles called Les Catalans. Anna is out of town, and was kind enough to let us stay for two nights at her place, while she is away. The apartment is on the 16th floor of an older building, with an amazing view of the city. We will stay in a hotel the night of June 12.
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| View of Marseille from Anna's apartment |
Marseille is France's second largest city with a population of about 900,000. It was founded in 600 B.C. by the Phoenicians. Marseille has had a bit of a seedy reputation, but in 2013 it was European Cultural Capital and has been undergoing a cultural renaissance.
Wednesday June 11 was hot, but with lots of sun- about 31C. We wanted to check out the hotel we will be staying at for our last night in Marseille and also to see the beach that is just down the street from Anna's apartment.
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| View of beach and swimmers |
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| Closer view of beach "Les Catalans" |
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| Rocks and coast |
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| View of the Mediterranean |
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| Hotel Peron where we will stay June 12 |
We then backtracked a bit and headed into the Vieux Port (Centre Ville). It was about a 20 minute walk, but we took our time, passing a number of parks, forts and monuments along the way.
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Jardin Missak Manouchian (1906-44)
Missak Manouchian was a French Armenian poet, communist and head of a group of 23 members of the French Resistance. He was tortured and executed with 22 of his comrades by the Nazis in 1944. Many of this group of 23 were Jewish. Manouchian left a beautiful last letter to his wife, who survived the war.
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| Missak Manouchian |
We continued our walk down quay de Rive along one side of the port. There are lots of boats in the harbour, including a small ferry boat that can take you across for free (unfortunately, it just operates from about 7:30 to 5:00 p.m.) However it is very easy to walk around the old port, which we did.
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| Ferry boat |
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| Boats and cafes and shops |
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View of buildings around the port
Just a few blocks from the centre of the port area is the main Tourist Office. We got some maps and information and then walked a bit further away from the water to Cours Julien near Place Notre Dame du Mont. There is a big sign saying Le Quartier de Createurs as one walks up a hill to Cours Julien. There are a number of funky shops and lots of cafes on the street.
View looking up to Cours Julien
We ate at ID Fixe and shared a salad with salmon, avocado and grapefruit.
ID Fixe
Salad
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We then headed back to the Old Port and walked down the other side of the harbour to the MuCEM.
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| Walking down the stairs from Cours Julien |
We passed a shop selling many versions of Pastis.
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Pastis of many varieties
We had a great view of Notre Dame de la Garde from the opposite side of the port.
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View of Notre Dame de la Garde
We finally got to the Musee des civilizations de l'Europe et de la Mediterranee (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations) (MuCEM) at about 3:00 p.m. The museum opened in June 2013 and was designed by Rudy Ricciotti, a Provence based French architect (b. Algeria 1952). It incorporates the 17th century Fort Saint-Jean with a new building on the spot of a former port terminal known as J4, built on reclaimed land. There is a 130m footbridge connecting the two buildings. There is also a modern administrative building located beside J4. It is spectacular- the Fort has been beautifully restored and the new J4 building is amazing. There is an older Memorial to the Death Camps located by Fort Saint Jean, but it is undergoing restoration and is not open to the public.
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| Outside of Fort Saint- Jean part of MuCEM and Memorial to the Death Camps building |
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| Footbridge between the old and new parts of MuCEM (water in between) |
We first went to the permanent exhibit called the Gallery of the Mediterranean. It took an interdisciplinary approach to grappling with Mediterranean society over time. Sections focussed on Agriculture (emphasis on wheat, olives, and grapes); Jerusalem-a thrice holy city (Christians, Jews and Muslims); Citizenship and Human Rights; and Beyond the Known world (exploration). Old artifacts mingle with modern pieces. It is a very creative approach that generally works very well. It is a fascinating exhibit and we learned a lot.
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| Ancient device for drawing water |
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Interspersing interviews with modern women living in the mediterranean region and ancient busts
There was a section of the Berlin Wall and a modern piece dealing with the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
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| Piece of the Berlin Wall |
There was also a guillotine (1872) and a world map indicating where the death penalty still exists.
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| Guillotine |
One of the last messages in the permanent exhibit is found below. A multi-faceted look at the Mediterranean region, with a beautiful view of the sea.
We went went to see the two temporary exhibits. The first was " The Splendours of Volubilis: Ancient bronzes from Morocco and the Mediterranean". As we had just visited the ruins of Volubilis last week, this was a great tie-in exhibit. The exhibit death with a number of large bronzes from Volubilis, which are usually exhibited in the Archeological Museum in Rabat. We had been unaware of the bronzes, when we visited Volubilis. Volubilis wass the regional seat of Juba II, who married Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the famous couple, Anthony and Cleopatra. These bronze pieces came from the period between the second century BC and the second century AD.
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| Splendours of Volubilis |
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| Juba II |
There were a number of amazing bronze sculptures, in remarkable condition.
We then went to see the second temporary exhibit entitled "An Upside-Down World: Carnivals and Masquerades in Europe and the Mediterranean." The exhibit deals with the universal features of contemporary carnival practices. The word "carnival" comes from the edict on the first day of Lent to abstain from eating meat (carnem levare, in Latin). The exhibit includes costumes from urban carnival parades, other carnival activities, and masked rituals.
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Opening of the exhibit
There were many beautiful costumes of "bell-ringers" a universal element of carnivals.
Bell ringers from around the mediterranean
Fantastical outfits and often huge bells
It was a very colourful exhibit, but also dealt seriously with the role of carnivals and masquerades in society.
Vegetal costumes
We left the exhibits and took the footbridge over to the restored Fort Saint-Jean part of the MuCEM. We were exhausted at that point, and only looked at a few exhibit rooms before having a coffee outside at the Fort.
Pics of Alain and moi outside the J4 new building
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| J4 building on left, new admin building and Cathedrale de la Major in the distance |
The Cathedral is the seat of the Archdiocese of Marseille, dating back to 1896.
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| Close up of the Cathedral |
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| Fort Saint-Jean and Tour du Roi Rene (King Rene Tower) |
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| View of Mediterranean from Fort Saint-Jean |
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Gardens at Fort Saint-Jean
It really was a spectacular museum. Incredible mix of sea, stone and culture. A beautiful addition to the flourishing Marseille cultural scene. We walked back to the apartment (we had to backtrack around the port). Alain stopped for a hazelnut and pistachio ice-cream from Amorino (fresh ingredients).
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| Another view of the old port |
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Alain with his ice cream (we often went to Amorino in Paris and Italy)
We stopped at the apartment and took a photo of the glowing Notre Dame de la Garde at dusk before heading out for dinner.
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| Notre Dame de la Garde at dusk from the apartment |
We went for a very late dinner (they were almost closing the kitchen when we got there at 10:00 p.m.), at Le Baron Perche, a restaurant in the 'hood recommended by my cousin, with very good reviews. It had an open roof over part of the building. Alain had cod and I had a frito misto. The seafood was great and it was a lovely neighbourhood restaurant with very reasonable prices.
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| Alain's cod |
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| Frito misto with large langoustine |
We walked back to the apartment to sleep, perchance to dream of our first day in Marseille.
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