110209MarrakechMoroccoTripMP0390
SHOT 11/1/09 10:35:12 AM - Stray cats on the streets of the medina in Marrakech or Marrakesh, Morocco. Cats are everywhere in Morocco and stray cats are often fed and cared for by locals. Islamics hold cats in high regard and Muhammad is said to have loved his cat Muezza so much that "he would do without his cloak rather than disturb one that was sleeping on it." Marrakech is known as the "Red City", is an important and former imperial city in Morocco. It has a population of 1,070,838 (as of 2004), and is the capital of the mid-southwestern economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, near the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. Like many North African and Middle Eastern cities, Marrakech comprises both an old fortified city (the médina) and an adjacent modern city (called Gueliz). Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco and also has one of the busiest squares in Africa and the world, Djemaa el Fna. The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers, and musicians. By night, the square turns into food stalls, becoming a huge open-air restaurant. Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million people and an area just under 173,000 squrare miles. (Photo by Marc Piscotty / © 2009)
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