Marrakech – As soon as you steal the threshold of the tea museum in Marrakesh, you hear the sound of boiling water in the “fridge”, and the smell of aromatic vegetable plants does not make a mistake by those with good taste.
A young woman receives you in the prime of life with her traditional dress and with a welcoming smile and a natural hospitality, and before you ask for anything that comes to you a first tea cup, the fragrant mint smells of it, and it is a foam above it, a sign of its good preparation.
“We are keen to present in this distinctive historical place in his authentic Moroccan architecture, a pioneering and unique experience to taste tea, which combines the originality of welcoming and the diversity of its preparation, and gives a feeling of comfort and recreation,” says the young Tariq Ait Benabdallah, one of the museums of Al -Jazeera Net.
Popular rituals
It refers tea or “Atai” as Moroccans call it, to good reception and generous hospitality, and also to family sessions, but rather a collective identity and a human memory that cannot be ignored.
And because tea is the most popular popular project in Morocco, it furnishes all scenes of life, and because the taste of something unique seeks to every visitor or traveler of the country, the idea of the Marrakesh Tea Museum gets rid of collecting all elements of the experience in one place, to open in front of the visitor and tourists the opportunity to identify this diversity.
The researcher in the history of Morocco, Hisham Al -Ahrash, says that the preparation of tea in Morocco was limited to the masters of the people, and they have special rituals, before it became a popular drink that is not without any occasion, but rather a daily habit.
Al -Akhras highlights in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net that no one can nominate himself to prepare tea at family and tribal gatherings. People are keen, but rather trust in preparing those who have efficiency for that, and also has the social position and appreciation among members of society. As for the tea museum, the visitor turns from a tea congestion, to his stomach in an atmosphere of relaxation and comfort.
The idea of the museum
The Tea Museum in the major tourism cities in Morocco is a unique jewel, and it is the first of its kind in the Kingdom, as it is located among the golden triangle that includes the Ibn Yusuf Mosque, the Ibn Yusuf School and the Al -Mourabit Dome, very close to the tourist residencies in all its classes, and also from the popular markets.
The museum bears the name of the number “1112”, which symbolizes the date of its establishment in the Hijri calendar, which is the number that discovered a prominent inscription on one of its roofs, which is rare in traditional buildings.
As for the idea of converting this Riyadh into a tea museum, the idea owner, Abdul Latif Ait Benabdallah, inspired it from his travels to Japan, where he saw how the Japanese maintain their traditional rituals in providing tea despite the technological development they reached.
The Moroccan proverb says, “One does not satisfy two things, two parents, and the cups of tea,”
The magic of the place makes your experience not limited to one visit, as your position in the city can be for a week or more, so you can make tea tasting your daily habit in the museum, before you indulge in your daily visits projects.
Multiple flavors
One hour or two hours less or more gives you energy, feels the desire to discover more Moroccan traditions and customs, and may give you the desire to visit areas that tasted their tea here in Marrakech.
The researcher in the history of Morocco, Hisham Al -Ahrash, says that tea is a hot drink that is in front of the guests with high skill, as it is considered three basic components, which are tea, mint and sugar, and mixing them in a correct way to experience and tract.
He adds that receiving guests usually begins with a small cup of pure tea without additions, then this is presented to them as a sugar.
In the museum, you can ask for desert tea with a flavor of gum in it that increases sugar as you want without changing your desire to drink your cup completely, or tea of the sarcophagus side by saffron, or castle tea consisting of the smell of fragrances, or Tangier tea prepared directly in the large mint tea cups without the need for a “refrigerator” (tea jug).
You can also ask for a shakie, fragrant with the blossom of the Shaybah (metalin), lavender, cloves, benefits, lounges, or pepper (marjoram or al -Mursadoush as Moroccans call it) and thyme, or fireflow, orange and pigeon grazing, or a mixture of all those flavors that reflect the diversity and richness of tea culture in Morocco.
Traditional utensils
You undoubtedly draw your attention in the museum, a valuable set of traditional utensils, which were used to prepare and serve tea, carefully displayed in a special suite, starting with glossy silver tea jugs, ornate serving trays, colored tea cups, as well as traditional sugar cracking tools.
The history of some of these utensils dates back to the nineteenth century AD, and bears the fingerprints of the British city of Manchester, while others are the creativity of the skilled Moroccan makers.
The researcher Al -Ahrash explains that the rulers of Manchester at the time used to send these gifts to the Moroccan sultans, before making these pots directed to all Moroccans.
One or two hours in the museum may suffice you, and you may be right, as you decided to spend more than that in this beautiful place in the heart of the old city.
Your argument for staying longer will be strong if you know that you will live unique experiences that you will be confused first.
The first experience leads you to test your skill in saving different flavors and codifying your notes, but at your table there is also sweet and salty local sweets.
Practical
The second experience requires further, as you will be invited to make tea with your hands, in the Moroccan way that suits you, and with the close -up flavors to your heart, flip the leaves of herbs, flowers and spicy spices in your hands, take your time enough to prepare and meditate and lead yourself to calm and relaxation, bring all your mental and emotional strength.
You will inevitably return to your next day to attend your third experience, which is the evacuation of tea, accompanied by watercolor drawing or embroidery on traditional fabrics, but also with the art of Islamic decoration and Moroccan calligraphy.
All this in a reception hall is built for more than 320 years, distinguished by original wooden ceilings with a creative Moroccan decoration, which constitutes a real inspiration for you, while tea and enjoy the calm atmosphere, to conclude the session with a discussion about the contemplative benefits of artistic creativity.
All these diverse workshops make a visit to the “Tea Museum 1112” an overwhelming and comprehensive experience, not limited to watching and taste, but rather exceeds it to interaction, creativity and learning, which gives you a deeper understanding of the rich Moroccan tea culture, and makes the end of an experience that is more like leaving a place that will inevitably decide to return to whenever you have the opportunity.