We were told that we were going to see the Moroccan herbs and spices market of Marrakesh. Images of the famous Argan oil were flashing in our minds. What do they look like? Can we sample it? Is it really good? These were just a few of the questions that were spinning in our heads.

Of course, there’s also that video about goats climbing the top of Argan trees to eat its fruit. The fruits were then either spit out or pooped out by the goats. The fruits were collected and processed for its oil. That was the traditional way of extracting the oil from the fruit to create the world famous Argan oil.

We were surprised that we were led to a herborist shop that was just a few steps away from Bab Agnaou. The herborist, clad in white smock, introduced himself as a specialist in holistic and homeopathic treatment.

Jar upon jar of herbs and spices were neatly lined on the shelves. Different colors. Different textures. Different applications. Different uses. The medicinal uses were for a variety of ills and ailments. There were also packets of herbs and spices for cooking.

We filed in and began sitting on benches surrounding the herborist. The presentation started with common remedies for common ailments. This was followed by a demonstration by application of the herbs to willing participants.

There were “ohs and ahs!” after sampling the herbs. There were also “wow!” among some participants.

The last to be presented was the Argan oil. It was in small bottles and was passed around in a few drops to be sampled.

Random photographs of our travels. Memories found and captured in a photograph.