I recently took a short break in Marrakesh as myself and couple of friends of mine wanted to go rug shopping and the souks in Marrakesh are renowned for selling beautiful relatively cheap (or much cheaper than the UK) rugs, hand made by the villagers in the Atlas mountains not too far away.
I was amazed at all the wonderful colors in the souks and market especially with all the herbs and spices displayed in beautiful array.
The herbs and spices included cumin, cardamon, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric amongst others. The many health benefits they contain include anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidants protecting the immune system, blood sugar regulation, prevention of nausea anti-carcinogenic, promoting heart health, digestive aids as well as others.
We were also shown the health benefits of eucalyptus crystals of which I hadn't seen before. The seller insisted that inhaling these crystals were the best way to clear sinuses and cure a cold, he demonstrated by adding a shard of crystal to a mug of hot water, the result was fantastic, as one of my friends had had a niggling cough and a blocked nose for a few days and after inhaling this eucalytus infused water was completely cured. It was amazing.
All in all my short break in Marrakesh was a successful one. We all managed to buy a rug and I discovered a new favorite soup which is called Moroccan harira - which although there are variations, is a blend of lentils, chickpeas and tomatoes also including wonderful herbs such as coriander, parsley, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and pepper making this an extremely healthy meal.
