A Syrian Movie Set

This morning was one of those where I woke up with a burst of energy that quickly dissipated. By the time I managed to make it to the local cafe around the crack of 11:00 am with my Mom and Merell, I had lost msot of my initiative, which wasn't a good thing, since I'd loaded up today with trips to the Necropolis of Chellah, the Rabat Archaelogical museum, the Royal Palace, and the grand souvenir-purchasing trip to the medina with my buddy Benaissa to help haggle.

Once my mother and I finally made it over to Chellah, we found the entrance blocked by what could best be described as 13th-Century Arab soldiers, replete with scimitars and composite bows. Thinking they were some kind of historically out of place tourist stunt, I attempted to get through the large pack of them, only to find myself walking onto what was soon described to me in hushed tones by a French man as a Syrian movie set. Looking in front of me, I saw the remnants of some medieval battle, with extras sprawled all over the inside gate of Chellah. While we were waiting for them to finish up some shots, a mercedes truck rolled up with whom were clearly the stars of the movie, these three big Syrian guys with impressively cut beards, medieval clothing, and Persol sunglasses. They soon crowded into the entrance way along with the other extras and an incredibly confused and bewildered Japanese couple. Soon, the scene broke up, and I managed to get inside the ruins to see some truly amazing gardens and some killer columns and Latin inscriptions (laugh all you want). The large number of extras milling around smoking cigarettes and playing with their swords only added to the ambience...