Morocco – Maroc

The pictures tell the story in this post

Casablanca

First impression of Casablanca was how dusty it was and why would you buy a black car?

Hotel Azur in Ain Dieb faced the surf beach but the streets were almost empty all day because of Ramadan. The Muslim people fast between 4am and sunset so at 10pm the streets are crowded and there is music until 4am when they commence the fast again.

After walking 5 kilometres to a shopping mall that kept disappearing into the fog like a mirage, we were put through a security scanner and our bags were removed and x-rayed.

Two days later we moved to Casablanca city. The hotel Transatlantique was built in 1920 and the foyer is like an old black and white movie set. Very beautiful but the rest of the hotel was in very bad shape.

The old buildings that, at one point in their history would have been majestic, are in such sad disrepair.  However, the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1993, is imposing and cost around 800 million dollars. It was almost entirely funded by the public.

Friday is a special prayer day in Ramadan so we sat on a bench and watched hundreds of people pouring into the mosque. Looked like a grand final football crowd. The prayers are heard for quite a distance as they are blasted through loud speakers and reverberate of the stone walled buildings.

Rabat

Local train to Morocco’s capital. Rabat. Totally different to Casablanca. More trees, wide boulevards , the  beautiful Kasbah des Oudaias and numerous other landmarks.

Meknes

After a 3 hour 1st class train (carriages just like in the movies, but no murder), arrived in Meknes, a famous wine making area of Morocco. This city was built by Sultan Moulay Ismail. He was a tad jealous of Louis IV of France and tried to outdo him by creating a Versailles type town with high walls and over 50 palaces.

The granary was used to store grains and other food stocks in case of war or famine. Luckily nothing occurred and the food was distributed. (it was also a stable for all his horses).

Taste an avocado and orange juice smoothie. They are delicious. No alcohol in Ramadan?

Volubilis

Try walking through an archaeological site in 42 degrees. But worse. Try being a Muslim guide unable to partake of food or water.  Volubilis was a provincial Roman capital. and the area is filled with ancient mosaics and Storks!

Fes

Fes means pickaxe in Arabic. Why? Can’t remember.

This city is just what you would expect. It was fantastic and does not disappoint. The medina of Fes is huge however from the hillside above, it looks empty. Hence, its name, “the mysterious city”.

The Medina is a bustling, vibrant, exotic place consisting of 9400 alleyways. Each section or souk, selling its specialty. The tannery was a highlight with its dye pits.

Horses and mules are the only form of transport in the Medina and when you hear Balak! Balak! it means move over to the side or you will get run over by a mule. Trouble is the alleyways are very narrow and the mules are very wide.

Morocco is known for its ceramics and most of the towns don’t have statues in the squares or parks. Instead, the buildings are decorated with the most intricately designed mosaics.  So….naturally we visited a mosaic factory and watched the artisans draw the designs and cut up the square tiles into perfect shapes with only a chisel hammer.

Midelt

A long drive through cedar and pine forests. Stopped to say hello to some Barbary apes, North Africa’s only monkey and visited a beautiful Swiss like town called Ifrane that is a ski resort.

The accommodation here was a very pleasant surprise.

The Sahara

It is impossible to describe this experience. Driving through so many different landscapes: desert, vibrant green date palm plantations, cedar and pine forests and areas that are full of fossils and orchards. Incredibly diverse.

Seeing sand dunes in the Sahara for the first time was an awesome experience.

The pictures again tell the stories.

Travelled for an hour and a half by camel to our camp, 20 kilometres from the Algerian border. Slept under the stars choosing not to sleep in the tents.

The tents are made of woven goat hair. When it rains, the fibres mould together and become waterproof. Our meal prepared by the camel herders, was a Moroccan soup, chicken tagine and fresh fruit. It was delicious and afterwards the same guys played the drums and sang folk songs. Woke early to witness the sunrise over the desert and then back on the camel train. A magic time.

Todra Gorge

Travelled through the foothills of the Atlas mountains.  Mud brick villages, lush pockets of date palms and family market gardens. The irrigation system here is hundreds of years old. Here again the accommodation was amazing and the scenery spectacular. No words!

Ait Benhaddou

This is an area where a lot of the desert movies have been filmed. Lawrence of Arabia, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator and Game of Thrones.

An incredible (use that word  lot) place that now houses only a few families and uses tourism for its income. Our rooms peace was only interrupted by the donkeys going past and the call to prayer from the mosque.

Aroumd

This was a test. After all the bread, olives, tajines, lentil soups and skewers, we were informed that our accommodation was up a mountain and that the only way up was to walk or on a mule. Not wanting to look like Sister Sarah, we sauntered up the hillside to the top where the views were worth every step. It rained today for the first time and it was delicious.

Stayed in a Gite owned by a Berber family. Again our accommodation was wonderful only to be surpassed by the fantastic hospitality of our hosts.

The sun was shining on our downhill trek in the early morning and then a 5 hour drive to the West Coast.

Visited a Woman’s Co-operative that make the famous Moroccan Argan Oil.

Essaouira

A shoppers paradise. Lovely place with the bonus of being on the Atlantic Ocean where the sea breeze cools everything down.

It is hard to judge what places were the best because they were all so different and offered such diverse experiences. Must point out though that Essaouira is the most lenient for alcohol  in Ramadan so how could you go past a Mojito or a few beers on the roof watching the sunset  with  new mates. Bliss.

The accommodation here was a Riad which is a mansion that could have historically been owned by a nobleman. It was a mezzanine type structure with a central courtyard. Our shower looked like a pizza oven.

Essaouira is a fishing town and the fish markets were great . So many sardines! Love sardines.  It is surrounded by high walls and canons.

The art and handicrafts were a feast  for the eyes and the people, although fasting in the heat all day, were beautiful, helpful and kind. Morocco’s population is mostly Muslim and the people here are certainly wonderful ambassadors of their faith. So polite and helpful. Dissipated any preconceived opinions we may have harboured.

The hamman. We had never heard of this form of bathing so we gave it a whirl. You strip down to your underwear and lie on a lino covered slab where the lady proceeds to throw very hot water all over you. Then she applies the olive soap all over your body and disappears for a few minutes where you lie there covered in slimy soap wondering if it is a joke and if she is coming back.  Understandably this feeling was due to being taken there through narrow alleyways and up up up a skinny staircase. Anyway, she did return and attacked  us with a really hard scrubber.  Explanation of what came flying off our bodies is up to your imagination. Another dousing and a hair wash with Argan Oil. After that, an hour long massage and set on our way. Wow! What an experience. A very common weekly thing in Morocco. Cost $30. No pictures. Censored.

Marrakech.

Casablanca and Marrakech are a bit like the bookends to the many volumes of experiences that is Morocco.

We arrived into the city to a very unpleasant 42 degrees. It is hard to appreciate the flavour of a place when you feel like you are gong to fall over from heat stoke. We had street food for dinner in the main square and it was delicious but there was no let up of people wanting you to buy watches, sunglasses or just plain beg for money. It is hard to appreciate the calamari with  a watch shoved in your face. The markets were good but the merchants are  more overt than we have seen. Having said that, it was Ramadan and as we were guzzling down the iced water to keep hydrated, the people were waiting until sunset before they could have their first drink of anything.

We had a final  dinner with our tour mates who were a great mix of Australian, Kiwis. Canadians and a token Russian.

This trip was with Intrepid Travel and we don’t believe, in the time that we had, you could get a better deal. We saw and experienced so much and our guide Mohamed Ait Alla was fun, understanding and knowledgeable. All for less than $100 a day!

So much to love about Morocco.

But what about the doors!

And now to Italy….