Day 3 -- Mekenes

Mansour Gate of the palace of Sultan Mouley Ismaïl in Mekenes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

We started out early today with a 6 a.m. wake up call, a quick breakfast, suitcases out our door at 6:45 and off and running on our bus at 7:30. We are trying to beat the traffic out of the city and make our way to Mekenes, the seventeenth century capital of Morocco, and finally to Fes, where we will stay overnight in a riad (a home owned by a family with rooms rented out to visitors and guests).

We crossed the Bou Regreg River, which originates in the Middle Atlas Mountains and runs through the center of the country before it spills into the Atlantic Ocean. It also runs through the twin cities of Rabat and Salé (pronounced sal-ee), which is the bedroom community of Rabat.

Here is an excerpt of Wikipedia's interesting take on Salé (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sal%C3%A9)

Salé is the oldest city on the Atlantic coast, as it was founded by the Phoenicians and was known back then as Sala (modern challah); it was completed since then from the other side of the river of Bou Regreg by the Banu Ifran dynasty. During the 17th century, Rabat was known as New Salé, or Salé la neuve (in French) which explains Salé as the oldest city on the river. In the 10th century the Banu Ifran Berber tribe settled the area and constructed a settlement where the city currently stands. These Banu Ifran were also the builders of the 'Great Mosque of Salé'.

In Pirate Utopias, Peter Lamborn Wilson says:

Salé... dates back at least to Carthaginian times (around 7th century BC). The Romans called the place Sala Colonia, part of their province of Mauritania Tingitane. Pliny the Elder mentions it (as a desert town infested with elephants!). The Vandals captured the area in the 5th century AD and left behind a number of blonde, blue-eyed Berbers. The Arabs (7th century) kept the old name and believed it derived from "Sala" (sic., his name is actually Salah), son of Ham, son of Noah; they said that Salé was the first city ever built by the Berbers.[2]

In the 17th century, Salé became a haven for Moriscos-turned-Barbary pirates. Salé pirates (the well-known "Salé Rovers") roamed the seas as far as the shores of the Americas, bringing back loot and slaves. They formed the Republic of Salé.

The city of Salé was bombarded by the French Admiral Isaac de Razilly on 20 July 1629 with a fleet composed of the ships Licorne, Saint-Louis, Griffon, Catherine, Hambourg, Sainte-Anne, Saint-Jean. He bombarded the city and destroyed 3 corsair ships.[3]

Today, Salé has become the stronghold of political Islam, and of extremist, Jihadist, and Islamist Salafist groups in Morocco. Extreme and Saudi-style Islamic religiosity (men with long beards and Arabian/Afghan clothes, women covered in black ...etc.), coupled with extreme poverty in overcrowded neighborhoods has become a hallmark of modern Salé, in a strong contrast with the rest of Morocco.

Salé has played a rich and important part in Moroccan history. The first demonstrations for independence against the French, for example, sparked off in Salé. A good number of government officials, decision makers and royal advisers of Morocco were born in Salé. Salé people, the Slawis, have always had a "tribal" sense of belonging, a sense of pride that developed into a feeling of superiority towards the "berranis", i.e. Outsiders.

Mamora Forest

We were not that far away from Rabat when our bus stopped at the Mamora Forest, which spans 133,000 hectares. It is a twentieth century man-made forest of oaks, pines, and eucalyptus trees. The French dreamed up this project when they held Morocco as one of their colonies in the early 20^th century. Today, over 50,000 people live here and are employed here to harvest various products from the trees. The eucalyptus provide medicines, cardboard and paper, and wood for fishing boats. The oaks provide cork from their bark, which is peeled every three or four years. The government harvests the bark and then it is People also gather acorns from the oaks. They boil and salt them before they eat them.  Yamni peeled a bit of the bark and it looked and felt like cork.

Orange trees also grow in this forest. There are 30 varieties with two crops harvested each year. There are also tangerine, grapefruit, and lemon trees here. In fact, this area, known as the Western Plateau, is one of Morocco's richest agricultural lands.

Sights along the Road

Morocco has lots of construction going on along every roadway

Comfort Stops

Garry and Jan have a nus-nus break

We made a “comfort stop” at a coffee shop where I began to drink my favorite cafe au lait. Another favorite of Moroccans is nus-nus, which is half coffee and half cream. The coffee is served in a small glass, and I found it a welcome treat in mid-morning or mid-afternoon.

Yemni had a knack for anticipating our needs at just the right time!

The “comfort stops” require a tip of 1-2 dh for the attendant, so we always had to have our coins ready. Actually, throughout the trip we borrowed from one another on these coins. It's a polite gesture for the attendant who relies on tips for income. This usually means that the toilets are kept in good working order, they are relatively clean (most were toilets but there were a few “holes”), and paper was provided. However, whenever I travel to these countries, I always keep a stash of my own toilet paper and handi-wipes (for soap). 

A Lesson in Hospitality

Yemni had promised to stop the bus whenever he saw something interesting. As we made our way to Fes, he spotted a small roadside stand that sold beans, snails and olive oil. An old woman soon approached us. Her name was Yemana.

Yemana

Yemana lives here with her youngest son, who happened to be at the market today. There was also another man there who helped her with her olive harvest. By any standard, she was a poor woman, however, she showed off her roadside stand and allowed us to take pictures.

She then invited us to have an omelet. I thought this very strange as we had literally barged on to her small farm unannounced. She was not an OAT representative, nor had Yamni ever met her before. But she insisted and Yamni moved us along into what we would learn is the tradition of hospitality that we would experience throughout the trip everywhere we went.--by people of all classes.

harvesting olives

We first checked out her olive trees and helped harvest a few. This was very enjoyable as the olives come right off the tree with a delightful little snap. A few of us tasted the olives and gasped. The fresh-picked olives were hard and bitter tasting. They need to be cured before they are eaten.

Yemana's kitchen

 


She then gave us a tour of her kitchen, which was in one small building, and peeked into her living quarters, which was in another small building. Her place overlooked a beautiful scenic view of rolling hills of grain. She had some chickens and turkeys. The turkeys were bound together by their feet—two turkeys at a time—so they would not fly away.

Yemana's bedroom

Yemana asked for a volunteer or two to help her cook the omelet. Julie and I volunteered to crack about 8 eggs into a bowl so that Yemana could cook it in a frying pan and add some herbs. She also heated up some Moroccan flat bread in another pan to serve with the omelet. Once the eggs and bread were ready, Yemana brought the food outside the kitchen, placed it on a tree stump, and invited us to eat. The fresh eggs were tasty and we each had a bit of them. We talked with Yemana and took pictures of her place before we continued on our journey.

We were astounded at her hospitality and the time she took with us.

Yemni gave her a tip. OAT provides him with some money for occasions such as these, and it relieves us of having to do it with our own money. That's one of the benefits of a one-price-includes-everything arrangement.

“I know these people,” said Yemni as our bus took again to the road. “We could stop anywhere on the road, and we would be treated with the same kind of hospitality.”

This tradition of hospitality comes from the Arabs' life in the desert, which is a very difficult place to live. Whenever travelers encountered each other, they provided food and drink. The tradition lives on today, as we experienced it.

Mekenes

We rolled into the orange tree-lined streets of Mekenes after driving past the tree-covered slopes of Mount Zerhoun, which mark the beginning of the Rif Mountains.  I wondered what we could possibly see at the stables where Sultan Ismail kept 12,000 horses, but I would be in for a surprise.

Two horses were attached to each wall.

The stables' thick, clay walls of baked brick helped to keep the place cool, including the granary, which was an important part of any fortress.  There were 8 wells with water pipes to keep temperatures in the 60-degree range.  There were also skylights and a reservoir for water.

This part of the building survived the 1755 Lisbon earthquake while the royal palace and the rest of the stables with their flat roofs were destroyed.  The arched roof saved the building and the stables were 10 times the size.

Everything in Mekenes is big.  This was done on purpose.  It was meant to impress enemies and act as a deterrent to any thoughts of attack.  Ismail was ruthless but effective.  He united the country--and made sure it was stabilized and peaceful.  He built 300 forts in his kingdom.
  
 

One of the cleaning areas with sewers.  I swear I could smell horse manure here.

The stables took 10 years to build, which was done by African slaves mostly from Mali and Mauritania.  The slaves were acquired by conquering these lands rather than buying them.  People with dark skin in this area are the descendants of these slaves. 

We arrived at the Mansour Gate (see above), which is part of the fortress that Moulay Ismaïl Ibn Sharif built.  Its blue and green ceramic tiles came from Fez, where artisans still make them.  The columns came from Volubilis, a Roman settlement we would see later today.





Fortress walls had holes incorporated in them for scaffolding and planned restoration.

The fortress comprised a palace, a granary, the stables, a water tank, a reservoir, and a wall.

Here is the square and the market (opposite the Mansour Gate).  We would tour the indoor market (left) and afterward eat a delicious lunch of ___.

Market

some beautifuil displays of olives

The market was the first one we saw and the sights and sounds were eye-popping exciting especially since this city was much smaller than Rabat. Vendors had small stalls with their goods surrounding them as they stood in the center. They hawked their goods with delight, and shoppers taste-tested them and selected them for quality and freshness. Gawking tourists like us snapped photos at the sights.

The market houses vegetables of all shapes and sizes. Meat from beef, turkey, chicken, and fish were also available. The most interesting part of the market were the olives. Morocco produces 70 varieties of olives and they come in different colors and are picked at different times. They are prepared for eating by soaking them in water, salt and slices of lemon.

the meat market of lamb with sheep heads in back

We had lunch in Mekenes at the Restaurant Salina.

ahhh, mint tea (a.k.a. Moroccan whiskey)

 

Every meal begins with soup

 
Sultan Moulay Ismaïl Ibn Sharif

Mekenes was founded in the 12^th century, but Moulay Ismaïl Ibn Sharif (reigned 1672–1727) made it his capital city. The 17^th century were the glory days for Morocco under his leadership. To make sure every knew that, he built a fortress in the city to store grains and cereals from the land's rich harvets. He also built a “barn” for 12,000 horses. Horses are key to an army's strength and mobility and Ismail was going to make sure everyone recognized his kingdom. He built a victory gate, which abuts a huge square and the city market.

Here is Wikipedia's description of Ismail's reign (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Ibn_Sharif)

The second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty ruled from 1672 to 1727 succeeding his half-brother Moulay Al-Rashid who died after a fall from his horse. At the age of twenty-six, Moulay Ismaïl inherited a country weakened by internal tribal wars and royal successions. Meknes, the capital city he built, is sometimes called the "Versailles of Morocco", because of its extravagance. Some of the stones were plundered from the ancient Roman ruins at Volubilis.[2]

He has also been given the epithet "The bloodthirsty"[3] for his legendary cruelty. In order to intimidate rivals, Ismail ordered that his city walls be adorned with 10,000 heads of slain enemies. Legends of the ease in which Ismail could behead or torture laborers or servants he thought to be lazy are numerous. Within the 20 years of Ismail's rule, it is estimated 30,000 people died.[4]

During Moulay Ismaïl's reign, Morocco's capital city was moved from Fez to Meknes. Like his contemporary, King Louis XIV of France, Moulay Ismail began construction of an elaborate imperial palace and other monuments. In 1682 he sent Mohammed Tenim as an ambassador to Louis XIV, and he even made an offer of marriage to Louis XIV's beautiful "legitimised" daughter Marie Anne de Bourbon. Marie Anne refused.

Moulay Ismaïl is noted as one of the greatest figures in Moroccan history. He fought the Ottoman Turks in 1679, 1682 and 1695/96. After these battles the Moroccan independence was respected.

Another problem was the European occupation of several seaports: in 1681 he retook al-Mamurah (La Mamora) from the Spanish, in 1684 Tangier from the English, and in 1689 Larache also from the Spanish. Moulay Ismaïl had excellent relations with Louis XIV of France, the enemy of Spain, to whom he sent ambassador Mohammad Temim in 1682. There was cooperation in several fields. French officers trained the Moroccan army and advised the Moroccans in the building of public works.

Moulay Ismaïl is also known as a fearsome ruler and used at least 25,000 slaves for the construction of his capital.[6] His Christian slaves were often used as bargaining counters with the European powers, selling them back their captured subjects for inflated sums or for rich gifts. Most of his slaves were obtained by Barbary pirates in raids on Western Europe.[7] Over 150,000 men from sub-Saharan Africa served in his elite Black Guard.[8] By the time of Ismail's death, the guard had grown tenfold, the largest in Moroccan history.

Moulay Ismaïl is alleged to have fathered 888 children. A total of 867 children, including 525 sons and 342 daughters, was noted by 1703 and his 700th son was born in 1721.[3]This is widely considered the record number of offspring for any man throughout history that can be verified.

After Moulay Ismaïl's death at the age of eighty (or around ninety by the 1634 birthdate) in 1727, there was another succession battle between his surviving sons. His successors continued with his building program, but in 1755 the huge palace compound at Meknes was severely damaged by an earthquake. By 1757 his grandson, Mohammad III moved the capital to Marrakech.

Day 2 -- Rabat

A special birthday cake made for me in Rabat

Today is my birthday and I would celebrate it in Rabat with a tour of the city, including some Roman ruins, lunch on the Atlantic seacoast with fish kabobs, an afternoon rest that I spent hooking up my wifi and blog, a drink in a local bar (yes, Muslims do consume alcohol here), a walk through the medina at night, and a marvelous dinner in what was once somebody's home and is now a beautiful restaurant that looks very Moroccan. We had a musician play throughout dinner on a traditional Moroccan stringed instrument. After our dinner of 4 or 5 courses, they brought out a birthday cake for me—with my name on it. I was quite touched. It is part of the wonderful hospitality of the country and our guide's pledge to make our stay in the country the finest possible experience. I ended the day with another bubble bath, which is a relaxing treat after a long day.

More to come.  It's late and it's been a long day and......zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

This morning before we left for our tour of the city, Yemani led us in a short lesson on Arabic. We went through words like hello, please, thank you, etc. so that we could participate with the culture, one of the tenets of Overseas Adventure Travel. It seemed all so simple until we actually tried to remember the words! At least when we hear them, we can recognize a few.  The hardest sound to make is that which comes from the throat and sounds like you are clearing it.

King's Palace

What is most outstanding about these buildings is the imagination it took to create their incredible beauty. Geometric design is one of the hallmarks of Arab art, which was adopted by the Muslim religion.  The detail of the design along with the arches, elaborate doors, magnificent walls and ceilings are a sight.

The gate is made of sandstone and ceramic tiles.  A verse from the Koran is inscribed on the top.

This was the only place that we were allowed to take photos of military or police.  The royal guards wear red, the soldiers wear green, and the police and gendarmes wear gray. 

The royal palace is where the King Mohammed VI receives honored guests and dignitaries. He ascended to the throne in 1999 after his father, King Hassan II (1961-99) reigned for 38 years.

 

 The Moroccan flag with the five-point star represents the five pillars of Islam:  

Red represents the royals and symbolizes bravery and strength.  Green is also often associated with religion.

Hassan was considered a good king with his many building projects. Among them were 75 dams built on the 75 lakes of Morocco. This project today feeds all cities and villages in this country of 34 million. It irrigates over one million acres of farmland. Despite his good works, Hassan's life was threatened three times by the army that wanted control of the country. Yemni attributed these actions on the king's life as evidence that people don't always like change. However, the king's survival was seen as God's protection. If he hadn't survived, Morocco might likely have become a military dictatorship like Libya or Syria.

In 2006, King Mohammed instituted a parliamentary government where he is more of a figure head while the prime minister runs the nation. The king is much loved by his people and goes among the people every year be meet them in common places like schools, medinas (the old part of the city), hospitals and in walking tours. He is known as a man that gets things done and he has contributed much to the modernization of Morocco. He married a woman from Fez and they have two children, a boy, 6, and a girl, 3. 

The Alawite dynasty has been in power since 1664.  The royal palace was built in the 18th century and restored several times.  Over the years the best artisans from Fez are usually called upon to do work there. 

Roman Ruins and 14th Century Mosque
Going through the Roman ruins in Rabat was very interesting, although I didn't “feel” that sadness that I felt at the first century A.D. Roman ruins in Rome itself. Rabat was an important port city for the Romans where they obtained grain and olive oil for trade as well as wild animals for their games in the period from 200 B.C.E to 100 A.D. In all likelihood, they just left the area. They were quite sophisticated in building their cities as they had hot and cold running water and sewers as well. The hammans used these Roman baths when the Muslims took over these cities.

Jews occupied Rabat until the Romans came. The Muslims took over the city in the eighth century when the new religion spread throughout northern Africa. The Jews remained in Morocco until the 1960s when 600,000 out of 800,000 residents left to live in Israel, France and the USA.   We would see the effects of their absence in several cities throughout the trip.

14th century mosque & madrasa (Koran school)

In this same place the Muslims built a mosque in the fourteenth century and an exclusive mandrasa or boarding school for young students who stayed there for their education. There were bedrooms for about 20 kids whose studies were free. A garden plays a prominent role in the layout of the buildings and it makes sense when you consider that you are in a desert. Water also plays an important role not only for drinking and bathing, but for ablutions required for religious purposes.

Storks sit atop the old minaret.

water receptacle for baths

This mosque operated until 1755 when the Lisbon earthquake toppled everything, including the old Roman city. There is a peacefulness in this area, which was enhanced by temperatures around 60 degrees, the cool breezes and sunshine of this winter day. (During the summer Rabat can get to 120 degrees F.) Government gardeners were at work in chopping down weeds and building a trench next to the sidewalks that wound their way around the lush gardens.

Storks sat atop the minaret.  Their rapping noise (lak lak in Arabic) pervaded the silence of this place. Storks are considered good luck. They keep the same nest and add wood each year.

a saint's tomb with graves nearby

It has been interesting to see how prominent a role Islam has played in this region--and we will learn a lot more as the trip continues. It appears to be as much of a way of survival as it is a way of life. The rules are there for a purpose, so changing them in order to enter a more modern world has been both difficult and exciting for the people, I'm sure. In this way the Middle East may offer a unique laboratory for seeing how cultures change and struggle with the changes.

I am reminded of the struggle Catholics in America went through as the religion changed due to Vatican II's new policies that took place in the first half of the 1960s. People are still struggling with them. To change what you have believed in as the right way to do things feels like a betrayal or a desecration, so you resist. Of course, those who embrace the changes move it forward.

I had a conversation with a few members of the group about the changing landscape of higher education, which is adopting e-learning as a way of instruction. We can't fathom not having real time, real place interaction with an instructor while young students can as they have navigated their world with computers. We sigh and say we're glad we're at our end of a lifespan that doesn't really have to make this transition. And yet, every person in our group has an iPad or a cell phone. Changing culture is not without paradox or inconsistency!

Rabat

Rabat is an old, walled city but it wasn't until 1912 that it became the capital city. Fez and Marrakech had served as capital cities in the past depending on whether the Berbers or the Arabs were most dominant. A new town, Mekenes served as a compromise until the French colonialists took over in 1912 and moved the capital city to Rabat, which remains the capital today. They built the buildings where the various ministry offices are now. The town has about 2 million residents.

Its twelfth century walls were built around the medina while modernization took place in the eighteenth century. As we walked the medina we could see how modernization had taken place in these old buildings with stores that would be recognizable in any city around the world. And yet, traces of a traditional way of life remains, including the night market which starts revving up around 4 p.m. when people get out of work.

Life Today

People work from 9 until 4. They have their main meal around noon, but there is no siesta, as in some European and most Latin American countries. Teachers start their day at 8. It is the evening and night after work when people head for the medinas and go shopping for food or clothes. The medina is a noisy and busy place as people bargain with merchants for the goods they want. Later in the trip we will learn to bargain, too, however, the general rule is that you ask the price and make a funny face as you respond that it is too much. Then you make a counter-offer of 1/3 of the first price and gradually meet somewhere in the middle. If the price is marked, that is a fixed price and you don't bargain. Gold is a fixed price always. Back home in my tutoring business I dealt with a Saudi student who handled me in this same way. Of course, it alarmed me and took me off balance. Now that I know the trick, I can maybe do much better. The students also bargain for grades and THAT is something the I have learned to be firm, i.e., it is a fixed price.

Negotiation is a way of doing business. It takes a while and it means that a relationship is built as buyer and seller haggle over price. Of course, it is not the most efficient way to get what you want at the store. In a fast-paced culture like ours, we prefer a fixed price and we decide whether we can pay it or not and whether we want it or not. If you are brought up on negotiating everything, I can imagine that it is very difficult for international students who must make the cultural shift in this every day practice.

Lunch and Shopping

 

After lunch we went shopping at a local store.  I bought some cough drops in an attempt to kill my cough.  In the store downstairs was a liquor store where some of our group members stocked up for our desert experience.

What we also learned was that some of the people drink, despite the fact that they are Muslim and not allowed to drink.  We would learn that Morocco was far more liberal in its religion than our perceptions have taught us.  It is not flaunted or hidden, however.  Before dinner tonight, we went to a Moroccan bar.  Of course, only men were there—as they were in the coffee shops we passed later on. Respectable women do not go to such places, although the more “modern” women are starting to go to the more upscale bars and coffee shops.  Unlike the U.S., a lot of people smoke, and it hard getting used to that. The bar was especially bad as the men sat around, drank, and puffed on their cigarettes.

Dinner
We walked through the shopping district of the city on our way to dinner.  Here is the restaurant where we ate dinner tonight.  We were accompanied by a man with a traditional Moroccan musical instrument and we sat at little tables for a five-course meal of traditional Moroccan cuisine.

First, we washed our hands.

And then we feasted on pastilla, which is made with phylo dough with chicken inside and then topped with sugar and cinnamon.

A lamb dish with apricots and prunes

For dessert, a pastry with 12 layers of phylo dough and cream inside that is then smashed down and served

Delicious!!!

Day 1 -- Arrival in Morocco

Aeroport Mohammed VI in Casablanca

My first Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) trip began in Detroit with a cross-Atlantic flight to Paris that then connected to a three-hour flight to Casablanca. It was uneventful and a smooth ride, thank God.

However, with this trip--as with most of my trips--I discovered how small the world really is. On the plane from Paris to Casablanca I met a man from Farmington Hills (near Detroit) who earned his degree at WMU. When I met my group, one of the members said she studied at Oberlin, but took her junior year abroad in Ghana through the Kalamazoo College program.

The French men on the plane were an incredible sight to behold. The young ones sported a short beard, tight jeans, a jacket and pointy shoes. The women know how to wear a simple scarf, stylish slacks and a top so that they look astonishingly beautiful. Both men and women are thin and in good shape. They both look so self-assured and fit my stereotype of the French as having one of the most civilized cultures in the world. With baguettes, cheese and wine as regular staples, how could they miss? Today, I made a vow to myself that I will go to France for an extended stay and become fluent in the language.  Maybe I might capture the secrets to French spirit of beauty and poise—or at least gaze upon it.

I began to see more Muslims on the plane to Casablanca. The women wore colorful outfits and covered their heads. The men were nondescript, but some of them wore small mini-fez hats.

When I arrived at the airport in Casablanca, Nees from OAT met me.  He then led me to his mini-bus and welcomed me to Morocco as he handed me a giant bottle of water. Although I thought our group would spend the first night in Casablanca, we instead began our trip in Rabat, the capital of Morocco where I would meet the OAT group at the Hotel Belere. The hour-long trip to Rabat took nearly two hours, but we arrived at the hotel, just in time for the group's first briefing. I would have liked a shower and a rest, but that was not to be until after the briefing and dinner.

Nees gave me a bit of a tour on this ride to Rabat, the first stop of our two-week trip in Morocco. We drove on a modern freeway where people might be picked up or dropped off on the side of the road. I saw several women carrying water or herding cows near the road on the adjoining road.

I was surprised to see farm fields in the countryside. The soil was red-colored and it supports corn and cactus crops. There were also several farms with dairy cows, sheep, and chickens. This was not the desert part of the country. The Sahara part of Morocco is located quite a bit east of here. As we neared Rabat, the capital of the country, the Atlantic Ocean appeared. There were several vessels near the shore that looked like the ore boats of Michigan, only they were fishing boats.

Phosphorus is one of Morocco's main exports and a vital ingredient used in American agriculture. They do not have oil in Morocco, but they do trade the phosphorus for oil.

Nees is a Berber, among the original people who settled Morocco. He is dark-skinned but not black. The other predominant ethnic group here is the Arab. They have a lighter skin and finer features from the Arabs of the Middle East.

It was a warm, sunny evening (sundown occurs about 5:30) where a jacket would protect against a slightly chilly night of 57 degrees. I was way over-dressed in my flannel shirt and flannel jacket. I ended up carrying a thick hoodie that I only needed in Detroit where it was a more bitter cold. The hoodie might come in handy during our two-day tour of the Sahara Desert, but not now.

I should mention that I carried on a conversation with Nees in French, one of the languages spoken here. Arabic is the other national language. Nees also speaks German, which is helpful with the large numbers of Germans who visit this country. My French, which is highly unpracticed, came in handy as I tried to remember words and phrases I had studied so long ago. (My idea in school was to learn French and Spanish so that I could gets around most of the world where these language, together with English, were spread by the colonialists of the nineteenth century. The only problem is that I am not fluent in either language so I frequently mix them together as I grasp for words to ask a question or express an insight.)

People ask me if I am vacationing in Morocco, but I resist that characterization. As a travel writer, I'm always looking for stories about the people of the country and their lifestyles. So, I'm always working and learning. That's why I chose OAT: it seeks to bring people from different cultures together to learn about each other and how they live, so its mission and purpose appeal to me. Some members of my group have been on seven or eight other OAT trips and they still keep coming. They are well-traveled and curious. I think I'm going to enjoy this trip as much for the group members as for the adventures we will have in this country.

I arrived at the hotel just in time for the 6 p.m. briefing.  Abdul, the OAT area manager for Morocco met me, and told me where are meeting would be held.

In the briefing room, I joined the group that had already convened with Yemni, our guide.  He gave us a map of Morocco so we can outline our route through the country.  He gave us a chance to tell each other why we chose this trip.  Finally, he gave us an overview of our two-week journey and advised that we relate to each other as a family.  That means that we should take care to respect each other by being on time and looking out for each other throughout the trip.  Although some people have been on OAT trips before, Yemni reminded us that this is not just a tour but an adventure.  If he finds interesting things along the way, he will stop the bus and check it out.  (He was true to his word.)    

Lester (left) and Garry (right) accept their tagine meal

After the meeting we had our first meal in Morocco, which consisted of a tagine of chicken and vegetables.  

For more background on tagines, see a previous blog entry (click here and scroll down).










I ended this long, first day with a hot bubble bath and then wrapped myself in a comfortable, terrycloth robe. What a treat after a long journey!

Morocco

I will travel to Morocco as a group member with Overseas Adventure Travel.  The journey will take me to Casa Blanca, Rabat, Volubilis, Fez, Marrakech--and two nights in the Sahara Desert where I will sleep in a canvas tent under the stars.  The group will visit a home and a school.  We'll meet local people who live in villages and eat home-cooked meals with them.  Of course, we'll ride a camel and make our way through the Atlas Mountains.  We'll learn about Islam and its influence on the people, their art and their culture.

Why go to Morocco?  Because I wanted to experience a predominantly Muslim country in a relatively safe region. It turns out that Morocco has been a cultural crossroads for centuries and that various cultures have been living in relative peace during most of that time.

Morocco is host to nine World Heritage Sites and my group will visit five of them:

• Medina of Fez
• Medina of Marrakesh
• Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou
• Historic City of Meknes
• Archaeological Site of Volubilis
• Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage 

Morocco will also be the third African country that I visit.  I went to Kenya and Rwanda with the pastor of my parish in November 2010. I put together a blog on Rwanda so that parishioners could follow the trip.

This is going to be a great adventure and I plan to blog about it every day while I'm on the trip. I hope you will follow along with me.

Morocco -- Casablanca

"Play it again Sam."

Humphrey Bogart and Rick's Cafe is what we normally think of when we mention Casablanca.  However, it is much more.


by Fodor's Travel Guide to Morocco

Casablanca is Morocco's most modern city, and various groups of people call it home:  hardworking Berbers who came north from the Souss Valley to make their fortune; older folks raised on French customs during the protectorate; pious Muslims; wealthy business executives in the prestigious neighborhoods called California and Anfa; new and poor arrivals from the countryside, living in shantytowns; and thousands of others from all over the kingdom who have found jobs here.  The city has its own stock exchange, and working hours tend to transcend the relaxed pace kept by the rest of Morocco.

True to its Spanish name--casa blanca. "white house," which, in turn, is Dar el-Beida in Arabic--Casablanca is a conglomeration of white buildings.  The present city, known colloquially as Casa or El Beida, was only founded in 1912.  It lacks the ancient monuments that resonate in Morocco's other major cities; however, there are still some landmarks, including the famous Hassan II Mosque.

Hassan II Mosque

Casablanca's skyline is dominated by this massive edifice. No matter where you are, you're bound to see it thanks to its attention-grabbing green-tile roof. The building's foundations lie partly on land and partly in the sea, and at one point you can see the water through a glass floor. The main hall holds an astonishing 25,000 people and has a retractable roof so that it can be turned into a courtyard. The minaret is more than 650 feet high, and the mezzanine floor (which holds the women's section, about 6 feet above the main floor) seems dwarfed by the nearly 200-foot-high ceiling. Still, the ceiling's enormous painted decorations appear small and delicate from below.

Funded through public subscription, designed by a French architect, and built by a team of 35,000, the mosque went up between 1987 and 1993 and is now the third-largest mosque in the world, after the Haramain Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. It was set in Casablanca primarily so that the largest city in the kingdom would have a monument worthy of its size. Except for Tin Maland, this is the only mosque in Morocco that non-Muslims are allowed to enter. If you fly out of Casablanca, try to get a window seat on the left for a good view of the mosque in relation to the city as a whole.

Habous

At the edge of the new medina, the Quartier des Habous is a curiously attractive mixture of French colonial architecture with Moroccan details built by the French at the beginning of the 20th century. Capped by arches, its shops surround a pretty square with trees and flowers. As you enter the Habous, you'll pass a building resembling a castle; this is the Pasha's Mahkama, or court, completed in 1952. The Mahkama formerly housed the reception halls of the Pasha of Casablanca, as well as a Muslim courthouse; it's currently used for district government administration. On the opposite side of the square is the Mohammed V Mosque—although not ancient, this and the 1938 Moulay Youssef Mosque, in the adjacent square, are among the finest examples of traditional Maghrebi (western North African) architecture in Casablanca. Look up at the minarets and you might recognize a style used in Marrakesh's Koutoubia Mosque and Seville's Giralda. Note also the fine wood carving over the door of the Mohammed V. The Habous is well known as a center for Arabic books; most of the other shops here are devoted to rich displays of traditional handicrafts aimed at locals and tourists. This is the best place in Casabalanca to buy Moroccan handicrafts. You can also buy traditional Moroccan clothes such as kaftans and djellabas (long, hooded outer garments). Immediately north of the Habous is Casablanca's Royal Palace. You can't go inside, but the outer walls are pleasing; their sandstone blocks fit neatly together and blend well with the little streets at the edge of the Habous. 

Old Medina

The simple whitewashed houses of the medina, particularly those closest to the harbor, form an extraordinary contrast to Morocco's economic and commercial nerve center just a few hundred yards away. European consuls lived here in the 19th century, the early trading days, and there are still a youth hostel and a few very cheap hotels within. The medina has its own personality and charm due in part to the fact that Moroccans living in more affluent areas may never even enter it. Near Place des Nations Unies a large conglomeration of shops sells watches, leather bags and jackets, shoes, crafted wood, and clothes.


Place Mohammed V

This is Casablanca's version of London's Trafalgar Square: it has an illuminated fountain, lots of pigeons, and a series of impressive buildings facing it. Coming from the port, you'll pass the main post office on your right, and on your left as you enter the square is its most impressive building, the courthouse, built in the 1920s. On the other side of Avenue Hassan II from the post office is the ornate Bank Al Maghrib; the structure opposite, with the clock tower, is the Wilaya, the governor's office. The more modest buildings on the right side of the square house the notorious customs directorate (where importers' appeals against punitive taxes stand little chance). To avoid confusion, note that Place Mohammed V was formerly called Place des Nations Unies and vice versa, and the old names still appear on some maps.

Need a break?
Sidi Abderrahman

If you follow the Cornish to its southwestern edge, you will see the tomb of Sidi Abderrahman, a Sufi saint, just off the coast on a small island. Moroccans come to this shrine if they are sick or if they feel they need to rid themselves of evil spirits. It is accessible only at low tide, at which point you can simply walk to the small conglomeration of white houses, built practically one on top of the other, along the sandy beach. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the tiny island and have their futures told by an in-resident fortune-teller, although access to the shrine itself is prohibited. On the corniche, just in front of the tomb, you can enjoy some snails and Moroccan mint tea, along with the locals.

La Sqala

Situated within an 18th-century Portuguese fortress. La Sqala enchants with its beautiful garden. patio. greenery. and fountains.  It may serve the best Moroccan breakfast in town. and if you want a quick snack while sightseeing. the pastries and mint tea are a great bet.  La Sqala also serves lunch and dinner. offering a perfect mix of traditional but tasteful Moroccan design and atmosphere coupled with yummy Moroccan salads and tagines. 

Venezia Ice

After strolling along the Corniche. relax on the trendy Venezia's terrace and enjoy one of their 60 flavors of ice creams and sorbets. 


 

Morocco -- Rabat

by Fodor's Travel Guide to Morocco

Rabat is an excellent place to get acquainted with Morocco, as it has a medina and an array of historical sites and museums, yet exerts significantly less of the pressure that most foreign travelers experience in a place like Fez. You'll generally find yourself free to wander and browse without being hassled to buy local wares or engage a guide. As a diplomatic center, Rabat has a large community of foreign residents. Attractive and well kept, with several gardens, it's arguably Morocco's most pleasant and easygoing city.

Rabat was founded in the 12th century as a fortified town—now the Kasbah des Oudayas—on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Bou Regreg by Abd al-Mu'min of the Almohad dynasty. Abd al-Mu'min's grandson, Yaqoub al-Mansour, extended the city to encompass the present-day medina, surrounded it with ramparts (some of which still stand), and erected a mosque, from which the unfinished Hassan Tower protrudes as Rabat's principal landmark. Chellah, a neighboring Roman town now within Rabat, was developed as a necropolis in the 13th century.

In the early 17th century Rabat itself was revived with the arrival of the Muslims, who populated the present-day medina upon their expulsion from Spain. Over the course of the 17th century the Kasbah des Oudayas grew notorious for its pirates, and an independent republic of the Bou Regreg was established, based in the kasbah; the piracy continued when the republic was integrated into the Alaouite kingdom and lasted until the 19th century. Rabat was named the administrative capital of the country at the beginning of the French protectorate in 1912, and it remained the capital of the Alaouite kingdom when independence was restored in 1956.

The city has grown considerably over the last 20 years, and today it has many important districts outside the kasbah, the medina, and the original French Ville Nouvelle. These include L'Océan, the seaside area that was once Spanish and Portuguese (during the French protectorate); Hassan, the environs of the Hassan tower; Agdal, a fashionable residential and business district; Ryad, an upscale residential district; and Souissi, an affluent enclave of wealthy folks and diplomats. Take a ride in a taxi or your own car around the various neighborhoods to get a real understanding of the city as a whole.

Chellah

Chellah was an independent city before Rabat ever existed. It dates from the 7th or 8th century BC, when it was probably Phoenician. You'll see the remains of the subsequent Roman city, Sala Colonia, on your left as you walk down the path. Though these remnants are limited to broken stone foundations and column bases, descriptive markers point to the likely location of the forum, baths, and market. Sultan Abu Saïd and his son Abu al Hassan, of the Merenid dynasty, were responsible for the ramparts, the entrance gate, and the majestic portals. The Merenids used Chellah as a spiritual retreat, and at quiet times the baraka (blessing) of the place is still tangible.

The entrance to the Merenid sanctuary is at the bottom of the path, just past some tombs. To the right is a pool with eels in it, which is said to produce miracles—women are known to toss eggs to the eels for fertility. The ruins of the mosque are just inside the sanctuary: beautiful arches and the mihrab (prayer niche). Storks nest on the impressive minaret. On the far side of the mosque is a beautiful wall decorated with Kufi script, a type of Arabic calligraphy characterized by right angles. To the left of the mosque is the zaouia (sanctuary), where you can see the ruins of individual cells surrounding a basin and some ancient mosaic work. Beyond the mosque and zaouia are some beautiful, well-maintained walled gardens. Spring water runs through the gardens at one point, and they give the Chellah a serenity that's quite extraordinary considering that it's less than a mile from the center of a nation's capital. There is no place comparable in Morocco. From the walled gardens you can look out over the River Bou Regreg: you'll see cultivated fields below, and cliffs across the river. On the right is a hill with a small white koubba. Tour groups are elsewhere at lunchtime, so try to come then to experience the Chellah at its most serene.

Hassan Tower

At the end of the 12th century, Yaqoub al Mansour—fourth monarch of the Almohad dynasty and grandson of Abd al Mu'min, who founded Rabat—planned a great mosque. Intended to be the largest mosque in the Muslim world, the project was abandoned with the death of al Mansour in 1199. A further blow to the site occurred with the strong tremors of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, and this tower is the only significant remnant of al Mansour's dream. A few columns remain in the mosque's great rectangular courtyard, but the great tower was never even completed (which is why it looks too short for its base). Note the quality of the craftsmanship in the carved-stone and mosaic decorations at the top of the tower. From the base there is a fine view over the river. Locals come here at dawn to have their wedding photos taken.


Royal Palace

Built in the early 20th century, Morocco's Royal Palace is a large, cream-color building set back behind lawns. Its large ornamental gate is accented by ceremonial guards dressed in white and red. The complex houses the offices of the cabinet, the prime minister, and other administrative officials. Don't stray from the road down the middle of the complex; the palace is occupied by the royal family and closed to the public.

The Bab ar-Rouah (Gate of the Winds) at the Royal Palace

Currently an art gallery, this city gate was built by Yaqoub al Mansour in 1197. To see it, go outside the city walls and look to the right of the modern arches. Originally a fortification, the gate has an elaborately decorated arch topped by two carved shells. The entrance leads into a room with no gate behind it; you have to turn left into another room and then right into a third room to see the door that once led into Rabat.