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.
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
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 |
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 |
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.
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
Two horses were attached to each wall. |
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.
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 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
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.