From My Personal Journal

By Nancy Myers

Friday, October 17 - Saturday, October 18, 2008

Our flights on Iberia Airlines from Washington to Madrid and then from Madrid to Casablanca were uneventful.  We were even served dinner and breakfast on the overnight leg.  As usual neither of us was able to sleep in our tiny space and by the time we arrived in Madrid for the plane change we were sure ready to disembark.  Iberia uses Madrid Airport’s new Terminal 4, a huge modern structure that is mostly glass except for the supporting elements of the building.  It looks a little like the Pompideau Art Gallery in Paris.  And the new terminal has a major flaw: after getting off the plane, we walked over a third of a mile before encountering the first restroom.   On the flight from Madrid to Casablanca I sat next to a native of Morocco who currently works in Washington, DC.  His name was Yousef.  He was chosen in a lottery to get a green card to work in the US, but is not allowed to bring his wife to the US.  He was returning to Morocco for the birth of their first child.  He will also be returning to the US on the same flights that we are on, so hopefully we will meet again.  He helped me with a lot of practical information and pronunciation of place names. We had no issues or long lines clearing border control and our checked bags had arrived by the time we completed that.  So we ventured through the exit to find our driver for the trip holding a sign with my name on it.  And when you have made all of your arrangements online, even with caution, walking out that exit is the big moment of truth.  We introduced ourselves to Namir, who was immediately very helpful.  He found me two ATMs in the airport that did not work, advised me not to feed my card in repeatedly or the machine might keep it and told me that there were plenty of alternatives elsewhere.  Others in the airport ATM log jam were probably not so fortunate.   The Mohammad V Airport is about 15 miles outside Casablanca.  During the drive, and even from the instant we got off the plane, it was evident that we were in a very different culture.  About a quarter of the people wear the traditional djellabas with the hoods mostly worn loose down the back.  I expected to see the women’s heads covered and they wear scarves, but there are also several styles of head coverings for men.  But this is not special clothing for a religious gathering, it is everyday clothing worn as they rush about their daily activities.  Like any developing country, there are lots of modes of transportation: bicycles, donkey carts, mopeds, motor bikes, buses, trains and lots of pedestrians and vehicle traffic.   Casablanca is the economic center of Morocco, like its New York City, and is on the Atlantic Coast.  First Namir took us to check into our hotel.  Then, since it was already about 2:30PM local time he asked us if we would like to get some lunch and whether we preferred to eat tourist food or would prefer to try a place where the locals eat fresh fish.  We jumped at the offer of the local place with fresh fish and had our lunch at Snack Amine.  Namir helped us order a big plate of fish, prawns & calamari with olive garnish and bread to share.  It was heaped high, very fresh and delicious and served within minutes of ordering.  With beverages and tip, our meal came to about $12.50.   Even without sleep, we were revived by the lunch and wanted to press on through the day to get back on a regular schedule.  Namir took us to a coffee shop to try Moroccan coffee, something I sorely needed because I was in caffeine withdrawal due to the time change.  The coffee was great and the coffee shop had a nice restroom, something we needed to learn to constantly keep in mind.   Our next stop was the Hassan II Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world after those in Mecca and Medina.  We arrived too late for a tour of the inside, but the outside was spectacularly beautiful with a single high minaret and many colonnades and arches with mosaics and fountains.  It was built between 1987 and 1993 as a monument to the previous King, Hassan II.  The location is right on the Atlantic Coast and a few hundred yards down the coast; people were standing on the rocks fishing.  Although the mosque was a photographer’s dream, I found myself uncharacteristically wanting to get the people in my shots instead of wanting to wait for a clear shot, because the people were just as interesting as the setting.   Namir drove us much further down the coast to see the resort hotels and beaches before bringing us back to our hotel at about 6PM.   After Ben took a short nap and I started working on my journal, we went out to buy bottled water.  In our travels, Ben was energized because we were shopping.  We bought 2 avocados from a table on the street, and then went to several stores to find crackers.   Dinner was included with our room so we asked at the desk where we should go.  One of the hotel employees got right up and walked us several blocks to a nice restaurant where we were served a three course Moroccan meal.  It was very good.  When we tried to find our way back to the hotel, we got lost and had to go back to the restaurant and ask for help.  Then someone walked us back to the hotel.  It was fairly complicated.   What an exciting two days rolled into one.  We are very tired and hope we can sleep.   

Sunday, October 19, 2008

We both slept fairly well and were glad that we had arranged for a fairly late start this morning.  Breakfast at the hotel was self service and consisted of hard boiled eggs, cake, bread, cheese, olives, fresh squeezed orange juice and best of all coffee.   It had rained overnight but had almost stopped by the time Namir picked us up.  Before leaving Casablanca, he took us by Rick’s Café to take some photos.  Although the movie "Casablanca" was filmed entirely in Hollywood, Rick’s café is owned by an American woman and decorated like the movie set, so it does a brisk tourist business.  On the way up the coast to Rabat we stopped at a beach to stretch our legs.  There were fishermen and the beach surface was entirely rocky, maybe an eroded dark brown coral.  Continuing up the coast, we saw lots of small herds of sheep.  There are no fences so they are tended by shepherds and dogs.  I haven’t gotten a close look at the dogs yet.  Many of the sheep herds had small baby lambs.   In Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, we visited the mausoleum of King Hassan II and several other generations of the monarchy.  There were horsemen at the gates and lots of guards in colorful outfits.  The facility is huge and ornate.  Morocco’s current king is Mohammad VI, who is 44 years old, Harvard-educated and married to a well-educated woman.  He is bringing positive change to Morocco, where the monarch’s rule is absolute, not just a titular head of state.   In telling us about their King, Namir mentioned that he thought it would be good for the US if Barack Obama was elected President because of his youth relative to John McCain.   Next we went to the Chellah an ancient walled town dating to the 6th or 7th Century BC that was probably settled by the Phoenecians.  It was mostly in ruins, but very interesting with lots of trees, flowers and stork nests in among the structures from various periods of its history.  It was evident that at one time there had been Roman settlement because we saw stones with Roman inscriptions and Roman columns in ruins.  The final inhabitants were the Arabic Merenid Dynasty.  We also met a current resident who feeds 35 cats and tends to a fountain with eels in it.   After lingering a little long at this impressive site, I would have opted for a quick lunch, but Ben wanted more delicious seafood, this time some place that served wine.  So we had lunch at Borsg Ad Dar.  The food and wine were good.  The view was even better from our terrace seats overlooking the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.  We were treated to fishermen, strolling couples, surfers, beach volleyball and a lighthouse.   By the time we finished lunch it was after 3PM and we had a long drive to Chefchaouen where we will be staying for the next two nights.  We traveled further up the coast on a toll highway passing by large greenhouses with banana trees inside them.  The farmland we have seen so far is rich with very dark brown soil.  As we left the highway and turned inland we passed fields of potatoes and tomatoes and places where wheat and corn had been harvested.  There were many fences made out of high hedges of cactus.  We also began to encounter more donkey carts.  Every town we passed through was bustling with activity with the main street being like a marketplace.   We arrived late to our Hotel, the Casa Hassan and had to walk a little to get there because it was on a pedestrian only street.  Our room is quite unique with the bathroom and sitting room downstairs and two beds in separate lofts on either side.  It is off the dining area so noisy at mealtime.  Our included dinner was very tasty.   After dinner we walked around town and looked at local crafts.  Then we looked at some rugs.  I had heard that there is a design unique to this area, the Rif Mountains, and wanted to see it.  The design is attractive using an animal motif.  I did not buy anything. 

Monday, October 20, 2008

We were both awakened by the 4AM call to prayer.  It was quite loud so there must be a mosque near our hotel.  Later Namir told us that people do actually get up and go to pray at that hour.  Since we have the full day in Chefchaouen, we were able to sleep a little later.  Breakfast this morning was our first meal in Morocco where we have not been served olives.  We hid our disappointment and got by quite nicely with the assortment of hot breads that was served along with fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee.   We had decided to ask to be moved to a different room so we took care of that and we got a much nicer one and moved our bags before going out to see Chefchaouen with Namir.  The walled city was founded in 1471 and was historically off limits to Christians until 1920.  It harbored both Jews and Muslims who had been expelled from Spain.  The city is built on a hillside high in the Rif Mountains and is known as the "Blue City" because many of the buildings and especially the doors are painted in various shades of blue.  The views of the blue and white buildings against the mountains are beautiful.  It seemed we could only take a few steps in between snapping photos.   We walked through the walled city to the outside and hiked a bit up a mountain pathway for a very good view of the city.  On our way up we encountered some wild goats running down the path.  We were over to the side, but one of them decided to butt me in the abdomen and then run between Ben’s legs (luckily he had his back turned) on the way down.  I guess that goat showed us whose path it was.  We laughed very heartily and were no worse for the experience, but certainly a little wiser about the ways of goats.   On our way back in through the city we stopped in a street market and bought some oranges.  I think that they may be clementines.  They peel easily and are very sweet and seedless.  Now we are back in our room.  We had some of the oranges and avocado and crackers from Casablanca to eat and plan to just skip lunch and eat an early dinner because we have been overeating so much.  This new room is really beautiful.  The ceiling is decoratively painted as is the enclosure around the bed and there is more furniture and space.  We probably got a less desirable room last night because we arrived so late.   The hotel was very accommodating when we wanted to change.   Later we went back out to walk around some more and had gelato off of a truck in the town square.  Only commercial vehicles are allowed into the historic city.  We checked the news headlines and our email at an internet café and then went to dinner.  At the restaurant we ran into Namir, which wasn’t too surprising since he had recommended it to us and knows the people who run it.  He wasn’t eating that early but chatted with us while we ate.  We learned that Namir is a Berber Nomad from Northern Morocco.  Fortunately for him, his parents moved to Fes when he was just three years old so he was able to get a better education than he would have living as a Nomad.  He is college educated and the thing he values most is seeing that his children (he has two small daughters) get a good education.   We are back in the room.  We are planning to get an early start tomorrow because we have a very full day.  

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

I didn’t sleep very well so I could have gone over to the mosque to see how many people showed up for that 4AM prayer, but I didn’t do it.  Since we wanted to leave early we met Namir on the square for breakfast at a cafe instead of waiting for breakfast at our hotel.  It was a very good Moroccan breakfast of fried eggs with olive oil and goat cheese.  Maybe that goat is trying to make it up to me.  In fact, several small goats were loitering in the square while we were eating.   Soon we were on our way to Volubulis to tour the Roman ruins there.  Our route took us out of the Rif Mountains through spectacular scenery.  I never imagined that Morocco would be so green, but some of the mountainsides are totally green while others are brown with dots of green.  We passed many donkey carts, which Namir called 2 X 2’s and many flocks of sheep and goats being tended by shepherds (both male and female).   We passed lots of olive trees and some orange groves.  They shake the trees and pick the ripe olives up from under the trees.  We stopped at an olive press where Namir explained to us how olive oil is made.  The olives are pressed two times – the first time with a wheel turned by donkeys.  The further we traveled from Chefchaouen the more farming we saw.  Although we saw a few tractors plowing, we saw a lot more people plowing with teams of horses or mules.  The soil was very dark and rich and it looked like they might be growing wheat or corn there.  Namir got us some cactus fruits to try.  It was sweet, but had lots of seeds.  Ben liked it, but I didn’t.   Volubilis was the Roman Empire’s southwestern most incursion into North Africa.  It was a thriving city of up to 20,000 people between 40BC and 285AD.  It was very well preserved until the 1755 earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, Portugal and caused extensive damage in Morocco.  The ruins at Volubilis are still considered among the best anywhere in the Mediterranean.  Our guide to the ruins was named Rashid and he looked and sounded like Joe Pesci and tried to live up to the humorous image.  The site consists of a city with a market square, a main street, a triumphal arch, public baths, public bathrooms (including vomitorium), brothel and many elegant private residences.  Most of the homes had elaborate mosaic tile floors.   After leaving Volubilis we went through Moulay Idriss, a sacred town because it is the final resting place of the nation’s religious founder who brought Islam to Morocco from Arabia.  From a distance the town is shaped like a two humped camel.   We had a Moroccan lunch in Meknes.  It was roasted chicken, rice and French fries.  Namir has never steered us wrong.  Afterwards we toured several sites in Meknes.  Meknes was founded by Moulay Ismail who was brother to Moulay Idriss, but he was a tyrant who enslaved Berbers.  He built extensively and encased his large imperial city in limestone and earth walls.  We saw several sets of huge elaborately decorated gates, the reservoir, granaries to store feed for 12,000 horses and the Moulay Ismail Mausoleum.   Our final destination for today was Fes where we will spend the next three nights.  We checked into our hotel, the Riad Fes Baraka.  A riad is sort of like a bed and breakfast.  This one is very beautiful.  There is an interior open air courtyard with a pool where we were served mint tea when we arrived.  There are ornate arches and carved woodwork everywhere.  Our room is on the top floor overlooking the courtyard and has two bathrooms - one has a sink and toilet and the other has a sink and shower.  They served us a delicious candlelight dinner by the pool in a covered area as rain fell in the courtyard.  So far we have been lucky with the weather.  It has rained some at night, early morning or late afternoon, but we have had sunshine when it counts.  

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Breakfast was also in the courtyard.  Like most we have had it was an assortment of breads, one of which we later came to realize is a Berber pancake. Namir picked us up and already had obtained our special guide for the day tour of Fes.  His name was Mohammad and he wore a black djellaba.  He has lived his whole life in Fes.   We drove by one of the three Royal Palaces in Fes.  It has a 9-hole golf course within its walls.  The former King, Hassan II enjoyed golfing, but the current King, Mohammad VI loves to Jet Ski.  We walked through the Jewish quarter which is differentiated by the balconies on the houses.  There was a sizable Jewish population at one time because Morocco has been religiously diverse through history, but at the time of the Arab Israeli War in 1967, most of the Jews moved away from Fes.  The one remaining thriving Jewish community in Morocco is in Casablanca.  In the Jewish quarter, we saw several carts full of live snails being pushed through the street.  Our guide said they would be sold and cooked for hours with spices to make a very tasty dish.   Next we went to an area overlooking Fes for a panoramic view.  That same area had ruins from Berber settlements that predate the founding of Fes.  Fes was founded as a Muslim city in 808AD by Moulay Idriss II, the son of Morocco’s founder.  It was selected for its location in the fertile Fes River basin.  The golden age of Fes was the 14th Century when it was expanded and "New Fes" was built under the Merenid rulers.  Then "Modern Fes" was built while Morocco was a French protectorate from 1912 - 1956.   We spent most of the day on foot in Old 9th Century Fes, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It was like stepping into a time warp.  There is a medieval labyrinth of 35,000 alleyways shared by pedestrians and donkey drivers.  It is also a gigantic crafts workshop with the craftsmen making items for sale inside many of the doorways.  We saw woodworking, metal working, weaving and embroidery to name just a few.   We visited the medieval leather tannery where sheep, goat, cow and camel hides are processed into leather by being placed successively in vats of saline solution, lime, pigeon droppings and then any of several natural dyes depending on the desired color (e.g. poppies, saffron, and mint).  We bargained for a few leather items.  I think we did okay because the owner shook my hand and paid me the compliment that I was "a good Berber woman."  We also got a demonstration of Moroccan medicinal herbs.  I was particularly interested in the black seeds that are to be sniffed to cure migraine headaches.   By that time we were ready for lunch and Mohammad turned into a tunnel-like passage and we wound up in a beautiful restaurant with a fountain and painted ceiling.  The "salad" would have been enough.  It consisted of 10 side dishes plus two dishes of olives.  The dishes included carrots, cucumbers, beans, beets, lentils, tomatoes & eggplant, cabbage, tomatoes & peppers and squash.  After that we couldn’t eat the entire main dish and turned down dessert, but they still brought mint tea and a plate full of candy.  I’m pretty sure Moroccans don’t eat this way.  It’s crazy.   After lunch we visited an embroidery shop and saw that they do the work so that it is the same on both sides and has no knots.  Then we went to the carpet cooperative and saw carpets being hand made that can be used on both sides.  We were shown a lot of different styles of carpets for sale.  Ben was interested in the Berber style for his living room wall and negotiated a good price on a fantastic wall hanging. We saw the Kairaouine University, the Western World’s first center of higher education founded in the 10th Century and pre-dating Oxford, The Sorbonne and Bologna.  It has cedar eaves, carved stucco walls and a green tile roof.  The cedar used in doors and buildings has been treated with olive oil and has lasted through the centuries.  We also saw Moulay Idriss II’s shrine.  It was here at the symbol for Baraka (in this case it means divine protection) that I made a good wish for Barack Obama’s election and Mohammad told me that "everyone" in Morocco is hoping he will be elected.   Finally we rejoined Namir in the van.  We visited a mosaic factory and saw the process by which they make the tile, break it into pieces of exact shapes and hand make beautiful tables, fountains and other works of art.   By then we wanted nothing more than to get back to our room to relax.  It was a long day.  We have a free day here in Fes tomorrow.  Namir said he would pick us up at 11AM.  He has made an appointment for me to go to a hammam.  I think it is some kind of steam bath/massage combination-sounds wonderful.  What a fantastic driver and guide Namir is!  With a free day in the city where he lives, he could easily just leave us on our own.  

Thursday, October 23, 2008

At breakfast we talked to another couple staying at the Riad.  They are from Belgium and are staying here for a week.  They have been to Morocco about ten times and have been to all of the places on our itinerary and enjoyed them.  They also said I would enjoy the bath at the hammam.   After breakfast we went out to buy water and see if we could find the "Blue Gate," the nearest entrance to the medina of Old Fes.  We found the Post Office, a landmark that Namir had mentioned, but not the Blue Gate.  Ben wasn’t feeling well so we went back to our room instead of exploring further.   As promised, Namir picked us up.  He showed us where the Blue Gate was and how to get there on foot.  When we were walking, we passed by the office of the Tour Agency (Experience It) I had used to book my trip so we went in and I was able to meet Jeff Wilson who I had corresponded with on email to arrange the trip.  He is an American who lives here in Fes to handle this end of the small, family run business.   Namir took us to his home just outside of Modern Fes.  We met his wife, Houria, and 2 daughters who are 3 and 4 years old.  The 4 year old already attends school, but we met her when she came home for lunch.  Their hospitality was very touching.  They served us mint tea and homemade candy.  The delicious candy is all organic made of wheat, olive oil, honey, almonds and peanuts finely ground together and aged.  After that Houria went with me to their local, authentic hammam.  This was very special because it wasn’t a tourist hammam.  She helped and coached me through the whole process.  It is a bath in a public bath house using a mixture of hot and cold water to your taste and special soaps.  Since I didn’t have any of the right soaps, mats, or buckets, Houria had to loan me everything.  An attendant scrubs you down and massages you with a kees mit that is rough and exfoliates your skin.  Then you rinse off with buckets of water and wash your hair and wash your body again with a different soap.  Again you rinse with buckets of water.   It was an enjoyable and unforgettable travel experience that I’m really lucky to have had.   Meanwhile Namir and Ben were babysitting and watching TV and looking at pictures of the Sahara on Namir’s computer.  When we returned, we had a delicious lunch of couscous with vegetables and chicken.  This was the best food we have had in Morocco, enjoyed with such good company around their table here in Fes.  It doesn’t get better than this.  The way that friends greet each other hello or goodbye in Morocco is by facing each other and touching right cheek to right cheek then left cheek to left cheek and repeating the cheek touch a second time.  We feel like we have friends in Morocco.   Later we returned to the Riad and walked some in the Medina.  Ben was tired so we came back early.  Tomorrow we leave early to head south for the desert.  

Friday, October 24, 2008

We headed due south out of Fes today.  Yes, I have a map with me and Namir is kind enough to confirm for me where we are heading at times so I can follow along.  We had tried to order only coffee at our Riad this morning so that we could leave quickly, but they did not understand my pathetic French or Spanish and brought us some food anyway.  Nonetheless, we stopped again in a Berber town for eggs and more coffee.   In the Azrou Forest, where impressive cedar trees grow, we saw a large group of Barbary apes.  It included both adults and babies.  They were living in the wild, but the older ones would take pieces of banana from my hand.  The small ones were much shyer.  Several were making noises and swinging in the trees.   This was a driving day to get to the Sahara Desert.  In one place Namir was pulled over by the police and accused of speeding.  First he had to produce five different documents including his driving license.  Although there are numerous checkpoints along the roads and a large police presence, we did not see any radar in this location and we knew Namir wasn’t speeding because this is our seventh day with him and he is very careful to always obey the speed limit.  Evidently in this situation if you don’t pay a fine on the spot you cannot get your driving license back.  Namir knew he wasn’t speeding and stood his ground talking forcefully in a Berber dialect to all four of the policemen.  We think that there was radar stationed some ways back the road because when another official vehicle pulled up, Namir got all his documents back because they did not have any proof identifying his van.  Seems like they may have pulled over the wrong van and it is good he stood up to them.   We were driving through the Middle Atlas Mountains and the soil was red clay.  The herds of sheep were much larger than in Northern Morocco and the ground was extremely rocky, hardly suitable to grow much, but there were irrigation troughs built up off the ground.   We had a late lunch in a town with pretty meager choices for places to eat.  We would have preferred a cleaner looking place, but Namir found one he thought would be okay and we ate at tables outside.  As we were leaving, Ben was taking a picture so we didn’t get into the van right away.  I noticed that two local men sat down at our table to finish up the bread and other scraps we had left behind.   They have gotten an unusually large amount of rain recently.  In the last week, Namir had heard that the Ziz River had overflowed so he was hoping that none of the several bridges we would be using to cross it had washed out.  We were lucky.  Some of the railings had washed off but we could cross.  The river, which is often dry, contained a lot of water.   The road through the Ziz Gorge was an engineering marvel, literally carved out of the cliff.  The rocks are red and there are buttes that look a lot like the American Southwest.  Many buildings are adobe.  The funniest sight was the pools of water on the surface of the desert from all of the recent rain.  We saw green areas of lushly growing date palms with stucco buildings around them.  These are called Palmeries and they occur in the valleys near the rivers.  The dates are ripe and you can purchase them from people who transport them along the road by donkey.   Namir got some for us to try, but they are too sweet for my taste.   This is a very intriguing part of Morocco and by day’s end we were in the town of Erfoud quite close to the Algerian border.  On our way to eat dinner at our hotel, we glimpsed the night sky and it was spectacular.  Unfortunately after dinner it had become cloudy. 

Saturday, October 25, 2008

I had trouble sleeping again.  I think I was both excited and anxious about our upcoming camel trek for an overnight in the desert.  Ben seemed to sleep okay, but this morning he had mild diarrhea so our instincts about the street café may have been correct yesterday.  I found him 2 immodium I had packed and we will talk to Namir to let him know that we need to go to a pharmacy for more immodium and need to be more careful about where we eat.   Issue two - it was raining this morning.  I didn’t think that happened in the Sahara Desert! We had time today in Erfoud so Namir took us to a fossil studio where they bring in stone and work with it to determine what fossils are present and then fashion works of art from the fossils.  They are mainly large cephalopods, squid, ammonite and trilobites.   These types of fossils are prevalent here because the Sahara Desert was once the bottom of an ocean hundreds of millions of years ago.  They make beautiful table tops and fancier art objects.  We bargained for and bought a few fossils that were in a more natural state.  We both were thrilled to see all of these treasures.   We had lunch at the Berber Pizza Parlor and also waited there for our 4 X 4 driver to pick us up and take us further into the desert for our overnight camel trek.  The weather had improved but we were still getting occasional showers throughout the day.  As we drove off the road out onto the sand in the 4 X 4, we saw a rainbow so we were encouraged that we would have a clear enough time for the trip to the dunes.   The camels were kept at an Auberge or small guest house at the edge of the dunes.  There we met Hamid, our camel driver who put us on our camels along with four other people who had already arrived.  We climbed on the camels while they were lying down and then Hamid spoke softly to each camel and it stood up.  Soon we were on our way.  He led my camel by a rope and the others followed all linked together by ropes, but the camels seemed to know where they were going.  We went up, down and around huge, beautiful and enchanting sand dunes.  He stopped several times for pictures.   The ride is pretty rough.  The dromedary camel has one hump and wears a metal frame that provides a handle up front to hold on to and hang your back pack on and some padding to even out the area behind the hump.  Aside from that there is a thick blanket over the camel’s back and you sit right on the animal.  Going up or down a steep hill it is necessary to hold on tight.  Otherwise you can try to relax and enjoy the spectacular scenery.    After a little over an hour on the camels, we were glad to arrive at our oasis camp for the night and get off the camels.  The camp is just a circle of tents.  There is no running water and no facilities so when nature calls, you go behind a ridge in the sand.  Outside the circle of tents, there is camel poop everywhere.  Our first stop was the dining tent where Hamid served us mint tea and we got to know our fellow travelers.  They are four young tourists from France who are on a ten day trip to Morocco driving on their own.  All four of them are anesthesiologists.  Luckily they speak fairly good English.  In fact, Hamid speaks better French than English and sometimes asked them to tell us something for him.  Eventually we were also served a beef, chicken and vegetable tagine for dinner that must have been prepared using a wood or propane stove.  It was quite tasty.   After dinner we sat out under the stars.  Oh what wonderful stars.  The sky had cleared and the sky was almost glowing with stars and a very milky, Milky Way from horizon to horizon.  We saw lots of falling stars and made lots of wishes.  Hamid had built a small campfire and we all sat around it because it was quite chilly.  He told Berber riddles in French that the others in the group translated for us and when no one could guess the riddle, he said we were going to have to walk back out of the desert.  It would have been really funny if we had had a bottle of whisky.  I think perhaps some travelers from a nearby camp did have a bottle of whisky because when we were turning in for the night they were up on top of the highest dune singing and running or skiing down the side of it.   Our tent was large with a space for our "luggage" and a separate sleeping area that had a foam mattress and bedding with a lot of blankets.  We needed the blankets because it got very cool.  In the tallest part, I could stand up in the tent.  There was no permanent floor to the tent, but there were rugs that covered most of the sand.  We did not sleep much and got up several times to go outside and answer natures call.  Each time we stayed out stargazing.  I can’t describe how beautiful the sky was.  It was crowded with brilliant, three dimensional stars.  

Sunday, October 26, 2008

We got up at 6AM to climb up the 100 meter high dune next to our camp to see the sunrise from there.  The going was slow in the sand (one step forward and two steps back, it seemed), so we didn’t go all the way to the top; however our view was spectacular from where we were.  The shadows of the dunes made geometric patterns as the sun hit them.  Luck was really with us because it only stayed clear for a short while after sunrise.    I was glad I had my heavier jacket with me because it continued to be very cool this morning.  They served us coffee, tea and bread with butter and honey at our camp before we set off on the camels at 7:30AM.  I was a little more comfortable on the camel this morning but still glad when the ride was over.  I don’t think I could pass for a Berber woman after all.   We reversed our travels of yesterday and ended up back in Erfoud at the Berber pizza place, but this time for a cup of coffee.  We noticed that in and between these desert towns the bus transportation for locals consists of a cart pulled by one donkey with as many passengers as will fit on the cart.  Donkeys and bicycles are both commonly used to haul heavy loads and we have become accustomed to seeing them driven by men or women in djellabas.   We crossed a corner of the desert on a small road on our way to our next destination of Tinerhir.  Along our route we could see some public wells back from the road where people were coming to draw their water.  We also saw a shepherd with a herd of camels and women washing their laundry in a river.  In places the sand was blowing over part of the road like snow drifting.   It was raining on and off today and, like we have seen elsewhere, the river crossings were high.  One place we drove through a little water washing over a bridge.  The local people seem fascinated by the water.   Although Ben made it through the desert excursion without a reoccurrence of traveler’s diarrhea, he was feeling sick again this afternoon so upon arrival in Tinerhir, we checked into the hotel for him to rest and just got some soup here for lunch.  While Ben rested, I went with Namir to the Berber House to learn about some Berber traditions and also see their crafts, mostly rugs.  Lucky for me the one I liked the best was so far out of my price range that I was not really tempted.   Ben felt even worse after dinner.  He has resumed the immodium so hopefully with a good night’s sleep he will feel better tomorrow.  We are both thankful he did not feel this way in the desert.  

Monday, October 27, 2008

Ben was very sick overnight and neither of us got much sleep.  I am very worried about him and want to make sure he keeps drinking liquids no matter what.  This morning we decided he should stay in the room.  I brought him some coffee and light breakfast and then went with Namir to see the Todra Gorge.   Namir drove up a small one lane road that seemed to be mostly washed out in several places and we climbed about 10 miles up into the Atlas Mountains.  Along the way we passed children on their way to school in small towns.  Once there, the view was stunning of 1000 foot high rock walls about 100 feet apart separated by a very clear and very full stream that had washed out a bridge at the top.  We walked up into the canyon where we ran into the four French tourists who had been on the Camel Trek with Ben and me.  Interestingly three of them also have traveler’s diarrhea.  They had spent the night at one of the small hotels right in the gorge.  After Namir helped them with some travel advice (in French, of course), we continued on and Namir forgot and started talking to me in French.   When I got back to the hotel, Ben was still a little reluctant to travel, but we had to check out of the hotel and move on so we talked to Namir about the situation.  Instead of making the fairly long round trip up the Dades Gorge, we continued on toward our next lodging in Skoura.  Along the way we were treated to more sunshine than we have seen in recent days and we got some excellent photos of a shepherd and of people drawing water from a well.  As we continued west we started passing very interesting adobe architecture.  The buildings were mostly multiple stories high with turrets on them.  They have decorative imprints in the mud walls.  Namir called them Kasbahs which was historically a term for castle, but can mean home or lodging.   As luck would have it, our lodging for tonight is a historic Kasbah.  The Kasbah Ait Ben Moro was built in the 18th Century and overlooks a Palmery.  The walls are like a fortress with lush gardens inside.  The roof has been replaced, but the beams, walls and doors are all original.  Our room is along the four foot thick back wall and locks with a padlock.  The ceiling is made of beams and bamboo.  The floor is stone with Berber rugs.  It is quite cozy.   Ben is resting.  He seems somewhat better but extremely tired.  

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

It was sunny this morning and we had breakfast on the terrace of the Kasbah surrounded by a trellis with flowers growing on it.  We were lucky that it was sunny enough that we could eat out there, since a large, noisy group of French tourists was taking up all of the indoor eating space.  Best of all they let us keep the whole coffee pot so they would not have to check on us often.   Soon we were continuing our trip west through what is known as the Great Oasis Valley.  It is actually a rather arid area except around the rivers in a huge valley in between the Anti Atlas Mountain range to the South and the High Atlas Range to the North.  The High Atlas has snow-capped peaks even this time of year.  We passed a huge reservoir that fills with snow melt from the mountains.   Our first stop was in Quarzazate (pronounced wa-zah-zat), a former French foreign legion outpost and more recently Morocco’s film capital.  Many US movies have been filmed in this area including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth and Gladiator.   The film crews and movie stars stay in this town when movies are on location.  We visited a supermarket where Ben bought some yogurt.  It didn’t last long enough to need to worry about refrigerating it.  We also toured the Taouirt Kasbah built in the mid 18th Century and one of the largest Kasbahs in the area.  In its prime, it housed members of the Glaoua clan (ruthless Moroccans who were puppets of the French occupiers) and hundreds of servants and slaves.  The Kasbah even had an amphitheater.   On the way out of Ouarzazate, we passed by the CLA Studios and could see movie sets out in the open including something that looked like it could have been from Anthony and Cleopatra and something Namir told us was The Kingdom of Heaven.  We didn’t stop.  We continued up a small road to Ait Ben Haddou.  Ait Ben Haddou is an earthen fortified village and complex of Kasbahs standing on the bank of the Mellah River.   The parking was on the opposite side of the river from the fortress.  With the water in the Mellah River higher than normal, it was not possible to walk across on the shoals.  Some enterprising young Moroccans were hiring out their burros to carry passengers across, so Namir negotiated us a good price, and off we went.  It was a much smoother ride than the camel and mercifully short as well.  Afterwards we had lunch back on the other side of the river with a beautiful view of the splendid fortress.    We returned to the main highway and continued another hour or so into the High Atlas Mountains to our lodging for this evening, the Riad Ir Rocha.  It is very chilly and windy here.  The guest house is on the side of a mountain and it must also be historic as it is very rustic.  It has rooms around a courtyard and lots of porches and public areas.  Out our window I could see mountain goats on a steep slope.  We walked around and took lots of photos and spent a good bit of time trying to figure out how to use the gas heater in our room.   

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Something, perhaps the delicious cream passed soup at last night’s dinner, upset Ben’s digestive tract again so he had another rough night.  Morning high in the High Atlas Mountains was cold and clear and the view from the little window above the bed had me grabbing my camera.  I don’t think I’ve ever taken photos from bed before but this view of our terrace with the valley, the huge red rock mountain on the other side and the brilliant blue sky was stunning.  The downside of the quaint accommodations and great location was an almost total absence of hot water in the shower.    Our travels today across the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech featured spectacular scenery of red mountain faces, snow capped peaks, a frosting of snow in the high passes and small villages of brown rock and adobe dwellings.  Here, as is the case everywhere in Morocco, donkeys and burros are a primary means of transportation.  Our progress was slowed by the photo opportunities and even more by the fact that rocks were for sale at roadside stands.  We had not made it more than 500 yards from our guest house before I asked Namir to stop at one.  All told we bought two pieces of interesting agate or jasper, a piece of topaz or quartz, 3 geodes and a purported meteorite (although we are skeptical of that claim).  If it is really a meteorite, it was a terrific deal.  If not, it is still a nice rock.  At least we had planned ahead and packed backpacks to take home as checked baggage with some of these heavy items in them.  We arrived in Marrakech around 2:30PM and had told Namir we would like to take him to Pizza Hut for lunch.  He had mentioned he liked Pizza Hut and we were ready for some familiar food.  We had a good time laughing about some of our experiences.  Next stop was our lodging, the Riad Yasmine, another very lovely bed and breakfast in the historic area.  It is in a beautiful restored mansion.  They served us tea and handmade candy when we arrived and gave us a map with landmarks of how to find our way around.  From the looks of the crowded alleyways it will not be easy.   Later we went for a walk before dark.  This is an exciting place.  I think we are in the garment district.  We passed many doorways that had a person inside running an ancient sewing machine.  Some had helpers holding lengths of embroidery thread that extended out the door into the alley.  The alley itself was filled with pedestrians, bicycles and motor bikes all competing for the space around the muddy ruts.  Ben bought some more yogurt.  I hope that wasn’t what caused his relapse last night.  He has been okay today.  We are going to have dinner here at the Riad.  This is the first time we have had TV for several days.  We only have the European version of CNN, but it is good to catch up on the news a little.  I had hoped to find an internet café in our travels but didn’t see one close to the Riad.  

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Our accommodations here at the Riad Yasmine are amazingly beautiful and quiet and in such stark contrast to the alleyways of Marrakech right outside the door.  Breakfast here included yogurt and cereal, but oddly there was no milk to put on the cereal.  Namir and Noorie, a special guide for our tour of Marrakech, picked us up at 10AM.  As we are driving along, Noorie told us that Marrakech was founded by the Berbers and is known as the red city.  The other imperial cities we have visited (Fes & Meknes) were founded by the Arabs.   Our first stop was the Bahai Palace, built and used throughout the 19th Century for Sultan Moulay el Hassan I’s Grand Vizier Bou Ahmed (like a Prime Minister).  The palace had beautiful gardens and symmetrically arranged rooms and courtyards.  The rooms have smooth arches, carved cedar ceilings, stucco plasterwork and painted ceilings.  Bou Ahmed had a harem of four wives and each had her own living quarters around the same courtyard.  The favorite wife had the fanciest apartment, but they were all nice.   Next we went to the Saadian Tombs, the burial place for the 16th Century Berber dynasty that ruled Morocco.  The entry was through a narrow winding pathway wide enough for only one person and a tiny arched doorway.  Inside there are three pavilions amid flowers and palm trees and numerous tile covered graves.  The sultan’s tombs are inside the pavilions with ornate decorations such as tile, columns and painted ceilings.   We walked around the Koutoubia Mosque and into the souks or markets that are characterized by alleyway upon alleyway of tiny retail cubicles.  The alleys are a very hazardous place because they have motorbikes speeding through them with seeming abandon in addition to the push carts, bicycles donkeys and pedestrians.  The shops are colorful, but after a while you begin to wonder how many leather slipper shops can stay in business.  Noorie took us into a carpet cooperative.  This time after many carpets were displayed and discussed in detail, there were a few that I had enough interest in to ask about prices.  About an hour later, I was the proud owner of a beautiful orange Berber rug that is going to be a real challenge to transport home.  Such a deal!   After my big carpet bargaining experience I needed lunch.  Then we visited the Majorelle Gardens.  The gardens were created in the 1930’s by two French artists.  Later they were owned by Yves Saint Laurent whose ashes are interned in a memorial there.  It is a very beautiful site.   We went back to the souks and on into the main open area or Jemaa El Fna.  It can’t be called a public square because it has a very irregular shape.  Jemma El Fna is brimming with a carnival of local life.  There are many public food stalls in one area selling all kinds of local specialties such as snails and I don’t want to know what they were selling at the stall that displayed the goat’s heads.  Out in the open area, there were lots of musicians and one Berber trio had a woman playing one of the instruments who had a live chicken on her head.  There were monkeys that the handlers wanted tourists to get their photos with and there was a big circle of people around a storyteller.  By then it was getting late, it was dark and I was afraid we were going to come across a snake charmer, so we returned to the hotel.  It was a very interesting day in Marrakech.  

Friday, October 31, 2008

Today we went on an all day excursion to Essaouira, a charming fishing port on the Atlantic Coast.  The natural port has attracted travelers since the seventh century BC when the Phoenicians established their farthest outpost in Africa there.  The Romans were attracted by the purple dye from the murex shells found there.  The port was known as Mogador when the Portuguese occupied it in the 15th Century and built fortifications around the harbor and later abandoned it.  Since then the name has alternated between Mogador and Essaouira several times.   It was a 3 / 4 hour drive from Marrakech and although the sun was shining today it was very windy especially on the coast.  On the drive there we had another nice view of the Atlas Mountains and drove through orange groves olive groves and groves of argan trees that are used to make argan oil, a specialty product of Morocco used in both cooking and cosmetics.   Goats are known to climb argan trees to eat their leaves, so I was excited when I saw goats in a tree by the roadside.  What followed was a rather harrowing example of how animals are treated in Morocco.  We stopped to take pictures and the first red flag was that we were over-charged for the privilege.  As soon as we were close enough, I saw that the goats were tied in the tree and I said I was ready to leave.  Ben, who hadn’t seen the tethers, was taking pictures intent on getting his money’s worth.  Finally we got away.  When Ben went back over his pictures and zoomed in, he could see the tethers and told Namir they were tied.  Namir assured us that goats are able to climb trees.  He thought that our complaint was about misrepresentation, not animal cruelty.  In Morocco, where so many people are barely making it, there is simply no context for compassion for animals.  Moroccans depend greatly on animals for food and transportation, but not as companions.  Also evident is great compassion for people who are less fortunate.  Namir and each of the guides we have had contribute coins to the poor and handicapped that we pass on the streets.   In Essaouira we toured the waterfront where there is a beach with some windsurfing, but the winds were a little too strong for them today.  There are rocks off the coast.  Off to the side is where the fishing boats dock and the stone tower on the wall has a wind vane in the shape of a fish on it.  Next we walked through the medina to the main event - lunch of fresh fish right off the boats, purchased, cooked and eaten right in the market.  With Namir’s guidance, we selected sardines, shrimp and calamari by the kilo or portion thereof.  It was weighed on an ancient scale by placing the corresponding weight on the other side, packed in a plastic bag and handed to us raw.  Next Namir took us to the cooking area where we gave the fish to a cook and he grilled it in a gas oven or deep fried it and brought it to a picnic table for us to eat along with purchased coca cola and orange fanta drinks.  We both thought the calamari was the best and I’ve never had better.  Part way through the meal musicians came through and played a song on primitive instruments.  One of the musicians had a cymbal on his head that he hit with two small mallets.  It was a fun and very colorful experience.  We tried to be very cautious since we were eating food in a street atmosphere and repeatedly used antibacterial hand wipes.  So far, so good.   As we walked back down the medina after lunch, the wind was so strong and blowing sand that it was difficult to walk.  We decided it was time to head back to Marrakech.  On the way out we saw an area of large windmills, all going full tilt.  After all of the fresh fish we just had soup for our dinner.  During dinner, the prayer call was made.  Many of the people who were dining got up and went to an area of the restaurant.  They unrolled a large rug and, facing East, they followed a leader from among them to do a prayer and series of movements.  

Saturday, November 1, 2008

We were scheduled for a free day today in Marrakech and just wanted to do some souvenir shopping and get to an internet café.  It is a good thing we had no big plans because it was pouring down rain nearly all day and Ben was feeling sick again.  Every time he goes off Immodium he gets his symptoms back.   Ben stayed in the Riad while Namir took me shopping.  Then when Ben heard where I went shopping (indoors), he wanted to go so we had to do it all over again.  The activity made Ben feel worse; we were out of immodium and the pharmacies were closed because it was Saturday.  Namir found an open pharmacy, took Ben back to the hotel and found me an internet café to confirm my airline reservation.  What a prince of a guy.   Since we had discussed the US election several times and I was checking my favorite polling site while I was online, I decided to show the website to Namir.  He found the site pretty interesting.  He was glad that Obama had a respectable lead, but was not as interested in my explanation of the Electoral College as he was in the banner ad that read "Get Rid of Stomach Fat."  I wouldn’t click on it and tried to explain that it was a gimmick to sell some overpriced item that wouldn’t work, but I don’t think he believed me.  We had a good laugh about it, but he told Ben about the ad later, like it was a great find.  I checked my email for the first time in weeks and started to think again about that whole different world at home.   We were supposed to have a long day tomorrow and head to a waterfall and then on back to Casablanca.  With all the rain, we are changing our plans.  We will not attempt the waterfall.  Even if we can get there (an unknown for road or bridge washouts), hiking to the waterfall in the mud would be pretty unpleasant.  We will save it for our next visit to Morocco.  Instead we will see if we can tour the inside of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.  It is the only mosque in Morocco that non-Muslims can enter.   

Sunday, November 2, 2008

We left Marrakech at 9AM and headed back to Casablanca.  The weather is cool and partly cloudy after yesterday’s heavy rains.  On CNN last night we saw the weather pattern off the coast of Spain that caused all the rain.  In fact Morocco was even specifically mentioned.   On our way up the superhighway connecting Marrakech and Casablanca, Namir pointed out the Royal Guards and some special cars and motorcycles of the King’s entourage going toward Marrakech and speculated that the King will be going there to offer aid to flood victims from the surrounding area.  It will not be government funded, but the King’s personal donation.  He is a wealthy man.   We stopped at a rest area along the superhighway.  It is a toll road and the rest area is sort of like you would find along a US turnpike.  I awarded the restroom as the cleanest and most wonderful in all of Morocco.  The public toilets in Morocco have been a mix of the western style toilets that we are used to and the Turkish or squat style toilets and the availability of facilities to wash your hands has also been mixed.  We lingered at the rest area for coffee and cookies and arrived in Casablanca around 12:30PM.   We toured the inside of the Hassan II Mosque in the afternoon.  It is truly magnificent and a marvel of engineering.   It is built out over the Atlantic Ocean.  The main prayer hall is 200 meters long and 100 meters wide with a carved and naturally stained cedar ceiling that is retractable.  The facility is at the same time modern and ornate having been completed in 1993.  It even has earthquake expansion joints.   After the tour we convinced Namir to go to McDonalds with us, where he pretended that he liked the food.  It was right on the Atlantic Ocean and the best location I’ve ever seen for a McDonalds.  It rained a very hard storm while we were there so we had ice cream for dessert not helping us out much with our stomach fat.  We also enjoyed having the extra time to chat with Namir, because with each passing day we realize how much we are going to miss him.  He has told us that the pilgrimage he wants to make is not to Mecca or Medina, but the US, where he has many friends that he has made over the years.  Ben and I would both be thrilled for him to visit us.   Next I needed a large bag to put my carpet in to bring it home as checked luggage.  Namir pulled up to a small souvenir stand where they tried plaid synthetic plastic bags with zippers until they found one to fit.  It was amazing.  Tourists would never find that without assistance.   Finally we checked in to the same hotel in Casablanca we stayed in before.  Ben is resting and I am writing.  It is damp and chilly out so we will probably stay in as much as possible.  We have to pack for our overseas flight tomorrow.   We watched BBC on the TV in our room and saw a show called the "Doha Debates" that was in front of a live audience in the country of Dubai.  The thesis being debated was "The Arab world will be better off if John McCain is elect President of the US."  There was a moderator and two speakers who supported the thesis and two speakers who spoke against it.  The moderator challenged the speakers brutally.  Then the audience got to ask questions.  Then the audience voted on the question of whether the Arab world would be better off with McCain as US President.  The result was 13 "yes" votes and 87 "no" votes.  I was a little surprised that a vote in the Middle East came out that way.  

Monday, November 3, 2008

It’s departure day for us and we are ready to go home but we are both quite sad to be leaving Namir.  He has been more than a driver and guide to us; he has been a friend who genuinely cared about our well being.  No matter what we have asked he has always been cheerful and helpful.  And yes, as he says, that is his job, but he is also a lot of fun to be with and you know that his deeds come from his big Berber heart.   Namir took us to the airport.  All bags were xrayed at the door to the terminal, but you had to tip the operator.  Once again, Namir bailed us out since we did not know what was expected.  Then he insisted on buying Ben one last cup of coffee.  Our flight to Madrid took off on time.   We have made our connection in Madrid and are waiting for takeoff.  As I reflect on this trip, I cannot quite capture the enormity of the experience.  I have written all these pages and yet, they do not begin to convey the personal impact of being immersed in a culture so completely different from our own - one bound to interesting and sometimes mysterious traditions.  I have come away with much respect and admiration for the Moroccan people and the way they deal with each other and with strangers; for the ease with which they live in an often harsh environment; and for the happy and peaceful way they live their lives.   When I arrived and saw dark, rich soil and agriculture, I was convinced that our globes that show the whole of North Africa as a sandy brown were way off base.  But after traveling around Morocco for over two weeks, it is the color brown that is most enduring for me.  There are so many browns in just one hillside, in the sheer rock walls of the Atlas Mountains, in the mud walls of the ancient towns, in the mud fortresses or magnificent Kasbahs made of mud, in the sands of the Sahara Desert, in the water flowing in the rivers, in the hides of the burros, camels, goats and sheep, in the pottery, in the leather and even in the eyes of the men and women peering out from beneath their djellabas.  Yes, Morocco is a country of many shades of brown.   Finally, as is my tradition, I will end (and thank goodness for that) with some highlights and lowlights of this trip.   The lowlights:

Ben being sick and not able to completely recover on the road.
The treatment of animals in Morocco is very poor.
Toilet facilities - clean ones are hard to find and western style even harder, but Namir did a great job
Having to be extremely careful of everything you eat or drink (bottled water only even to brush teeth)
 The highlights:
The friendliness of the people
The Sahara Desert dunes and night sky (and Ben would include riding the camel)
Ancient Kasbahs built of mud
Visit in Namir’s home including lunch and local hammam public bath
Exploring the souks in Fez and Marrakech
The beauty of the Atlas Mountains including the beautiful rocks