Monday, Sept 30th, Essaouira, Morocco

Greetings!

Our city walk today started off

with a veteran port fisherman be (Abdul) explaining the history of the docks, boats, equipment, procedures, and fish.

We then walked with him through the dockside fish market to choose the fish we would have for lunch.  Bonita, sardines, and spaghetti fish were chosen, cleaned, and we were on our way.

Our journey then took us around the inside of the walls of the city to one corner bastion.  A high fortress lookout, we saw where stabled horses dragged Spanish 18th century cannons to strategic positions in the wall.

 In one of the narrow alleys, we found a woodworker specializing in the local thuhe trees.  His shop was a cavern of magnificent pieces of carved and inlayed types of wood, and several of us are bringing home some of his work.

Further on, we visited an old synogue recently expanded to include a great museum.

Finally, it was lunchtime.  In a small public eating area, our fish were cooked (along with some vegetables we bought in a nearby local alley marketplace), and we sat together for a well-selected meal.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Monday, Sept 30th, Essaouira, Morocco.

Sunday, Sept 29th, Essaouira, Morocco

Greetings!

We left some of our friends behind in Marrakech today, as the main part of our trip ended.  Zak and they will drive north to Casablanca, and we drive west to the coastal city of Essaouira.  It had a reputation as a hippie town a couple of decades ago, and has become a surf town lately.

Would you believe that a special (and expensive) oil would be made from the nuts chewed by goats that climb trees?  Thousands of tourists do, and they stop by the side of the road to take photos of the goats in trees.  Won't see that here.  Instead, you'll see a family who provided us lunch and insights into rural life, and a farmer who walked is into his squash patch.  Both were valuable sources of survivors of drought, dependence on tourism, and centuries of successive central regime change.

We arrived on the coast to cooler temperatures, beautiful beaches, and windsurfers.  There is a much more laid back vibe here, and most of us are ready for it.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Sunday, Sept 29th, Essaouira, Morocco.

Saturday, Sept 28th, Marrakech, Morocco

Greetings!

Morocco is so much more than most have learned about.  The view of a desert country with some famous cities (Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangiers) so ignores the range of living environments created by residents over the past millenniums, and the vast integration of cultures into every one of them.

Like the 16 million tourists who are expected to come here in 2019, Morocco's population consists of explorers.  Whether chasing new dreams or escaping nightmares, those who choose this place have found their garden, planted their seeds, and toiled to bring up their families.

As I sit in our riad listening to the afternoon call to prayer from a mosque next door, I am amazed at how different my current understanding of this place is from a month ago.  It's culture is full of lessons for the rest of the world.  It's contributions to this part of the world cannot probably be easily counted.  And the visual orchestra presents a greater symphony than one can imagine without spending time here.

To see all of the photos (so far) taken today, click on: Saturday, Sept 28th, Marrakech, Morocco.

Friday, Sept 27th, Marrakech, Morocco

Greetings!

Today was the city tour of Marrakesh.  Starting with the Jewish quarter,  we visited a working synogogue, stopped by a community bakery, and went on to the Palace Bahia.  We had lunch at El Jardin, and attended a showing of Moroccan rugs (yes, we bought one).

To see all of the photos taken (so far) today, click on: Friday, Sept 27th, Marrakech, Morocco

Thursday, Sept 26th, Marrakech, Morocco

 

Greetings!

Traveling is a learning experience full of people and places.  Today was a great example of both.

We drove most of the day from Ouarzazate to Marrakech.  The Atlas mountains, resulting from continental collisions between the Eastern coast of America and North Africa around 475 million years ago (and again more recently when Africa collided with Europe), displayed spectacular twists and layering in the rocks as we climbed over mountain passes.

Arriving in Marrakech, we settled into our riad (hotel), and Zak took us for a walk through the nearby city square.

But topping off the day was an evening with Zak's large extended family in his mother's home.  We couldn't have had a more perfect end to the day and welcoming.



To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Thursday, Sept  26th, Marakesch, Morocco

Wednesday, Sept 25th, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Greetings!

Today was called "A Day in the Life".  And since today my laptop died,  I'm hoping that I can use my cell phone to post to this blog.

Today's design took us more directly into the lives of some living in Morocco than ever.  We made bread together, watched cous  cous-making (and then devoured the results of both), made bricks, enjoyed tea in the garden, and shared stories  of our lives.

Toward the end of the day, we visited Atlas Studios, and saw where many films were made.  A safe, inexpensive location, Morocco has become a favorite partner to the industry.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Wednesday, Sept 25th, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Tuesday, Sep 24th, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Greetings!

Boy, has a lot happened in the last three days!  To start with a photo of Zak buying some prime quality dates in a local market just after we left our Sahara Camp this morning is a good place to begin the recap.

Our tour is called the Morocco Sahara Odyssey because the leaders of OAT believe that their trips should help travelers obtain maximum exposure to cultures and experiences we can't see back home.  And we have not been let down.

Morocco's Sahara Desert has been the mysterious home for centuries of nomadic, rugged, independent tribes whose stories and images have shaped our impressions of religions, languages, music, science, engineering, and art.  Most of us cannot describe well the lives of the millions North African residents today, much less give any reasonable account of how that condition might have changed in the last millenium. 

Nevertheless, we intrepid fourteen, plus a guide and several drivers - took off for a three-day educational adventure to learn what we could.  We were flexible, and the combination of a bold young tour leader and a bunch of seasoned travelers - served us well.  To the very eastern border of Morocco, where our drums were no doubt hear in Algeria, we stargazed in the hot fall nights and stretched our batteries (both electronic and our own) to beyond the breaking point.

Like our home hosts in the cities, those who invited us into their huts were gracious and welcoming.  No question was off-limits, and  their responses were genuine and clear.  Zak did a great job of interpreting, and often followed up to dig deeper into their answers.

We developed strong bonds with each individual, and were touched by their determination to overcome what seemed like overwhelming circumstances.  It certainly put our own lives into clearer perspective, and we appreciated the luck we have been given.

We also got a chance to experience the desert first-hand.  The heat was often unbearable, and the prohibition against ice-cubes or really cold water could not have lasted another day.  Though we were told that our weather was inordinately good, the hot dry air tested our own determination.

We learned about food, and music, and people and had a wonderful time.  And now we're back on the highway and staying at the Beber Palace in Oartzazate, the home of Moroccan Hollywood filming.

To see all of the photos taken in the last three days, click on Sunday-Tuesday, Quartzazate, Morocco

Saturday, Sept 21st, Afroud, Morocco

Greetings!

It's 10pm on Saturday night.  I haven't been able to transfer today's photos from my cell phone to my MacAir.  I suspect the Kasbah's wifi has lost it's full power, because it's acting very slowly.  I'm saving the post after each new line I type, in case I lose it entirely.  And believe it or not, it's going to get worse over the next three or four days.

We drove for nine hours today, from Fez to the entrance to the Sahara Desert.  We left after the best breakfast of the three days we stayed in Fes.  Pat and I are still coughing and sneezing, as is most of the bus.  Heading southeast, we climbed to an Alpine ski village (with Cedars of Lebanon and European chalets).  The French built it on these Middle Atlas mountains during their colonial period, and it now includes a Saudi-funded university being attended by their kids and other rich Moroccans.  A really beautiful place.

Beyond it, there is a long stretch of flat desert serving once nomadic shephard families with lots of sheet and goats.  Then a fairly large city with a military base forming the core of the residents.  This road leads to the border with Algeria, and tensions are not resolved between the two countries.

Before the city, we started seeing the beginning of the largest oasis in Africa stretching along a river carved between increasingly majestic and strangely warped geological formations shooting sky high.  The amateur geologist in me wanted to wake up Pat and get her to see these wonders, but my better nature let her sleep until we were half-way to the end of the river, and at the base of the real Atlas Mountains.  Zak woke up the entire bus for the last part of the trip, which included an ice cream stop, thousands of date palms, many old abandoned kasbahs, and several more small newer cities on the way to our destination.

Though the Kasbah is very upscale, the isolation out here gives us a hint of what the next few days will feel like.  Tomorrow, we take a four-wheel drive trail runner to our Sahara Desert Camp.  We'll be experiencing lots of what Zak has planned, and it will no  doubt be a spectacular adventure.  We're all becoming very flexible, and have agreed to give him every moment to fill with his personal, local, regional, and national insights.  An we're all hanging in there and loving it.

In the morning, I'll see if the wifi is  stronger, and try to upload some photos from today.  Otherwise, the next few days may be a bit of chaos.  Hope you'll hang in there with us.

Hooray!

To see all of the  photos taken yesterday, click on: Saturday, Sept 21st, Afroud, Morocco

Friday, Sept 20, Fes, Morocco

Greetings!

An Roman Arc de Triompe built in Morocco in 215 AD?  Today's expedition took us to Volubilis, a 3rd century BC Berber city, then Phoenician/Carthagenian, and from the 1st to 4th century AD the ancient Roman capital of Mauretania. 

Its 42 hectares of public buildings includes a basilica, temple, and triumphal arch.  Juba II of Numidia (Tunisia and Algeria) was placed on the Mauretanian throne by Augustus in 25 BC.  Educated in Rome, and married to Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, Juba and his son Ptolemy were thoroughly Romanised Kings, though of Berber ancestry.  Containing 20,000 inhabitants at the time the arch was built, the city contains dozens of large houses, one containing 74 rooms and over 30,000 square feet of floor space.

The mosaic floors which survived the Roman abandonment, earthquakes, and pillaging by subsequent civilizations are stunning.  Spanning a period of at least two hundred years of design, they depict life in the upper classes of the Roman empire.

The roads, and gates and arched columns rival those we seen in more well-known areas of the Roman world.  Were it not for the fact that Volubilis was located on western-most edge of the Rome's control, it might have lasted longer as a vital center of art and architectural innovation.

Today, we went to visit Meknes, the last of the four imperial cities of Morocco.  Built in the 11th century by the son of the founder of the Alaouite dynasty (Sultan Moulay Ismail), the Spanish/Moorish, European/Islamic architectural themes are beautiful and powerful.  The Sultan sought to compete with France's King Louis XIV, and the granary/stables (for 12,000 horses) we visited today would have impressed any vain, paranoid, and glory-seeking despot. 

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Friday, Sept 20th, Fes, Morocco.

Thursday, Sept 19th, Fes, Morocco

Greetings!

Today had a full agenda, and Zak and our local guide Abdul kept us hopping.  Our first stop was the Fes Medina, often considered the world's most well-preserved medieval city. 

We made a beeline for the Jewish section (mellah) to visit a 17th century synagogue, and be treated to a private tour.

Understanding that Fes has over nine-thousand streets (none of them looking designed in a pattern), we promised Abdul to stay bundled together as we entered the markets (souks).  Car-free, but sporting carts and donkeys, these narrow passageways revealed vendors of every craft.

Stopping at the metalworkers section, we paused for tea overlooking a 300 year-old sycamore tree.  The cachophony of sounds almost sounded symphotic as we rested.

We visited the entrance the oldest operating university in the world (begun in 859AD), and heard Abdul describe the Muslim prayer ceremony.  Begun by a woman, some of the greatest minds in 13-15th century Spain and France taught or studied there.

The Fes Tannery, complete with one of the foulest smells, was next on our itinerary. An official shopping stop, several in our group bought jackets made of the leather cleaned, dyed, and dried there.  That pigeon poop was an essential ingredient in the liquid used to soften the hides was new information.  An unfair criticism I initially had that we weren't shown more of the clothing manufacturing process I have discarded.  The Fes Tannery is just the first step in leatherworking.  The work of turning the leather produced by it into finished products is done by small craft workers all over the City, and can't possibly be included in a tour.

For those who want to view short videos of the Fes Tannery,  and the 21st century update showing how Italy keeps up its fourth place position in world leather production, click on th highlighted links.

Next were the weavers, where the process from agave threads, cotton, and wool fibers were woven into beautiful scarves and other Moroccan clothing.  Modeling our Sahara look, we prepared for our camp experience beginning on Sunday.

Then on to the tile and pottery factory, where Moroccan grey and white clay has for ages been formed into the facades, plates, bowls, and floors of the world.  Pat bought a wonderful bowl we hope makes it home in our baggage.

We returned to our riad and rested, and then went out again to enjoy another home-hosted dinner with a family a little ways from our riad.  OATS features these home-visits, without guides, to offer us an opportunity to interact several times and ask questions in order to get to know the rural and urban families of the places we see.  The dinners are always generous and much of the conversation is personal and quite intimate.  It's an opportunity for both the families and us to explore each other's lives.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Thursday, Sept 19th, Fes, Morocco.

Wednesday, Sept 18th, Fes, Morocco

Greetings!

Attacked by serious chest cold and headache on Monday night, which has responded to Pat's pills by becoming a difficult cough, I'm surviving.  Fortunately, today was a long bus ride from Rabat to Fes, and I slept most of the time.  After a great lunch at the Riad Dar Dmana (guest house) just inside the Medina (old city), the others headed out for a specialized steam bath (Hamman or The Hamman).  In my condition, I'll pass.  Actually, in any condition, I would probably pass.  But this gives me an excuse to get an early start on the blog, and relax before dinner.

This is King Mohammed VI, displayed in a coffee shop along the way.  Zak calls them "happy places" as they let those of us with frequent urinary needs on long drives stay very happy.

Across the street from the happy place was a large clean daily market where we marveled at the huge variety of food, and the truly greater amount of family love and dedication.

Just heard the call to prayers...

To see all of the photos taken today, Click on:
Wednesday, Sept 18th, Fes, Morocco.

Tuesday, Sept 17th, Rabat, Morocco

Greetings!

Outside of Rabat is a Roman settlement (Sala Colonia) which was built before 350 AD near the River Buragrag.  Protected by the high walls of the City of Chella, two miles from the ocean, it had previously been a Phoenician port.

The sites we visited today allowed us to see the constructions and occupations of a thousand years of Umayyad, Almoravid, Almohad, Marinid, Sharif, and Alaouite dynastic control.

Traveling on, we stopped by the Royal Mausoleum in Rabat where Mohammed V, his son Hassan II, and his son Moulay Abdullah are entombed. 

Nearby is the Hassan Tower, commissioned by Yaqub al-Mansur (the Victorius) to celebrate his victory over the King of Castile.  Only completed to half its original design height (88 meters), it was abandoned when Yaqub died and his successors moved their capital to Sale.

The tower was ascended by a ramp large enough for a horseman to reach the top.  The 348 stone columns in front of the Tower were to form the foundation of his unfinished Great Mosque.

As usual, after an afternoon return to the hotel, we joined together in the evening for a wonderful orientation dinner at Dinarjat in Rabat.  One of the highest rated restaurants in town, we enjoyed the food and entertainment.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Tuesday, Sept 17th, Rabat, Morocco.

Monday, Sept 16th, Rabat, Morocco

Greetings!

Today last day in Tanger was a difficult day to capture photos for a blog.  After breakfast, we had two hours to wander on our own through the area around our hotel before we were to board a larger bus to drive to the train station.  We chose to visit the building which served for a long time as he home of the American delegation (like an embassy), and then to a building which previously was a synagogue, and is now a museum of Moroccan history.

The walk to each covered streets and alleyways which were no different from those you'v seen plenty of in previous posts.  The insides of each contained walls and glass cases displaying documents and photos which are very difficult to make interesting within a post.

But there was a street sign nearby which sparked my interest, but which I failed to photograph.  It said "9 April 1947".  I asked our guide, Zak, what had happened on that date to warrant a street named after it.  I knew that other countries honored revolution dates in that way.

Here's the story, and how it relates to where we visited today.  During WWII in January of 1943, President Roosevelt invited Sultan Mohammed V to a dinner at a conference in Casablanca with he and Winston Churchill.  Most historians agree that this offer was Roosevelt's effort to indicate that the U.S. favored independence for Morocco.  Mohammed V never forgot that support.  After the war ended, on the second anniversary of Roosevelt's death, the U.S. Aircraft Carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt was undergoing maneuvers off Morocco's coast.  On April 9, 1947, Mohammed V visited the American Delegation building, and delivered a powerful speech thanking Roosevelt.  He reminded the world that Morocco was the first to recognize America when it's independence was proclaimed.  Nine years later, Morocco became an independent country.

The rest of the day, Morocco's new Super Train (fastest in Africa) took us to Rabat.  Most of us had been on faster trains, but we were relieved at the speed and quiet (now if we can just get the screaming kid to be quiet).  Once driven to our hotel, the Pre-Trip segment of our journey ended, we gained four more members, and we began the main segment of our Moroccan adventure with a welcome dinner.



 

Sunday, Sept 15th, Tanger, Morocco

Greetings!

You may have noticed that the spelling for this city in the title is different.  I'm including the spelling that Morocco uses, and is on all signs in and out of the City.  It's believed the British got it wrong long ago.  Sheep are sold along the roads here, and Zak introduced us to some dealers and explained his experience in slaughtering them for special occasions.

We drove to this parking lot to meet and talk with some high school students who were planning on getting through the border of Morocco and Ceuta (a Spanish city on the northeastern tip of Africa).  They spoke of their frustration with their future in Morocco, and said they had friends who had established better ives in Spain.  Zak gave them some money from us, and we wished them luck.

We've been to the southern-most tip of Africa, and now the northernwestern-most (Cape Spartel), and heard our local guide (Mohammed) about the movement of the ocean and sea through the Straits of Gibralter.  Most agreed he looked and sounded like Jeff Goldblum.

We next traveled south to the Caves of Hercules, where, depending on whether you look at it from the sea or inside the cave, it either looks like a map of Africa, or a screaming head.  Also, cuttings were made from the walls to create stone wheels for grinding wheat.

And on October 23, 1995, Def Leppard played a concert here, in London, and in Vancouver on the same day (a Guinness Book World Record).

Later in the afternoon, Mohammed led us through Tanger's medina (old city), through more winding streets and alleyways, to an overlook of the marina and Atlantic.  Included were his favorite locations for popular film scenes, and tips on upcoming movie shoots taking place in the medina.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on: Sunday, Sept 15th, Tanger, Morocco.