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Published: October 12th 2007
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Out Of Europe And Into The Frying Pan
It really was time to leave when we woke up at 4am to catch the first in a series of flights that would end in Casablanca, Morocco. There is only so much time you can spend and so many sights you can see before Europe begins to be, just a little, monotonous. You really do become Old Town/Castle/Museum fatigued after close to five months (out of one year) spent in Europe. The food, the sights and the countries were starting to blend into one long stream of memories which were indistinguishable from each other.
That’s really how we decided to spend most of our remaining time outside of Europe. Eleven days in Morocco, a week in Jordan, ten days in South Africa and a few days in Turkey are the highlights of our last two months. We do have some time driving through France and close to a week in Barcelona for my 30th B-Day, but overall the rest of our trip is outside of Europe.
Why Morocco? “Why Morocco,” you ask? It was really a no-brainer because of the burgeoning tourist trade, the good
Mike's Fine New Clothes
Photo From Fes
Nothing like wearing a Fez in Fes... food and the different Muslim culture, Morocco has really become a must see for many Europeans. Its location, less than an hour from Spain, makes it as close to Europe as you can get and be in a completely different culture. We had really thought about spending a few days in Morocco during our Spain/Portugal leg (November of last year) but decided against it because we were having difficulties planning places to stay and ways to get to each stop.
Now that we are more experienced and a little more comfortable with roughing it, Morocco seemed like a really wise choice. During Kel’s researches she came across a really neat idea that excited both of us. Intrepid Tours was doing a sixteen day tour of Morocco which involved daily tutelage in photography from a professional. Not only would we get to see Morocco but I could polish my craft a bit and learn something while I was at it. Perfect!
We signed up for the tour, paid the company and made a gap in our calendar to be able to get from Europe to Morocco with more than enough time. A week after making all our plans, the
Arched Tower
Photo From Casablanca, Hassan II Mosque tour was cancelled due to lack of interest. We were the only people to sign up and they needed a minimum of 6 people to pull the tour off. Ouch! Since we had already paid we quickly moved into one of Intrepid’s other tours of Morocco around the same time period as our photographic extravaganza.
While it seemed like everything turned out all right, we started to have our doubts about a tour group. A couple of weeks prior to leaving we both got a bit nervous that traveling with up to 12 other people would be a pain and that we would have been better off doing things on our own like we normally do. It was too late to back out so we figured we’d suck it up and make the best of, possibly, a bad situation.
Now that we are three days into our eleven day tour I can happily say that our worries were unfounded. We have a great tour guide, a great group of 8 other members and have done some things that neither Kel and I would have been able to put together on our own. It turns out we made the
right decision and, man, are we happy and relieved.
Casablanca We started our whirlwind tour off with an overnight stop in Casablanca, one of Morocco’s most famous cities due to the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name. While Casablanca has fame it isn’t really a sight filled place. We spent our first night getting acquainted as a group and having dinner at Rick’s Café, the bar/restaurant from the aforementioned movie. The food was decent, the atmosphere a bit kitsch, but the company was great.
Kel and I immediately hit it off with our 26 year old tour guide, Lucas, who is from southern Poland. He had traveled extensively in areas that excite both Kel and I. During his short life Lucas has seen Iran, Pakistan, China and many other amazingly cool and difficult travel destinations. But, despite his extreme experience, he’s very laid back, cool and funny. A great guy to have around!
The rest of our group consisted of one other American, a Canadian, four Aussies and 2 Kiwis (New Zealanders). Everyone gets along great, has traveled pretty extensively, and is up for adventure. By the time our first nights dinner was
over, everyone seemed pretty laid back, excited and happy that we didn’t have the common pain-in-the-rear tourist in our ranks.
Our second day consisted of a brief stop at the Hassan II Mosque which is one of the biggest in the world. With space inside for more than ten thousand people to pray it is impressive. Built in just six years in the early 1990s, the place is a spectacle to behold. There is some controversy about whether or not people in Morocco were taxed or “donated” to build this monstrous site but ultimately the place seems to be a destination that Moroccans can be proud of.
After our tour of the Hassan II sight, we set off for a 4 hour train ride to our next destination, Fes. The train ride in second class was a bit on the hot side since there was no A/C but otherwise it was fun as a group and got us where we needed to go.
A Day Shopping In The Medina Fes is most famous for its gigantic market area called the medina. This maze of over one thousand small streets is jam packed with vendors
Columns to Heaven
Photo From Casablanca, Hassan II Mosque of every good you could ever want. But, despite its appeal to tourists, the medina is not a place to go if you have no knowledge of the workings of the area. No map can guide you and getting lost is not only a probability but is very dangerous as well. It could literally take you days to find your way out if stuck in the middle.
Due to the risks associated with the trip into the dark corners of the Medina, Luke hired Hakima, a certified guide, to lead us through. She was fabulous and knew exactly where to take us throughout town so that we saw lots and got a chance to buy lots as well.
Our days consisted almost completely of shopping. We got the chance to see the handmade creation process along with a chance to buy ceramics, rugs, caftans, linens, silver teapots, jewelry, leather goods and herbal pharmaceuticals. While not all of these items were of interest to Kel and I, we really enjoyed getting a chance to walk down the small side streets, duck into obscure/hidden shops, and see craftsmen at work.
Watching ceramic tiles and mosaics being made was absolutely
Prayer is in the Details
Photo From Casablanca, Hassan II Mosque incredible. The minute details, huge patterns and many varieties and colors make building a table or making a mirror an daunting task. We were fascinated as we watched a guy chip tiles to fit a design he was making. With nothing more than an idea, a pile of tiles and a small hammer this guy was creating a masterpiece. Wild!
After months of spending no money on souvenirs, we finally gave in and bought ourselves a couple of nice items throughout the day. We bought a decent sized ceramic bowl and a rug. (Quick Note for you W&M MBA School pals of Kel’s: I was incredibly impressed with Kel’s negotiation skills. Turns out she did learn something in that class even if she didn’t do all that well while she was there arguing with you. Moroccan rug bargaining brought out a whole new side of her.) Later in the day, when we were more in the spirit of buying, we bought caftans for each of us. Check out the full length pic of me in caftan and fez hat…nice, no?
Ultimately the day was a long but fun one. Our guide was incredible, we saw some amazing sights
Ablution Room
Photo From Casablanca, Hassan II Mosque and thanks to Lucas we barely got hassled at all. With another eight days left to go I can only imagine what fun we will have!
Hope you are all well back home. We miss you all and thank you for reading!
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Pratic Sharma
Beautiful
A beautiful place to visit