Advertisement
Published: February 7th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Gibraltar
This looked really cool at night. We have just left Morocco and I can hardly describe the amazing, and almost other-worldly, experience. But before I get to Morocco, I have to explain our interesting arrival. First of all, we lost a day in Morocco because of a storm in the Straits of Gibraltar, where we were attempting to refuel. I say “attempting” because the seas were so rough that the refueling station was just too difficult to dock to. The rough sea had a lot of people a little freaked out, but I enjoyed the ride. I will say if you have to get stuck somewhere refueling, make it Gibraltar. The city on this rocky island made for a nice view and was amplified at night by the city lights and the lightning outlining the mountain. We also had some fun on our way in and out of Morocco because of rough port conditions which made for a roller-coaster like entrance into Casablanca.
Once we had docked in Casablanca, we were greeted by a port that was nothing like the one in Cadiz. Casablanca’s port seemed to mainly be used as an industrial port. It had a ton of people working on unloading cargo, cranes lifting
Our Ship Docked in Casablanca
See what I mean about the port. crates off ships, and several very unhappy looking workers. Adding to this, the port was a labyrinth and a good fifteen minute walk to the city. It was a particularly overwhelming welcome for many of us that haven’t traveled to many other countries. After the initial shock of our arrival, I joined up with my SAS (Semester at Sea) group and headed to Rabat. On the way to Rabat, I was able to observe some of the unusual similarities and the stark differences between the U.S., or even Spain, and Morocco. One example of these similarities is the KFC that the bus passed. However, the differences became obvious much quicker. As we rode out of the city, we passed a “shanty-town” that allowed us a peek into the life of the poor in Morocco. The “houses” were made of tin and whatever other materials the residents came by. People waited in lines of at least 100 people just to use the one bathroom in the area. While this brief glimpse into their world can not convey their entire experience, it did give me an idea of the extreme poverty that I will be surrounded by in several of my upcoming
Poor Neighborhood
This is one of the many "shanty-towns" we saw on the way to Rabat. ports. Most of all, it made this entire experience real for me. In Spain, while it was incredibly eye-opening and interesting, I still felt very much at home. Morocco really let me know that I was not in Kansas anymore, as some would say.
But now back to the more fun stuff. When we arrived at Rabat, which is the administrative capital of Morocco, we headed straight to the Royal Palace. As most would guess, it was quite nice. While we did not get to go inside, we were able to see the security of the palace even when the king was not present. After a quick visit to the palace we headed to Chellah, which is a Roman necropolis. When we arrived some performers came up and played the drums and danced. Once again, we did not have a lot of time to explore because of our tight schedule, but it was cool nonetheless. The best part of Rabat was the Muhammad the V mausoleum and Hassan Tower and Mosque. Even though the Hassan Mosque was torn down, you could still see how large it used to be. The bottoms of most of the pillars were still intact,
The Hassan Tower and Mosque
The pillars in the picture are where the mosque used to stand. which allowed us to really imagine what the mosque used to look like. The Hassan Tower was by far the most impressive of the monuments in Rabat. The tower was quite tall but otherwise seemed relatively mundane. But after really getting up close and learning about the walls it used to stand by and the detail in the tower, it became much more impressive. After our visit here it was time to return to the ship. On the way back, we took the road by the beach. The each soon turned into more of a Cliffside which gave us some great views of the waves crashing against the rocks. By the time we returned to the ship, most of us were exhausted from the long day and went to our rooms to prepare for the next day.
The next day, I awoke, had lunch (yes, it was a lunch time when I woke up), and got ready for my Casablanca city tour. We went to a small marketplace to use up some time until our mosque tour. The market was pretty cool. There were several different stands ranging from livestock, fruit, fish, and even turtles (just as pets though).
Hassan the II Mosque
This is the outside of the mosque in Casablanca After the marketplace, we headed to the Hassan the II mosque. This was a truly amazing experience. First of all, most mosques will not let non-Muslims inside. Second, it is the third largest mosque in the world. It is also the most modern. The roof is retractable so on clear days they can let the sun in. It is earthquake-proof (don’t know how you can test that) and is built out over the Atlantic Ocean because of a Quranic verse that says something about God’s throne being over water. The inside of the mosque is huge and can hold at least a thousand people. After visiting the inside of the main area we went under it to see the absolution room, where Muslims clean themselves before prayer, and the public baths, which is a much more social area. The outside of the mosque is equally as impressive. The minaret is the tallest in the world and the huge plaza, which is filled with people praying on Muslim holy days, was absolutely beautiful. Pictures are probably better than words at this point, so I hope I took some good ones. After leaving the mosque, we took a break at a “pharmacy”
Inside Hassan the II Mosque
It was really amazing. Wish I could put up all the pictures of it. that taught us about some of the native herbs and spices of the area. I bought some stuff that I am pretty sure go on Chili-Cheese Frito’s and some saffron from the people. After the pharmacy we went to one of the churches in Casablanca to see the stained-glass windows. Finally, it was time to head back to the ship but we got stuck in some simultaneous rush hour traffic and school getting out. This was the absolute worst traffic scene that I have ever witnessed. I was so surprised that we did not see anyone get hit!
The last day in Morocco was relatively uneventful. I went to a remake of Rick’s Café from the movie Casablanca and had some Moroccan food that just had too much weird stuff on it for my liking. Overall, I really enjoyed Morocco, even though it was probably one of the weirdest and, frankly, scary places I have ever been. As we explored the town, you could see that some of the people had an obvious disdain for American or Bush-babies as we were called once. However, I was given some hope from the residents because of the pictures of Obama and how happy they were about him. I am sure this is just the first of many weird, and sometimes scary, experiences but I can not wait to get Namibia and soak in every second of this experience. Hope everyone is doing well.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.089s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0516s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
marion blazek
non-member comment
hi from home
Hi. PJ, I AM GLAD YOU ARE ENJOJYING YOUR TRIP, IT LOOK'S GREAT. I AM EXTREMLY JEALOUS THAT I AM NOT DOING THE SAME. FOR THAT I WOULD EVEN GO BACK TO SCHOOL. TAKE CARE THE BLAZEK'S