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Published: October 2nd 2008
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I must admit that my first few days in Morrocco were not the greatest and I found myself wondering if I had made the right decision coming here. It is really difficult to travel on your own as the first language of the Morrocon people is Arabic/ Berber and the second is french. I found myself in Casablanca with no one to understand me and in the middle of Ramadaan which has been an experience in itself.
My first advice to anyone wanting to travel to Morrocco is DON'T GO TO CASABLANCA! The only good thing about that place is the that it has the third largest Mosque in the world. It is a beautiful sight and you can see that no money has been spared on the beautiful mosaics. The absolution rooms were the most divine I have ever seen and the turkish bath remided me of the day spa at the Observetory Hotel in Sydney (one of my favourite places to stay) The guide told us that over 75 000 people come to pray at this Mosque every week and the main area is reserved for the men while the women are allowed to pray at the second
level!
On my second day in Casablanca I met my new tour group ( 11 girls and 1 guy) and our new guide Khalid, who we have affectionately nicknamed Kazza. The following morning we left for Rabat and I desperately hoped that things would get better and they certainly did. A local guide took us through the capital of Morrocco- Rabat. The Medinas are incredible! Shop after shop lined the alley ways selling all sorts of goods. The pottery and mosaic work is exceptional and the food..... mmmmmm........ the food! The colours, the smells, the flavours, it is all too good. I just love taking photos of food! Night after night we have stuffed ourselves with tagines, couscous, brochette and vegies.
After almost getting lost in the Medina we went to the Kasbah Oudai were we veiwed a garden and then sat and drank mint tea overlooking the Abou Rakrak River. The streets of Rabat are somewhat like greece. Small alley ways, pure white buildings with bright blue doors which are so inviting ( note to Rachelle.... must go to Greece......must go to Greece)
The following day we headed to Midlet where the highlight was eating a
camel burger. Suprisingly it tasted great... just like lamb howver I was not feeling the best that day... I think the food and water finally caught up with me!
I was very lucky to have an exceptional local guide take me through Fes. The Medina in this city is something else. Not even Kazza has the confidence to make his way through the streets of food, textiles, jewllery etc. There is no point trying to work it out by yourself, you would get lost for sure. We spent the day tasting traditional pancakes, nougat, pastilla, exotic fruits mmmmmmm what else..... you name it, I ate it! Too good! I have certainly foung my shopping streak again buting up on leather and some mosaic work. One of the most interesting sights that day was the local real estate. It is basically a small shop with a key stand platered to the wall and on the stand are a variety of keys. The size of the key suggests the size and the price of the house. So you choose a key then the man shows you what you get! ha
On the way to the Sahara we stopped to see
the Berbery apes. These are the only monkeys local to Morrocco. They are so tame and rely heavily on tourists offering them scraps which I think is a little sad. They just sit in the middle of the road like little old men. Too funny!
I was kinda in two minds about the Sahara and I know understand why. We initially took a 1 hour camel ride. Man! Those things are soooooo uncomfortable. When we made it to our camp all was fine. We sttled down for a few laughs then had a fantastic Chicken tagine for dinner. But then it began to rain!!! Can you believe it! Rain in the Sahara. To make matters worse our tents where just a whole heap of Berber rugs tied together and in no way waterproof. Our luggage and matresses were soaked and the smell was......... unbearable. Not to mention the disgusting pit toilets, and I have seen my fair share of bad toilets these past months. So what began as a beautiful night under the stars ended with little sleep that night and a very grumpy Rachelle the next morning. Glad to leave we headed back on the camels early and
I was able to shower. Phew!
So all in all, as romantic as the Sahara sounds, it isn't and I would recommend heading to Namibia to see the Sossusvlei Desert anyday over the Sahara!
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