Morocco

This was my first step outside Europe. I spent almost two weeks in Morocco.
My plane landed at Casablanca (Dar el beida). There we rented a car and visited some of the most important cities in Morocco.

In Casablanca there was not two much to see except Hassan II's Mosque which was enormous.

Rabat's Kasbah of the oudaïa was very beautiful with the blue and white paintings on the walls. We saw Hassan II's tower and take a look at the Chellah Necropolis that was also interesting but kind of abandoned.

After Casablanca and Rabat we headed East to Fez and stopped at the ancient town of Meknes. This town kept the essences of the past and I liked too much the curved streets, but unfortunately the Moulay Ismaïl Mausoleum was closed and we had to continue the trip.

Fez is a very interesting city. The Medina (old town) was quite far from the new town so we took the taxi to the Medina every time. We walked through the streets of the souk and get lost all the time. We ran away from the people wanting to guide us for money and haggled with the sellers that tried to cheat us.

There was a long way from Fez to Marrakech. We went through the N8 that crossed the villages of Ifrane, Azrou, Khenifra, Kasba-Tadla, Beni Mellal. Then we headed south and exit the road to Azilal and the Ouzoud Waterfalls. This natural phenomenon has given to the villagers the opportunity to develop the zone with tourism. So if you get there by car you will see kids handling bags full of almonds (some of them will shout at you if you don't stop and buy).

Marrakech is a crowded city. The heat over there is horrible (you really can't get out from 2pm to 6pm). The plaza Jemaa el Fna is the most famous place in the city but I recommend some other places like Majorelle's Garden, The koutoubia or Ben Youssef's madrasa. The Medina is enormous and the souk has become very touristic, so haggling is and obligation. I tasted the Moroccan desserts and I liked very much the well known and delicious "cornes de gazelle".

Agadir was much more European than all the cities I was in before. As the city was destroyed by a earthquake in 1960 there was not to much to see so I tried the Jet Ski on it's large beach.

Essaouira was my favorite. The wind made the heat bearable. It was also funny to know we were there during the Gnaoua Festival. The port town has a very old story that goes back to the Phoenicians and the Romans, and it conserves its ramparts and the inside is in a perfect condition. Very touristic also.

In our way back to Casablanca we stopped in El Jadida and had a look at the old Portuguese foundations. The famous cistern that appears in Orson Welles's Othello was incredible. I realized that if I hadn't stopped there I would have missed something.

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