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On 150 Meter high Dune
Looking at towards endlessness Hi all
A few more notes from Morocco - (writing from a cyber cafe in Turkey)
SAHARA DESERT
I find it very difficult to summarize the breathtaking days in the desert. I have
so much to tell about it. But...
Abdulla is a "Gnawa", a Mali/Sudanese, son #7 out of 9 of a freed slave. He
guided me to a 4 day trek in the Sahara dunes. Abdulla leads in constant
perpetual and measured steps. The Dromedaries (I'll start calling them Camels)
follow obediently. I spend half the time riding and half walking.
During the day I watch small animal tracks in the sand and avoid his bubbling
conversation. A - because I am exasperated from stretching my limited French
vocabulary and B cause I want to listen to the desert and my soul.
The camels have no names - just numbers branded into their hide. (America :" I've
been to the desert of a Dromedary with no name...Ta NA Na na...." - "horse"
sounds better.) The camels hate going down dunes. They slide too much on their
hoofs.
Abdulla tells me about the scorpions at night. Thanks "Buddy". Glad you mentioned
that. Then he claims that
it is still too cold for them, this time of the year,
and that I should sleep soundly and safely. I visualize a scorpion wearing an
Abercrombie & Finch sweat shirt, and a nice shawl his girl friend knitted him for
Valentine's Day, braving the brisk wind to pay me a visit.
The dunes around us are alive. The light wind silently moving feathery dry sand
over the dunes. Caressingly. Curvature like a woman's body. The ridges in the
sand like that of finger and palm prints. I think of the peaceful sound my palm
makes when I softly caress a sleeping lover. It is a story of shadows, not that
of light. And a story of discovery.
At night, with no wind and no animal or human sounds, and with the dunes
absorbing and retaining all possible sound, I could hear silence. For the first
time in my life. Real hear it.
The perfect meditative state - the perfect stillness. And stars. Tetrazillion
worth.
DJEMAA EL-FNA
Djemaa El-Fna is a huge city square in the middle of Marrakech and by fare one of
the best human spectacles on this planet. It a lovely event
Abdulla leads
In constant
perpetual and measured steps where tourists and
locals commingle and become integrated parts of the same ever changing daily
spectacle.
A must see!
This is where Fellini cast a movie for David Lynch and Terry Gilliam to
co-direct. This is where you are becoming part of Cirque Du Soleil.
* Acrobats. Jugglers.
* Dancers. Moroccans and Africans in red custom dresses.
* Story tellers surrounded by large crowds of listeners. Locals and some
perplexed tourists.
* Monkey handlers with little anthropoids, in silly outfits, attached to strings.
* Fortune tellers. Card and palm readers.
* Nut-cases and other lunatics.
* Magicians. Conjurers. Tricksters.
* Snake charmers - only in the mornings - something to do with the snake's union
rules or with the snakes preferring to watch the Discovery Channel at night.
Notably the crawlers did not look very "charmed".
* Faux doctors. Herb and "Magic potion" sellers. No Blue Cross accepted.
* Water sellers in colorful traditional outfits.
* Small troupes of "actors" and musicians playing traditional curtain-raising
hits.
* Thieves, hustlers, pickpockets and other riffraff. Faux guides that have an
"uncle" with a great "cheap" souvenir shop - just around the corner
* Glue sniffing kids. For real!
* Confused tourists.
Bus loads of. European aging women looking for young Arab
men - living a fantasy from a cheap romance novel. Young Arab men- eager to
fulfill the fantasy.
* Woman doing intricate Henna designs on tourist and Moroccan skins.
At night food stalls are added. Dozens of small temporary restaurants are erected
every evening for tourists and locals.
* Smoke rising from the food stalls back-light with warm yellowish light of gas
lanterns.
* Smells of spices and cooked foods. Inviting calls from food vendors in many
languages.
* I see one snake charmer after 6PM, but his Cobra looked cranky - way pass its
milk cookies and a basket time melody.
I chose a stall offering the delicacy of tenderly cooked sheep heads. A couple of
heads are ornately displayed on the counter. Macabre smile exposing herbivorous
teeth. A fat man in white apron, hooks another head out of the huge steaming
cauldron, disintegrate it with his strong beefy skillful fingers and serves me a
plate. Some tasty brain parts as a bonus. His smile resembles that of the dead
sheep.
CASABLANCA
If you miss this city during while in Morocco, people in your
next high school
reunion will not make fun of you.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
From my observation during my stay in Azila Ben Sda village - Moroccan women have
lots of rights:
The right to cook, to clean, to wash dishes, to bake fresh bread. The right to
bring water to the house, to do laundry, to take care of the kids. They have the
right to tend the animals, to cut and bring fire wood, and to work the fields, to
name just a few.
I did not ask about their rights in the bedroom, but I am sure it included the
right to make the bed in the mornings.
I would like to finish this one on a very positive note:
MOROCCAN'S GENEROSITY
From my first days in Morocco I encountered more acts of generosity and great hospitality
then I have ever seen in my travels.
To name a few -
* Guy on bus - that went out of his way to make sure I find an hotel in Ketama.
* Hotel manager in Katema, that did not see a guest for over three months, but
invited me to free dinner with the employees
and to be his house guest if I do
not find my friends in Azila ben Sda.
* Abunor family - that showed me four days of amazing hospitality.
* Restaurant owners that offered me free dishes or discount my meals in different
places in Morocco.
* Sandwich shops that gave me extra free stuff and lower prices from the menu.
Just to be nice.
* and more.
All very unexpected - but true!
LAST WORD
I resisted the green milkshake, people all over Morocco drink enthusiastically,
for my first 4 weeks in the country. It is a sweet avocado and yoghurt shake.
What a shame. When I broke down in my 5th week there and tried it - I was
reformed instantaneously! A Great drink !!! I made it later in Israel - but
couldn't convert any more followers
Love
Zeev
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KM
non-member comment
nice post
I really enjoyed this and your pictures are great. They took me right back to Morocco. You might enjoy what I wrote about my own time in Morocco at: