Meandering in Morocco

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Geo: 32.8801, -6.91556

Flying into Casablanca from Spain, we immediately got on a train to Marrakech. Yes, the name "Casablanca" brings to mind the romance of the classic Bogart movie, but in reality, it is an ugly concrete city with little to draw a visitor. Interestingly, the film crew for the movie "Casablanca" never set foot on Moroccan soil: it was all filmed on a Hollywood sound stage!

Marrakech, in contrast, was immediately intriguing with its maze of "souks" - traditional market in the medieval "medina" - old city. Founded in 1062 by Sultan Tachfin, Marrakech grew to become an important cultural center of the Islamic world.

To be sure, the city is becoming Westernized and tourism, an important employer. But underneath this modern veneer, we were pleased to see that regular people still haggle over carpets, spices, and leather goods.

We stayed inside the medina at an old "riad" - a traditional town home with an internal courtyard - that had been turned into a small inn and decorated with traditional Moroccan decor. The balcony afforded great views of the medina (see pictures). We were told that the balconies are where the women of different households share news (gossip) and even make marriage arrangements for their children. We wanted to call across the roof top to borrow a cup of sugar from the house next door, but our French was not good enough.

Each day we explored the labyrinth of souks with their shops, mosques, and "medersas" - old schools of Islamic law and theology.

Moroccan architecture is accented by colorful mosaics and tiles, making the brown buildings come to life. Many of the old schools and palaces were amazingly decorated with carved cedar wood painted in elaborate designs, tiles of blues and greens and carved plaster facades. Since Islam does not allow the depiction of human or animal forms, Arabic script from the Koran was artfully drawn to add to the decor.

Morocco was Justin's parent's - Candy & Ron - first foray into the developing world. There were plenty of funny moments - like when Mom walked smack into a side of beef in the meat market. For them, the concept of bargaining for everyday items took some getting used to as well. But they did well and were enjoying themselves towards the end.

We were immediately impressed by Morocco - an African country with a more Arabic feel than African. We encountered wonderfully hospitable people. To be sure, Candy's ability to speak French also helped us get around.

After Marrakech, we took the train northeast to Meknes, a smaller city just east of the old Arabic capital of Fes. Meknes was touted to be quieter and more subdued than Fes, but built with the same layout as all these old cities with the "medina" or old city within fortified walls. These medinas were surrounded by more modern city structures, mostly built up under French occupation.

On the train to Meknes, we met an Iraqi man who was sitting in the same compartment. He wasted no time in telling us that, contrary to American media reports, that Iraqis' were quite thankful to have the American presence. But on questioning him, we found that he hadn't lived in Iraq in 25 years; he was reporting to us on the basis of several, recent, short visits. However accurate his assessment was, it was interesting to talk to an Iraqi about what was happening in his own country. On that train trip, we had three or four different men tell us how thankful they were that Americans were now coming to Morocco as tourists; the numbers of American tourists dropped dramatically after 9/11 and is only now returning to pre-9/11 levels. Tourism is an essential industry in Morocco upon which the livelihoods of a lot of people are dependent.

From Meknes, we took a day trip to the very old city of Fes. We wandered through the old souks, to the tanneries where they still dye the leather with natural dyes. We also went to the carpet making guilds where women of the medina still weave and knot the carpets using the techniques of their ancestors. We also toured "mederses" - schools of Islamic law and theology - where the Islamic scholars used to be in residence.

A highlight, we are sure, for Justin's parents was the Berber carpet they purchased in Fes. Berber is an ethnic group in the deserts of Morocco and they are known for a style of rugs that they weave. Initially, Ron was dead set against getting a carpet, but soon after seeing the "perfect carpet" with its intricately woven, traditional designs done in naturally dyed wool, he fell in love (especially after a spell of bargaining resulted in a good price). Rugs are the souvenirs with which tourist return home. We just happened upon the "perfect carpet" (and the perfect salesman) that would fit with their newly re-done living room.

We also took a daytrip to Volubilis - a well-preserved Roman trading post that was settled in 300 BC. One can see the intricate, unblemished mosaic floors of the town's houses and public baths. It is estimated that 20,000 people once lived in this city. Given the extent to which the traders went to emulate the architecture and art of Rome, we were reminded of this empire's power on culture and politics in the Mediterranean at that time.

We savored plenty of delicious French food at very un-Parisian prices. We also ate our fill of tagine, the traditional stew slowly cooked in a clay pot, called the "tagine." Again, Justin added another cuisine that he wants Jamie to make for him when we come home...does anyone have a tagine they can lend Jamie?

So, we headed back to Casablanca after a week of getting to know the three cities we visited. We had a day to wander around the city, which was pretty much closed, it being a Sunday. We headed to the Mosque built in 1993 for the former King's 60th birthday - which cost $500 million dollars to build. It was nice, but we could only think about what $500 million could do for Moroccan health.

We managed to stop by "Rick's Cafe" which was built in 2004 in response to tourists who wanted to reminisce about the classic movie "Casablanca." But we left without drinking - it is difficult to be nostalgic about a $5 Budweiser.

After a week in Morocco, we left Justin's parents and headed down to West Africa, into Senegal.

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