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Published: October 19th 2010
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How is it possible to have so many different placecs in one world?
Morocco was unlike anything I have seen before. Different than the slums of any big city in the U.S. Different than any poor town in Mexico. Different than all that I've seen in Europe. It didn't seem like "Africa" to me, though I will admit that crossing the Gibraltar Straight felt like we were leaving one world and entering another.
Upon arriving we were greeted by groups of armed guards in every direction. There were guards posted atop the solid 30 foot wall that surrounded the port, guards on either side of the pathway they herded us down, and guards in watch-towers. We could see the white town of Tangier trailing up the hills of Africa. In my mind this isn't "Africa". Where is the desert? The lions? The very specific trees with flat tops and skinny trunks? My mind wasn't quite sure where I was, but I later learned that I was most definitely in Morocco.
This entire excursion was planned by my program, CEA. We walked was the group of 24 Americans we are to the only tour bus in sight. Our tour
guide was quite funny, cracking jokes of how Morocco "really IS California." and how "California really DOES look just like this"--which, is not true at all. The south of Spain might be able to pass as Southern California, but definitely not Morocco.
We drove through the hills where the mansions and palaces were tastefully placed. From the top of the hill you could see a distinct line where the the rich didn't venture and where the daily lives of the poor were very much alive.
We rode past school children who waved in excitement and elderly people praying in the mosque. There were guards outside many of the mansions, along with huge walls covered in ivy. We saw the king's palace, along with the "house" he allows his guests to stay at. This is NOT what I picture Africa as.
The bus eventually brought us to the Atlantic coast where camels were waiting next to the empty Moroccan beaches. Camels really are funny creatures. They aren't that aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They have very long eyelashes and yellow teeth. Their knees are all scarred and callused from kneeling on the rough dirt all day and their
coats are full of dust like an old rug. It was a bizarre feeling mounting a camel. The men push this little step stool up to the camel and help you hop on. Then when the camel gets up you feel like you're going to just slip right off the back of the make-shift saddle because their legs are so long! It was a short ride but at least now I can cross off "Ride a Camel" from my bucket list.
There was this old donkey sitting across the highway in the middle of a field that looked as if he had been sitting in the same spot for 50 years. We went and visited him and he looked quite content. It seemed as if he was giggling to himself while watching the camels tote tourists around on their humps.
After the camel ride we went back into the town for an authentic Moroccan meal. Now, I'm not sure how authentic this place was, but the food was fabulous. For the first course we had a typical Moroccan soup, then a skewer of what I think was beef. Next we were served couscuos topped with vegetables. For dessert
we ate Moroccan pastries dripping in honey and dusted with cinnamon partnered with the typical fresh mint tea that is found in this area.
We went to a place they call Hercules Cave (Grottes d'Hercules) which is pretty much a huge underground cave that has a window to the ocean. You could see the turquoise ocean crashing in the cave, while small tiendas have been set up to souvenirs to tourists. It wasn't very touristy at all though, which was nice. A hidden secret in Tangier perhaps.
Our guide took us on a "real Tangier" tour though streets full of women in scarves (didn't see too many actual berkas) and men in "djellaba" which are long, lose white dresses with pointed hoods and full sleves--much like the klu klux klan's attire, if you can believe that. Women dress similarly to men but their dresses are more colorful and have more ornaments and decorations. Both men and women wear these typical soft leather slippers called "balgha". The slippers were sold in just about every store on just about every street corner in just about every color. I don't quite understand the concept of soft leather in the rain, but
to each his own.
We wandered through the street markets where raw chickens hung on either side of the narrow walkway and other foods were open to the same chicken-air. The food vendors were often quite old and you could just see that this has been their way of life for many, many years. I felt as if coming in as a group of 20+ was a disturbance and almost offensive, as we took photos and trudged through their market. If I could have helped it I would have preferred to do this sight-seeing with only a small group.
Our guide took us to what I guess is equivalent to a carpet factory. It was a huge warehouse with every type of Moroccan carpet, rug, or table cloth that you could imagine. We had to sit through a huge presentation solely about the different types sold in this store (our guide most definitely received a portion of the profit at this place). After the presentation, the owner of the carpet store came up to me and took me by the shoulder saying "You need my son. You need my son. He is handsome and a surfer. You need
my son." I was quite puzzled, and my friends were all getting a kick out of watching this man try to give me his son. "All this could be yours," he told me as he pointed to the room full of carpets. I politely tried to decline his offer to be the next carpet queen of Morocco, but he insisted on giving me his card and his son's email address. At least it makes a good souvenir!
We headed to the Hotel Continenta which is in the medina (the old, walled part of the city with narrow, curvy streets) and within walking distance to the port. It is very much in the 'former glory' category. Back in the day apparently people like Degas, Churchill, and Kerouac stayed here. It's a beautiful hotel with intricate Arabic designs in every corner. We have a guard outside the walls of the hotel which made me feel much safer.
We at dinner at the hotel and then were forbidden to leave as it is not safe. Before arriving in Morocco I read this rule in an email sent by our program coordinatior and thought this was pretty over the top--it is not
over the top in any way. Especially being a woman in this country it is NOT safe to go out to the streets at night. Women don't even go to bars during the day, and I've been told that they most definitely are not found in bars at night unless they are prostitutes. I was quite content going to sleep early in the hotel and staying put. The guys in the group were antsy to explore; why!? Explore during the day, sleep at night.
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Marianna
non-member comment
Ditto
Hi there, I enjoyed reading your blog as it brought back some very recent memories of our family trip to Europe. We went on a day trip to Morocco and we basically did and saw the exact same things that you mentioned in your blog, minus the hotel stay. I would have to agree with you that Africa is not at all what I thought it was going to be. Morocco was definelty an amazing cultural experience for my family but I still felt like we missed out on something. I guess Africa is such a huge continent and has the reputation of being so hot, dry with lions roaming around. I guess not all parts of Africa. I'm very glad we had the experience and I would like to return again one day as I felt very rushed on the tour. I didn't even get a chance to buy the leather slippers. Did you not feel ovewhelmed when the locals rushed at you trying to sell you something? I thought it was a bit much and my boys were a little freaked out. Thanks for reading. I am from Canada but both my family and my husbands family are from Europe (Portugal and Italy). Keep on blogging.